A day in the lockdown life of Ogilvy SA chief strategy officer Neo Makhele

“I think I am more mindful – isn’t everyone? A litany of meditations flies through my head each day. “This too shall pass”; “There is a season for everything”; “Change is good, change is inevitable, play with change, sway with it and get the opportunity to perhaps shape it”; “Each one gives one, so others can live better;”

"Working from home in our industry seems more hectic than from the office. There is no excuse of travel time in between meetings. Everyone knows that you must be at home; where else could you be? So, boundaries get eroded. Balance becomes quite fragile, especially where things that were let out are now unavailable, with no end in sight. No running, no church, no gym, no people. I’m slowly adapting to change.

"I’ve learnt a few life hacks to get me through these uncertain times.

"My day starts with scripture, meditation, and caffeine. Since I am unable to run, for the time being, I’ve taken up an online HIIT class, with the most insane trainer! My workout includes a 30 minute class with Hannah Eden and skipping ropes for 500 – 1000 beats. Post-workout, I feel like a monster with purpose. After I’ve done my hair, put on a dressy top with a pair of track pants or tights, and some lipstick, I’m ready to start my day. On most days, I’m in back to back Zoom calls from morning till the early evening. But I always break for prayer at noon, reflect with my prayer group, and chat to family and friends. I feed my soul constantly because I need to share it with many people. I have dinner at 18:30 and spend a few more hours going through emails, doing team check-ins and reports. In my free time, I binge-watch my favourite shows before bed – I am a bit of a series junkie, and I love an inspiring movie. That pretty much sums up my day!

"I’ve never trusted myself to work or study from home – that is where my peace is – but sadly we have had to break down those walls. Thanks to the life-hacks I’ve picked up, I can be present at work.” – Chief strategy officer at Ogilvy South Africa, Neo Makhele’s account of work-life in the time of Covid-19.

What was your initial response to the crisis or lockdown and has your experience of it been different to what you expected?

It was a seesaw between clarity and uncertainty. It had never happened before. So being a strategist, I leaned into research and insight. I embraced uncertainty and human frailty and learned what people, businesses and communities needed more than anything was four things:

• Partnership: shared load, shared solutions
  
• Agility/ flexibility: a willingness to adapt, and be proactive
  
• Usefulness: the humility to be what is needed at any point, ego aside
  
• Empathy: the ability to feel for others, and yourself as we go through constant change and uncertainty

In the beginning, these were insights we designed and applied to businesses and client leads navigating turmoil, and now they’ve become more real each day. Your point of control has been eroded, and each day you adapt, but the principles stay the same for me. They are more nuanced.

Comment on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the agency and creative industry and/or economy as a whole.

The general practice is that greater uncertainty and economic erosion will lead to pressure on marketing budgets, which means pressure on agency budgets. So, it is tough. At the same time, agencies are made by the calibre of talent you keep. We are well invested in our people (I know everyone says this), but our people are our brand, our currency, our capabilities, and ultimately, what makes us Ogilvy. We are diverse in background, way of life, and our nuances, yet we all count ourselves as creatives. We are nowhere near perfect, but we fit perfectly-imperfect.

With the lockdown in place, the teams adopted remote working like a duck to water. But then, when the romance wore off, we all felt the pressure of Zoom and Teams calls and miss human connections. The dream of having a brainstorm whilst you eyeball someone will be okay even if you are two seats apart – not having to wait for a connection.

It is hard for any employed South African not to feel uncertain, so it becomes critical to navigate through these times with a healthy, engaged approach, with each employee that makes up your business.

How is the agency responding to the crisis and current lockdown?

A friend of mine, Mrs Woolf, referred to the notion of the Cobbler’s children having no shoes in a thesis study she did on the creative industry. To simplify, marketing communications specialists are bad at communicating. ‘Physicians heal thyself’ is an old adage. We have learned this lesson well.

As a result, we are connecting daily through network leadership teams. We use a simple framework to communicate in a crisis: CIA (offer compassion, inform and act). We are a two-way learning organisation. We offer learning to our teams and receive from them as well. We have optimised network learning from markets in Asia, Europe and the US on how to partner clients in uncertain times.

Comment on the challenges and opportunities.

Working remotely has its challenges. There are constraints in accessing data, challenges of staff feeling insecure about their wellbeing, the safety of their family, and being distanced from the creative process. There is also the reality of being and feeling confined, with schools being closed – this can test your patience. The realisation that teachers are the most amazing human beings is a theme that has come across quite often.

The opportunities of remote working range from new business skills, building an e-ecosystem to connect, work and share, and accessing clients who have not been considered before. I think the biggest opportunity is learning selflessness, humility and gratitude from an industry where ego has held centre stage. When dealing with what you think is a tougher situation, you learn of other agencies passing on an opportunity through to you. We as an industry have done that under these conditions.

Speaking of opportunities, the world has really turned to creativity during this time. Why do you think this is the case and what does this mean for the industry, agencies and their clients or brands?

People in our world place significant value in brands they trust. In many cases, they trust brands even more than institutions. So, brands become a symbol of community.

Brands in a modern society are social citizens, digital natives and accountable entities that are alert and engaged. At least this is what consumers would like them to be.

So, brands needed to first show that they cared before they could sell.

It is critical that trust is earned and affirmed in turbulent times before transactions are pushed.

The creative industry is, therefore, essential to brand leadership, in as much as they can offer solutions that matter at the point in time. Is that not what we call creativity – the ideas that empower brands, culture and businesses?

How has the lockdown affected your staff? What temporary HR policies have you put in place regarding remote working, health & safety, etc.?

Our people have always been at the heart of our business, so we have a robust peoples team led by not a chief HR officer but a chief people officer. We are a business with an obsession to shape brands, businesses and culture. Therefore, our EVP is to offer experiences that shape the creative destinies of our people. I will not talk in detail to our HR policies as I am not an expert, but we have retained a few principles:

• High virtual engagement, contact and connection weekly – checking on the health and wellbeing of our people and their capacity to work

• We have a Health & Wellness business, which enabled our people team to design bespoke programmes for our staff ranging from counselling to yoga

• Loss of community is the biggest soul eroding challenge, so our staff designed and launched an internal culture platform to connect, and share the work being produced during remote working

How are you navigating ‘physical distancing’ while keeping your team close-knit and aligned and your clients happy?

We are still working remotely, so all our interactions are virtual, with both clients and staff. But we infuse them with meaning. We just call to say hello. We share details about where to get masks of varying kinds. Our staff have been stimulated by opportunities to develop ideas in solidarity with South Africa – sometimes stimulating our client’s brands to help SA or offering services to help. Then there is the fun stuff, where each brings their own beverage to a non-bar night. When it comes to clients, partnerships and agility has been well received and appreciated. It does come with its own pressures though.

What are you busy working on? Any initiatives or campaigns relating to the coronavirus?

We have developed several pieces of work during the lockdown. The first remotely produced ad for Vodacom, Castle and Dis-Chem. There’s also been creative work done for social good initiatives that are coming out quite soon to encourage home safety.

Has this global crisis changed your view of the future of advertising/marketing in any way?

I think it somewhat has. Advertising in South Africa was in a transition, experiencing birth pains that limited how modern communications could be experienced – limitations of bandwidth, lack of broad data access, high-income disparity and inequality. These challenges hampered the ambitions of clients for their brands and customers. They reigned dreams to develop and democratise e-ecosystems for brands and experiences.

So, there was tension between pragmatism and development. The dormant complacency has been shaken with the new normal storming into our timing plans.

I think the lockdown has shaken the industry to its core and will insist on ushering in barrier-breaking transformation that is needed to offer enriched e-ecosystems in e-commerce, e-sports, and e-socialisation accessible for all.

We will perhaps have a renewed vision of modern marketing that tests all South Africa’s market segments – those who have the least, those who have some and those who have lots.

Any trends you’ve seen emerge as a result of the crisis?

• As economies around the world stumble and essential services highlighted, we will see shifts in consumer spending into more essential goods with delayed discretionary spend.

• Remote working has influenced the culture of work – expect there to be a retooling of teams across many industries.

• Project management will become even more important in increasing agility.

• Cash is king has resurged so more and more business will aim to retain significant liquidity.

• Impact on supply chain management as businesses reduce their dependency on single supply markets – e.g. for manufacturers who imported parts solely from China.

Your key message to fellow industry folk?

This is a new normal for all of us. Be kind, patient and compassionate with yourself. Then extend it to others – your people, clients and suppliers who make up your business. We are a breed of different people. We believe in the impossible dreams, imagine a different future, and have the tenacity to weather the storms. This will pass. #stayhome #staysafe #stayhealthy #bekind