The emperor in clothes

Sir Martin Sorrell told this to delegates in a pre-recorded video interview with him by Jeremy Maggs at the recently held Future of Media conference that took place at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The digital world has fragmented media and its spending he stated. "However this is good for us and our clients because we are much more powerful in a fragmented environment. We can do better deals for our clients. However this is also a complex world, and that is why clients want reassurance."

He says the sad truth is that people don't like the emperor in clothes. Marketing being the emperor. "Marketing has less emphasis and there is a limit to what you can do at cost. Marketing must demonstrate that the companies who invest in brands win."

An example is the Millward Brown top brands. "This is a far better indicator of a successful company than other indices used for tracking. It also proves that if you invest in your brand it will grow and grow faster."

He describes traditional brand building as the continuous nurturing of plants in a garden. "However clients see the investment into a brand as a cost." There is also an air of conservativism out there he says. "They are not taking risks. Companies are like politics and procurement and finance rule. The balance is out of kilter."

He asked: Who chooses an agency based on finance... "The current short term view of business makes us cost-focused. We need to take a longer term view."
The future, he believes is not going to get any better. "It will continue to be rough and tough. Even the BRICS are not growing as fast as they were previously. We need to get use to this slow growth."

Where there is growth is Africa. "If you are looking for top line growth, then one of the places in the world you have to come to is Africa. Granted the continent offers a higher risk, but it also offers a higher reward."

For him South Africa is important. This is reflected in their aggressive acquisitions in the country over the past period of time. "We take Africa seriously. We have a strong position in Southern and East Africa and are developing North and West Africa. Nigeria is the next China but it is difficult to function there." Navigating the continent is not easy, he says not only because of geographical issues, but structural ones with markets on the continent at different stages of development. "We have a long way to go."

Where Africa is ahead is in terms of mobile, which has a high penetration. The exposure to mobile makes it interesting. "We are in the foothills of all of this. The generation that was born with the Internet and has lived with it all their lives will change this. They will increase the speed of adoption and it will happen soon. What we need to figure out, as mobile penetrates more, is to find ways to monetise it."