Only sloppy clients will accept garbage from agencies
•It is desirable for clients to be creative too
Early August this year, Toyota Motor Corporation declared its intention to wave goodbye to its agency with the announcement that it will henceforth keep all of its advertising efforts in-house.
The automaker plans to split marketing duties between two internal entities, one that will handle domestic (Japanese) efforts and the other to take on global initiatives.
It is gathered that the agency's disconnect basically stems from Toyota wanting a more direct relationship with customers and the ability to carry out marketing activities that also bear in mind ways to contribute to sales innovation by promptly and accurately gauging the needs of customers and then providing prompt feedback to the company The corporation's plan, which is expected to take off in January 2010, is on the belief that it has or will employ creative manpower in-house that will handle the job successfully, possibly with little input from external consultants. In Nigeria, creative agencies are currently on the lead, but will Toyota's precedent alter the course of business, as marketing communication operators have argued that it is equally desirable for clients to be creative too.
To the managing director of B3 Communications, it is imperative for clients to be creative too, otherwise, they will continue to accept garbage from agencies.
He also insists that clients cannot do without the agencies, which total life revolves around creativity. Also, Tunde Thanni, managing director, Explicit Communications Limited, who is also the publicity secretary, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), believes that clients should not only be creative but imaginative in order to appreciate good works from agencies.
He said it is the business of agencies to always come up with imaginative ideas, but clients should also be knowledgeable about creative works, if not, they will accept nonsense from agencies. Kola Oyeyemi of MTN equally agrees that clients need to be creative and this should start from injecting creativity into the design, pricing, packaging, place and promotion of product or service.
The executive secretary of AAAN, Funmi Fadalapo, puts it succinctly that clients should be creative to remain relevant in a competitive business environment. She pointed out that clients, however, cannot do it alone as they need agencies which currency of trade is creativity. In Kelechi Nwosu's opinion as the managing director, TBWA, clients should be creative but not write copy. "Creativity is about appreciation and being able to search for new things. It is easy for an agency to communicate or sell a product when there is something creative about it, and tough when there is nothing creative about it."
Mich Madueke of LTC similarly agreed that creativity is not an exclusive reserve of agents. "Creativity is the bedrock of innovation and innovation is the soul of businesses."
Going by a seminar on creativity organised by AAAN in Lagos recently, participants maintained that agencies, which should be on the driving seat of creativity, are now less revered as clients are ahead of them. It was observed that ads in the newspapers are looking exactly the same which signals that agencies are not doing their jobs. It is feared that if this trend continues, more clients may toe the line of Toyota.
The CEO of Prima Garnet, Lolu Akinwunmi, observed that due to the recession, most agencies have spent the last few months working on just tactical and promo briefs. "The overall effects are some of the least inspiring ads in a long time, especially in print and on television and clients are taking advantage of this to negotiate harder discounts."
According to an observer's comment, if agencies continue to lose respect due to uninspiring creativity, and clients who are said should be creative also continues to be ahead of agencies, then the market would be tougher for agencies.