Growth in 2017: How SO&U plans to do it
Surviving a recession usually requires more than just handwork. This is even more so for the marketing communication agencies, because their success depends on the prosperity they help create for their clients’ businesses.
So, this year SO&U in a bid to neutralise the impact of the economic recession on its business, has decided that 2017 is not going to be business as usual. The agency says it plans to create opportunities and growth by deepening relationship with existing clients in a way that will create mutually benefitting experiences for both parties.
So according to Anthony Ekun, Creative Director of SO&U 2017 is not primarily about getting new businesses or expanding brand portfolio, it is about evolving a partnership that impacts clients’ bottom-line. “In a recession, clients want to know the that the work you are doing for them is actually solving real problems, so they come to you with business issues and your creative has to address those issues. I think the more you show that you are aware and capable of dealing with these issues, the more they will trust you with their businesses.”
This kind of thinking is not common among the creative agencies in Nigeria; many of them have been dealt a heavy blow by the recession and have been left on the brink. Therefore they are condemned to getting new businesses if they must survive 2017. According to analysts, only about 20 creative agencies are said to be working on descent out of about 100 presently registered with AAAN, and perhaps a fewer number can be said to be truly profitable. This can be vividly depicted in the small number of agencies that make meaningful impact at the annual Lagos advertising Festival (LAIF) award.
In a chat with MARKETING EDGE last year Ikechi Odigbo CEO of DDB Lagos, observed that only a handful of agencies get the big accounts, adding that such development create an unhealthy imbalance for the industry.
Certainly, SO&U falls into that small category of agencies that made it out of 2016 unscathed. The agency has held tenaciously to two of the industry’s juicy accounts- Access bank and Glo, dolling out wave after wave of inspiring creatives to justify the confidence of the clients. It has also been rewarded with a slice of Guinness, PZ, Warpic and Indomie’s creative accounts.
SO&U’s portfolio is actually a long one. “In our agency right now we attend to a portfolio of about 25 to 30 brands. And I think anywhere in the world that is a good place to be. So for us it’s about deepening our relationship with those brands and delivering greater value. We trust that that will translate into better business,” Ekun said.
Yet, SO&U is not shutting its doors entirely to new prospects, in actual fact, the agency is optimistic that as it inspires existing clients’ businesses to bigger profitability, non-clients can be impressed enough to sign it on to their agency rosters.
To make this a reality, SO&U is making investments that will transform it into a formidable 360 degree outfit in order to create the kind of synergy that will make the agency deliver better. “One of the things that you will see us do this year is actually offering one stop solutions to our clients, that help them maximise their spend in a way that will help them maximise their bottom-line,” Ekun said.
By: Joseph Ekeng
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