SO&U boss, Ufot identifies how creative agencies can be profitable
By Seun Johnson
The Group Managing Director of SO&U, an affiliate of M&C Saatchi Africa, Mr. Udeme Ufot (MFR), has emphasized the need for creative agencies to prioritize value-driven solutions for clients, to stay profitable in the industry.
The advertising icon made this known in an exclusive interactive chat with MARKETING EDGE in Lagos, recently.
Asked to comment on the challenges facing creative agency business in a volatile environment, especially with the economic headwinds, Ufot, a veteran adman and former Chairman of Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON (formerly APCON), noted that agencies cannot offer commodities to clients and expect to get sustainable pay from the same clients.
According to him, “the challenge agencies face today is that many cannot afford quality strategy resources.” He noted that those resources will get better pay when they work on the other side of business with consulting firms.
He continued: “There is a serious challenge and when you don’t have a strong foundation for creativity, you cannot do creative work. We always describe ourselves as ‘Creativity that Works’. I think it is the creative agencies that can show value to clients in terms of strategy depth, creative prowess, and the kind of agency that can say to the clients, this is the structure we are going to put in place to deliver value to you or this is the kind of value you can expect from us, and for that, this is what you are going to give us because we are running a business.
“But the challenge is that there are not many clients who are prepared for that win-win conversation. Nigerians don’t like to pay for ideas. Agencies can thrive but they must say to their clients the valued ideas they are offering to those clients.”
Speaking on how his foremost agency has managed different phases of transformation, especially how he has managed the Gen Zs to do the job, Ufot maintained that succession starts from identifying quality human resources who are brought into the agency, trained to develop, incentivized to stay, mentored, coached, and given opportunities to express themselves. By doing these, he noted, they will begin to see a future with the agency.
According to him, SO&U is in its succession phase with a new generation of young talents who are in their 30s and will make the future of the agency.
“I currently have young talents who are in their early thirties. Those are the future of SO&U. But I can only try because some clients are not helping the matter.. If agencies are not compensated well, they can’t pay their staff well. If they are not paid well, the staff cannot stay. One thing I have here as a rule is that every manager in the entire SO&U group knows how much this agency is making,” he stated.
Differentiating between the era of complete traditional advertising and how Artificial Intelligence is aiding creativity now, he explained that although AI is powerful, however, in more advanced economies, it is more about how human beings use the technology to scale up what they do.
In his words: “AI can offer you what we call commoditized delivery, and will deliver it very fast. Agencies that will thrive are those that have network firepower that is further amplified by technology like AI.
“Everybody would have access to AI, it is how they use it that matters. If it is about pressing the button, AI will deliver a bouquet of solutions but it is the intellectual firepower and quality of minds that you have brought to the team that will make the difference.”
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