You are here :
| Draftfcb: A Customized Approach |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Megan Flynn | ||
| Friday, 08 January 2010 14:39 | ||
As a marketing agency, the team at Draftfcb recognized this early on and made some major changes. Up until 2006, the organization operated as two separate companies, but in June of that year, a merger brought then 27-year-old Draft and 133-year-old FCB together under a single banner. “The teams at both companies knew that if we wanted to remain relevant in the modern world, we needed to change the way we operated,” said Laurence Boschetto, CEO and president of Draftfcb, a global marketing communications agency with offices in 95 countries.  “In today’s society, consumers live holistically in a real-time environment,” he explained. “The way ideas permeate every marketing channel has to be continuous and seamless, so we needed to develop an agency that was fully integrated and could reach every touch-point in the consumer environment.” Coming together Standing on its own, FCB focused on branding and advertising while Draft focused on consumer-behavior-driven disciplines like direct marketing, promotions, and retail. When Draftfcb was established, the two teams became intertwined. “If you look at most of the major agencies, they’re structured by silos. They have the same offerings, but each is its own operating unit with a separate management team and P&L,” Boschetto said. “They’re encumbered because each unit is solely focused on driving business in its respective discipline,” he added. “The merger of Draft and FCB allowed us to break that system down and bring all of the channels under the same management.” The merger, along with Draftfcb’s new approach, has liberated the organization’s employees because it allows them to apply and combine a mixture of variables across different channels when developing effective solutions for clients. “Ideally, we come to the table parallel to our client,” Boschetto said. “We have creative, marketing, procurement, and finance people all engaged in the same dialogue about how to achieve the business’s goals, whether they’re related to efficiency, effectiveness, product launches, or anything else. We strive to mirror the clients’ operational structure and mindset.” Rolling it out To help employees adjust to its new model, Draftfcb’s senior management team identified individuals within the company capable of spearheading an organization-wide series of education and training programs. The programs included various leadership symposia that were introduced at every Draftfcb location worldwide. “We know that the only real asset we have is our people,” Boschetto said. “We put together a global capabilities team with the responsibility of going into each market and setting up an educational program that teaches employees how to work together to deliver clients what we call a Return on Ideas.” The concept of generating a return on ideas is the cornerstone of Draftfcb’s offering, and although it’s not an entirely unique objective, it’s something that has proven challenging for many marketing agencies because of the inherently immeasurable nature of marketing. “Every idea we develop has to be tied to a specific metric; it needs to be measurable,” Boschetto said. “This strategy is more relevant today, amidst a recession, than it was when we first implemented it. As a company focused on performance, we’ve been able to perform well despite the state of the economy, and the HR investments we made in our people have really come to fruition.” Time is money Building atop the foundation laid over the last three years, the team at Draftfcb recently introduced a creative expression called 6.5 Seconds That Matter, which now acts as a driving force behind every aspect of its engagement with clients and its internal operations. The principle idea was developed from findings that show consumers, on average, spend six and a half seconds considering a marketing message before determining whether or not they’ll give it additional attention. Draftfcb’s research indicated that in that first six and a half seconds, an individual will choose to continue reading an ad or move on, continue watching a TV commercial or to change the channel, and so on. Because the allotted timeframe is so brief, 6.5 Seconds That Matter focuses on delivering lean, straightforward ideas that compel consumers to engage with clients’ brands. “Years ago, you had to plan a program, run it, do a post-run assessment, refine it, and then reintroduce the program. The process often took six months to a year,” Boschetto explains. “Today, everything happens in real time. We get the feeds of what’s happening in stores and what buzzwords are being used. As a result, we have the ability to read that data as it comes in and react quickly and appropriately in real time.” While driving results for its clients is a top priority, Draftfcb is dedicated to giving back to the communities in which it operates. In November, the company launched its first annual Global Day of Giving. According to Boschetto, employees in nearly 50 offices got together on that day to support organizations benefiting children. “Draftfcb employees are highly committed to improving the world around them,” he added. “Our people understand that while what we do here is vital to our clients, it’s equally important to use our resources to help improve the quality of life for people in need.” |