In countries as in companies, the key to real magic is focus

At its essence, the job of an advertising agency is simple: to grow clients’ top line, grow their market share and grow their brand equity. All the flair, all the imagination, all the charm needs to manifest itself in terms of the public choosing a particular product on a shelf among a handful of others. That is, ultimately, where an advertising agency is judged.

Words and promises are meaningless if behaviour says something else. Behaviour is truth. The habit of engaging in the right behaviour is formed through an uncompromising focus on delivering the desired return on investment. Agencies that thrive in the current economic climate will be those that focus on their core job and don’t get distracted by the latest trends.

There is no sugar-coating the facts: the economy is stuttering along and when a client turns to a creative company in whatever guise, the return on investment needs to be compelling.

SA is not out of the woods, and while none of us can predict with certainty what will and won’t transpire, we can predict with certainty that hopelessness, disappointment and disillusion become spades that dig a deeper hole.

The time has come to reject jacks-in-the-box and glitzy magicians that play the crowd, looking for reactions and applause. Because when all is said and done, and the fad has passed and reality hits home, all that’s left is a head dangling on a spring, bopping up and down until it comes to a lonely rest.

Playing to the gallery, trying to touch the populist nerve, can only sustain the applause for so long.

Whatever pops up out of the box needs to be sustainable; it needs legs to give it purpose to drive positive change. This is as true for creative companies as it is for politicians. Only once the sights are focused on the target does the “how” come into play.

The ongoing orientation in any business should always be to come up with the most compelling solutions for its customers’ needs. How one leverages all the different pulleys at their disposal will determine whether they succeed and whether the belief driven by their behaviour culminates in real returns.

It is not about pursuing the next big thing for the sake of saying you have pursued the next big thing. “The dogs bark but the caravan marches on.” In the case of communication, marketing and advertising, the creative caravan must march on with a captivating message and powerful positioning that can grow a brand’s business.

Execution is where flair and charm come into play. Businesses of all persuasions would do well to nurture an environment where everyone feels liberated, where they honestly believe they are empowered to do their absolute best to find creative solutions.

This is where investment in the right people becomes so important. The importance of this cannot be underestimated — from running a country to running a niche agency, having the right people, surrounded by equally brilliant people, is non-negotiable in the pursuit of excellence.

An environment where everyone feels liberated doesn’t just tolerate a diversity of views, but encourages it. If two people at a table share the exact same opinion on every topic, is there space for them both? This is the breeding ground of fair, innovative and creative solutions.

Time and time again, the output from an environment like that results in solutions that come in unexpected ways and forms, but ultimately, they capture the consumer or public’s imagination. In the case of an advertising agency, the public is influenced to behave in a certain way.

How do you measure something this multi-layered? In the case of a creative agency, it is, again, brutally simple. Has the effort grown the top line, market share and brand equity?

No matter where opportunities take an individual or a business, or how surprising the road may be, the recipe for failure is becoming distracted. Taking an eye off the road for only a moment could have long-lasting implications for a project, a business, a country.

On the other hand the recipe for creating magic in a one-man show, a large company or even a national government remains the same.

Much like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal walking out onto centre court, it doesn’t matter how many times you have won, how many trophies you have lifted, and how many records you have broken in the past. It matters little what you have planned for next year, or the year after. All that matters is winning the game you are playing now.

And that requires razor-sharp focus.

Abel is co-founder and CEO of M&C Saatchi Abel, a multiple awardwinning agency that will celebrate 10 years in 2020