Agency’s bold journey into Ubuntuland
● M&C Saatchi Abel is on a journey of continued discovery, pioneering in an unchartered space that is unbelievably exciting in terms of its exponential technology and innovation
Mike Abel, founding partner & CEO at M&C Saatchi Abel, and Melody Maker, digital strategy partner at M&C Saatchi Abel Cape Town, share their insight on being the first agency in Africa to set up shop in the metaverse and Cape Town’s influence as the continent’s hub of innovation.
The metaverse essentially merges two ideas that have been around for quite a few years: virtual reality and digital second life.
It offers limitless opportunities to interact, connect, learn, study, sell, purchase, perform, consult... the list goes on.
For most, the concept of this virtual world conjures up mental images of pixelated VR gameplay.
But for those fortunate enough to have experienced it first-hand, it is clear why the value of this digital playground is estimated to surge to around $680-billion (R12-trillion) by 2030.
Let’s step back though, to the here and now.
Why would a business consider the potential risk of staking their claim in a virtual world when the sector as a whole is facing such uncertainty — post pandemic economic recovery, the Russia/Ukraine war, heavy interest rate hikes, skyrocketing oil prices — in the real world?
M&C Saatchi Abel has always been a place for curious and imaginative people.
This curiosity has been the driving force behind delivering meaningful change for our clients and has helped us land, and retain, some of our country’s
most beloved brands.
Investments in the metaverse could be the catalyst for a diversification of creativity to drive our philosophy of Brutal Simplicity of Thought, which ultimately aims to deliver beautifully simple solutions for an increasingly complex world.
An ethos that has underpinned everything the agency creates.
To truly position ourselves as creative leaders, making the move into the metaverse was never a question of should we, but rather a decision to jump right in and get our hands dirty.
The only way to get a real understanding of the potential that the metaverse promises and answer the question that so many of our brands are asking — is it worth our while to invest? — is to take those first steps and invest ourselves.
Expansion into this world presents huge opportunities for our clients, but only if we fully understand the environment and become valuable advisers.
Being the first South African and African agency to set up shop in this digital world hasn’t come without challenges.
The experience is vastly different to setting up shop in real life because it centres much more around engagement, conversation and collaboration.
It’s not simple when you’re the first because there is no road map or guide to best practice it is evolving and everchanging, but that’s the beauty of it.
Potentially it promises the unique opportunity of becoming one of the greatest collaborative spaces where like-minded people can come together and create, exchange and export creativity faster than ever before.
Collaboration however requires access.
We specifically chose to go into Ubuntuland because as an Afrocentric creative world it is very much linked to our Afrooptimism and our desire to meaningfully contribute to the dialogue and the growth of our continent.
This piece of land promises incredible potential for African culture and creativity to influence on a global scale for those who may not have had access to engage with things, people, products and brands beyond their reach, and use the space not only in an open-source way, but also a commercial way.
Our expansion into this world presents huge opportunities for both our creatives and our clients.
Though still in its preliminary nascent stage, as the world becomes increasingly digital, more virtual and more tech driven we are hoping that with Africa being an early adopter market, we can ultimately use the space to help close the poverty gap, to close the knowledge gap, to create a much more shared economy and a much more sharing culture.
Starting off as an unfurnished open space on the fourth floor of The Hudson Building in De Waterkant, Cape Town, 12 years ago, the agency has now become a thriving business operating from the centre of SA’s ‘silicon valley’ meaning we are perfectly primed for pioneering digital growth within a thriving tech ecosystem.
The Mother City has emerged as a tech and innovation hub which is influencing the way we do business, the way we live, the way we travel, the way we communicate, the way we learn and the way we consume news.
There is limitless talent here that is world class and the opportunity to leverage creativity and technology will not only build the economy, but also see us creating lasting omnichannel solutions that place consumers at the heart to grow our client’s top line and market share.
The metaverse is a major opportunity to create a borderless economy and right now we are in the process of tinkering and experimenting.
We are an agency born completely within the digital age meaning we no longer subscribe to historic models — above the line or through the line doesn’t interest us.
What does interest us is what we can do and what is possible within this digitally inclusive world.
We may not have all the answers yet, but what we do know is that we are daring and ambitious.
We have no doubt that if we relinquish expectations and rather orientate around constant discovery with curiosity as our lead, the power of this digital frontier — for creators, brands, businesses and the African continent — is sure be revealed in time.
The experience is vastly different to setting up shop in real life because it centres much more around engagement, conversation and collaboration.