Agent’ says ad boss
“Every Little Helps” relaunch of Tesco remains the most quoted marketing case study in business schools today, generating £27 of sales for every £1 spent of advertising. He was the strategist behind the advertising launch and ran the campaign for its first seven years in the UK and internationally.
A Campaign Magazine “Face to Watch”, Mr Cave became managing partner of Lowe Howard-Spink, a 250-person, £250 million advertising agency where, in additiontoTesco,heoversawcampaigns for Stella Artois, Smirnoff and HSBC.
He was promoted by Lowe Group founder Sir Frank Lowe and adopted several management positions including founding partner of Lowe Digital.
He left Lowe in 2001 to set up Drugstore, which developed innovative campaigns for British Airways, Channel 4, Jamie Oliver and Selfridges, among others. Drugstore was sold in 2008 — Mr Cave stayed with the firm until 2011 executive-producing feature-length documentaries for Relentless energy drink, co-created in a partnership with Coca-Cola.
Mr Cave and Mr Green acknowledge that the industry has changed significantly in their time, particularly in regards to attitude.
Mr Green says: “The agencies are ageist but at the younger lever. When I came into the industry there were 25 year old chief executives. If I ask 20-to30 year olds today why they don’t run their own agency or become a creative director they say: ‘I’m only 29, I’m a baby’. When I was 21 I’d one every award going. It’s not their fault. It’s because we don’t give them the freedom. We want to start this company, get it going, and then give the thing away to them. We have no ego about it.
“We want to see more Jewish people and youngsters in the agency.”
But aren’t the younger generations going into the creative services? “Some are but too many aren’t,” says Mr Green. “Possibly because their schools and parents don’t understand it. Sometimes they do it as a statement and it doesn’t have to be that either.
“And when they do, it’s on a smaller level. Whereas in the US and France. it’s at a much larger level. I think the UK has always been a bit behind in our industry.
“The ambition is to be able to guide a group of young entrepreneurs in the industry who could take this and run with it. I’d like to hand it over, not the next level, but to the level underneath.”
So, what do they make of Errol Damelin’s Wonga and its aggressive advertising campaign? “I think what they have done is quite good,” says Mr Green. “They run the risk of being incredibly hated but I think they have kind of managed to get people not to hate them. Their adverts are good and it gives them a bit of credibility.”
As for other brands he rates, he cites John Lewis. “I love the stuff they are doing. Going into John Lewis is a great way of keeping your finger on the pulse. You can go in and see where people are gravitating to.”
But not everyone has John Lewis budgets to spend; what advice would they give to companies that are on a limited budget? “Imagine you have no budget,” says Mr Green. “Invest in creativity, not financially but be creative. Be bold, be brave, be provocative, but not just for the sake of it.”
Our job is to change people’s behaviour,” adds Mr Cave. “If there is one preconception about the advertising agency that I want to dispel, it’s about ‘spin’. We are not “Blairite spin doctors” — we sit with our clients and work out how they can improve things.”
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