The following article appeared as part of a sponsored supplement in Strategy DirectResponse:
Ogilvy & Mather Direct president Judy Elder captures the essence of her agency in two sentences: ‘At Ogilvy & Mather Direct, our mother tongue is Brand, but we’re results oriented in our DNA. It’s a very potent combination.’ There is an alchemy involved in the enormous success of this agency, one that mixes a conglomeration of disciplines to form a dynamic and focussed plan of attack for its clients.
Elder recognizes that direct marketing is a maturing field, one that is expanding in its practice and its reach. Companies looking to this field today are doing so for different reasons than they once did. ‘Direct marketing grew up as a project-oriented business driven by acquisitions. Clients that come to us now are brand marketers first and foremost, and they’re looking at direct marketing techniques because they understand that the ability to target precisely can deliver more effective results. They also know that if they come to Ogilvy & Mather Direct, they won’t be compromising their brand equity. It’s no longer about looking for how many sales you can acquire from a mass mailing directed at a cumbersome customer list, it’s about building a long-term customer-focussed strategy, one that enhances the client’s brand image, and provides a measurable return on the client’s investment.’
Brand stewardship is the centerpiece of Ogilvy & Mather Direct’s doctrine. Every marketing plan is formulated with one eye on it and the other on putting together a carefully considered plan of attack. ‘The objective and goal of any client-agent relationship is really first and foremost building value in the brand,’ say Elder. ‘Within that are very specific business objectives that have to be realized. It’s all driven by the client’s business goals. We’re driven by the return on investment the client is looking for, both in the short term and in the long term.’
The needs of the client solely dictate what strategies Ogilvy & Mather Direct implement, whether the task at hand is acquisition, cross-selling, up-selling, retention or win-back. This is an agency that prides itself on its many facets, as well as its diverse group of specialists who can assume whatever roles are required by the assignment. The carefully assembled members of this team each bring their own particular skill and experience to the job, creating the best possible marketing environment for the client.
Senior Creative Partner, Pete McLeod, summarizes the philosophy of his department as one which will ‘respect, nurture, build and protect the brand while delivering killer response.’ The focus and single-mindedness of the creative team is evidence of Ogilvy & Mather Direct’s commitment to building a knowledgeable and well-trained unit which approaches each campaign with a ‘level of sophistication’ plainly evident in their work. The television spot for American Express which launched early this year is an excellent example of how this agency’s creative team can deliver the level of finish required for even the most demanding of brands.
Excellent creative, however, is only one aspect of the many ways in which this agency is able to meet the requirements of its clients. If the client’s focus is on acquisition, Ogilvy & Mather Direct has an in-house, 12 person Response Media department to handle the assignment, the first in a Canadian direct marketing agency. Here, experts in all fields of media do what Don Barnes, Director of the Response Media division, calls ‘recipe building’. This entails a deliberate interweaving of direct response television and radio, as well as print, mail, and the Internet, into a single all-encompassing strategy for client promotion. ‘We look at a lot of different elements so that we’re bringing out the right amount of brand awareness, with the right amount of response.’ It takes a cautious touch to reach out to as many new customers as possible without lowering the value of your client’s brand.
Recipe building involves something slightly different for every client, and is therefore greatly seasoned by experience. ‘It’s not always a question of looking for the best payback in any channel. Sometimes one channel might not perform as well as another, but it’s adding a different layer of communication.’ That’s when a comprehensive familiarity with every form of media plays a significant role. It’s important for an agency to understand how the investment in more expensive aspects of marketing, such as television, can boost customer awareness and produce better results for media which cost less. Ogilvy & Mather Direct’s approach to acquisition is a complex mixture of the various aspects of all media, with the increase of brand value as the ultimate goal and driving force.
Finding the perfect blend to allow a client to reach their customers involves a long-term commitment, because the balance is as individual as any company. ‘One of the big things that’s been a problem in our industry is that a lot of people see direct marketing on a project basis. We don’t have that kind of a relationship with our clients. These are mostly people who are committed direct marketers, who use it as a strategic tool to open communication and sales lanes. The whole secret to direct marketing is testing,’ says Barnes. Successful acquisition really depends on an agency’s ability to correspond with customers at the right time, and speak to them in a language they’re familiar with. That’s when the value of long term testing and commitment begin to pay off.
Once the lanes of communication have been opened, a limitless storehouse of information becomes available for the client to take advantage of. It’s important, therefore, for an agency to be able to collect this data and turn it into strategies which will both help direct their marketing in the future, and build programs which ensure customer loyalty. Ogilvy & Mather Direct’s team of Customer Database experts, Dataconsult, uses specific customer knowledge to efficiently achieve desired marketing results for clients. Whether it’s through database design and construction, or through applying the latest proven scoring and modelling techniques to the strategy, Dataconsult produces dividends for and from the brand.
While the Response Media division focuses it’s efforts on finding new buyers, one of Dataconsult’s main objectives is customer retention and loyalty programs. According to Leslie Warren, general manager of Dataconsult, this aspect of direct marketing is becoming more and more critical for client companies. ‘Acquisition is very important, obviously, but as people realize how much more difficult it is to acquire new customers, they’re beginning to understand that there’s a huge amount of gold in their own customer base they haven’t been mining.’ To get at that untapped wealth, Dataconsult is able to provide the level of service needed for any client, from consulting and analysis services to systems design and development. ‘All clients have potentially different needs. We’re totally flexible. We’re not trying to pigeonhole anyone into a preset solution.’ Dataconsult is only one more aspect of Ogilvy & Mather Direct which demonstrates the ease with which they mix direct marketing know-how with a high level of technical expertise, enabling them to create marketing solutions for any client
Technological savvy is quickly becoming the key to success in this growing field. ‘Direct marketing is really technology focussed.’ says Judy Elder. ‘We’re becoming more and more adept at using technology to target, delivering a much more profound and more precise knowledge of our customer and their behaviour, and using very sophisticated statistical techniques to do the kind of modelling and projections that will allow us to do the job better and better.’ With electronic marvels such as the Internet and interactive television rapidly becoming viable marketing tools, the way agencies think about direct marketing will inevitably change. ‘Technology will bring down the price of individual customer contact. When you get the combination of affordability and customer demand, ultimately what is now direct marketing will be the way most people market.’ While this might sound like crystal ball gazing, this agency understands how constantly looking to possible trends in marketing ensures that a client’s money is properly invested, now and in the future.
Ogilvy & Mather Direct has become such a high profile name because of their ability to make the most of the resources available to them while constantly keeping an eye open for opportunities. With international blue-chip clients like American Express, Norwich Union and Glaxo-Wellcome, to name only a few, it’s not difficult to see that their marketing chemistry is successful and valuable. It’s impossible to pinpoint the exact reason for their success, but perhaps it lies mainly in the experience and longevity of their team. Ogilvy & Mather Direct can boast a group of experts who have coalesced over time, enabling them to become a source of continuity in their client’s marketing strategies. As Ogilvy & Mather Direct’ President puts it: ‘Our goal is to build a long-term business partnership with our clients on the basis of the value that we can add to their business goals.’ Judging by their long list of clients and accomplishments, it’s evident that an investment with this agency will pay dividends for any client.
