finance week g. meldrum quote 1
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!It's all about pam peri ngTHE BUSINESS CHALLENGE: To increasesales of Megapacks, which contain amonth's supply of nap pies, by positioningPampers as the expert in babies' develop-ment in an insightful. joyful and real way.THE INSIGHT: Mums are continuouslysearching for relevant information to helpdevelop their children to their full poten-tial. Saatchi felt a TV or print ad wouldn'tcut through this cluttered market orachieve that objective but that a new waywas needed to appeal to mums to buy thenappies and, at the same time, satisfy thatneed.THE BIG IDEA: Saatchi decided to devel-op content to encourage babies' develop-ment in a fun, interactive way. So theagency created the Pampers Learn & PlayDVD, the first ever edutainment DVD tobe released in South Africa.
With 12 magical episodes of exciting
animation, African stories, songs andgames, Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburghas a product that challenges the BabyEinstein and Tiny Love range. Neverbefore has a brand taken on this sortof initiative, making Pampers thebiggest nappy brand to focus onbabies' development.
Support material includes PampersPlay & Learn branded Megapacks, a TVcommercial, advertorials and point-of-salecommunication. A website is also beingdeveloped, adding to the concept of devel-oping children's skills through play.THE IMPACT: The DVDwas very wellreceived by both the public and client.Saatchi & Saatchi has been asked tosyndicate it to other countries. The clienthas also asked the agency to produce fur-ther episodes and turn it into a full-blownTV programme. Il
Ideas underpin the localoperation's strong growth
reativity ru les, OK?AATCHI& SAATCHIJohannesburg and CapeTown have both gonethrough a successful
vention process throughrersiflcation into digital.
ctive, shopper marketing,lie relations and sustain ability,nding their offerings to adde value to its clients.
This reinvention has attained global recog-within the group, and in 2008 Saatchi
Saatchi SA became one of only eightouse Agencies' in the global network of
giving the South African operation thestatus as Saatchi & Saatchi offices in Lon-
Paris, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Dubai.
2008 also proved to be a record year forthe group in terms of impressive revenuegrowth and a return to the award stakes.
The agency's creative performance hasimproved quite dramatically. Awards in 2008included 1 bronze Lion Cannes, 6 Cannesshortlists, a bronze and two Merit Awards atthe One Show, a New York Advertising FestivalBronze Medal, 4 Loeries (1 silver, 3 bronze),Grand Prix Winner VUKATelevision Awards,Ad of the Month - February, March, June andJuly 2008, 1 bronze Eagle and 1 goldPendoring.
With regard to extending its reach beyondborders, Saatchi & Saatchi has rapidly grownits reach across the African continent toassist clients with moving into Africa. The
network now includes 17 agencies situated insub-Saharan Africa with key hubs in Nigeria,Kenya and SA.
JohannesburgCreative focus and diversification underpinthe Johannesburg office's success
The outlook for the immediate futurelooks remarkably strong, says Grant Meldrum,MD of Johannesburg and the Africa network."Despite the current economic downturn, weremain bullish about our growth as we havealready succeeded in winning new businessthis year, while more opportunities are in thepipeline," he says.
What's changed? Meldrum puts it down totwo things: a renewed focus on creativity and