MER-13565 COVER 2011.indd - Merton College - University of Oxford

like Innocent and Apple who project clear
values of caring, sharing and growing as
part of the DNA of their enterprise. Then
there are those who use Corporate Social
Responsibility credentials as a fi g leaf to
cover their vulnerabilities. I’m thinking
right now of BP marketers who imagine
that – a year on from the Deepwater disaster
– showing a Paralympic runner Richard
Whitehead in their ads will convince people
the brand is making a positive difference.
Yes, it’s a start, but one that will generate as
much cynicism as empathy.
How does an advertising agency keep
up with the ever-changing pace of
technology?
You buy smaller agencies who do
understand. You employ busloads of
younger people for whom the technology
is second nature. You stay inquisitive.
You have children who live on Facebook
and Twitter. With all of this, you try to
fi nd opportunities to push that technology
further than anyone has done before.
Remember too, people’s motivations
change at a much slower pace.
Understanding these beliefs and knowing
how to engage and dialogue with them
will always be more important than the
latest platform or application. To borrow
an expression once used of that quaint
technology The Newspaper, they will end
up around tomorrow’s digital fi sh and chips.
With the way people consume media these
days becoming ever-more fractured, has
it become more diffi cult to target them?
Yes, of course. But fi ner targeting also
means more relevant messaging otherwise
it’s just junk or spam. Last year we carried
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out research across the world to fi nd out
how long people would give an advertiser
before they mentally switch off. We
surveyed over 2,000 people in their usage
of every medium, from TV to radio, press,
poster and the internet. We found that, on
average, they will give you 6.5 seconds.
We call this the 6.5 seconds that matter and
we use this framework to ensure that initial
message has enough impact to provoke
deeper involvement. It’s not a philosophy
but an operating principle.
What challenges lie ahead for Draftfcb?
Immediately, we are helping Coke in
Atlanta with their Olympic investment. We
want the campaign to increase participation
in physical activities of all kinds in the run
up to the Games. We have also just picked
up a large assignment for Hyundai, the
Korean car manufacturer who have doubled
POSTMASTER | 2011
FELLOWS
their market share in the last two years. I am
challenged by the fact that ‘Hyundai’ means
‘modern’ in at least fi ve Asian languages.
Like all ad agencies, however, we have to
keep winning at new business. It sounds a
bit Mad Men to say it, but agencies are like
sharks. They have to keep eating to survive.
How does Draftfcb go about advertising
itself?
We’re awful at it. Think cobbler’s children’s
shoes syndrome. The best way to stay top of
mind is to win awards and earlier this year
we received The Guardian Award for Best
Consumer Campaign, voted by readers.
Again, in common with most other
ad agencies, we have a silly name that is
hard to remember. Ours is a construct of
Draft, named after the visionary Chicagoan
Howard Draft, and Foote Cone and Belding
(FCB), one of the oldest ad agencies in the
business with over 130 years’ track record.
My favourite FCB story is what happened
when the Florida Orange Growers
Association asked for a new press ad to
double the consumption of Florida oranges.
The agency founders went away to think
about it. What they came back with was an
alternative to an ad that had much greater
longevity. We know it today as orange juice.
Are there idiosyncracies specifi c to
creative advertising in the UK?
Some say the reason for the UK’s declining
performance in the international Cannes
Lions awards every year is down to our
arrogance and insularity. There is some
truth in the belief that a lot of what we do
makes little sense to the rest of the world.
I’m thinking particularly of the reliance on
puns in headlines. Unless it’s a killer, leave
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