Relatively small entertainment marketing agency, One-eyed Jack, recently scored
big time by landing the contract for Volkswagen’s launch of their new vehicle, the T-Cross.
Although the company is no stranger to events, having worked on festivals like
Rocking the Daisies,
Rage Festival and
Emmarentia Live, the T-Cross launch represents the biggest event that the company has even taken on, with a total budget of over R10-million.
The
media update team had the opportunity to interview One-eyed Jack owner and director Manuela Dias de Deus about some of the ways that small agencies can ‘pack a punch’ when it comes to marketing and PR campaigns.
1. Do you think online campaigns perform better than actual live events? There is merit in both as they both serve different purposes. One creates pre-event hype digitally and helps build the brand and create engagement and awareness, while the actual live event provides the opportunity to physically experience the brand / product first hand.
In this instance, T-Cross City initially lived online as a virtual city and culminated in a real-life version being built at the Montecasino outdoor area.
Our pre-campaign focussed on the digital component where people had to choose an experience on the microsite in order to unlock it. We’re expecting 8 000 people to come to T-Cross City over the course of the weekend.
2. Do you think it’s worth it for agencies to co-brand campaigns? What are the benefits of co-branding? Some agencies are multidisciplinary and some agencies are specialists. For instance, One-eyed Jack is a specialist entertainment marketing agency.
Our role is to conceptualise strong campaigns that have cut-through and culminate in a big event or a series of smaller events. We bring in other specialist agencies to add their input in their areas of expertise.
When we conceptualised T-Cross City, Mushroom Productions contributed its production and technical insights. We then brought INJOZI on board to flesh out the digital design and online gamification component.
[So yes, there is] the benefit of being the lead agency, [because] you get to choose which companies to bring on board to help [create] something exciting, or to help you deliver your concept to fruition.
3. Do you think running competitions before an event is still effective and can still boost the brand's relevance? Absolutely! Competitions generate talkability, engagement and excitement. They open up an opportunity for fan interaction, and they get people involved.
Obviously the prize has to appeal to the target consumer and the product / campaign in order to make the competition relevant.
4. How do you think small marketing and PR agencies can break the mould and challenge big contracts with much larger ‘traditional’ companies?Smaller agencies have various advantages. They tend to be more nimble and tend to have strong individuals with specific skill sets, as there’s less room for staff that may be ‘Jacks of all trades, but masters of none’.
While some big agencies offer various marketing services, they may excel in one discipline but
not in all of them. We’re seeing more and more big corporates outsource their work to smaller, niche agencies who tend to deliver exceptional work more quickly, at cost-efficient rates.
5. How important is it for PR agencies to promote their campaigns on various platforms? Not only is it important [for PR agencies] to promote [their] client’s work, but [they] need to talk about what [they’re] doing so that the marketing teams out there know who implemented what.
[This is done] so that, if the campaign impressed them, they’ll know who to contact when they need a PR of their own.
[For instance], our clients (and potential clients) consume media across a wealth of different platforms, so it’s important that we’re present in all the relevant spaces.
What other ways do you think small companies can grab the attention of bigger ‘traditional’ companies? Let us know in the comments section below.