media update’s Adam Wakefield was at Ogilvy and Mather’s Johannesburg office on Wednesday, 11 April, to find out why cultural relevance is so critical to brands and consumers at large.

Conversation: A brand tool the PR industry has always been aware of

Joanna Oosthuizen, national MD of Ogilvy Public Relations South Africa, started the event by introducing Serge Vaezi, strategy and creative officer for Ogilvy Public Relations Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

Vaezi set the stage for his talk by telling attendees that “more and more clients [have] started coming to us saying that business, as usual, is not working. We spend the same amount of money we did last year, but we are not getting results”.

The answer to the question of why this is the case can be found in a tool that PR  professionals have possessed all along: conversation.

“Generally, [conversation] can make or break brands and, as PR professionals, we have become experts in wielding and understanding how to use it,” he said.

This is important in the context of how PR and advertising approach the same brief. PR starts with the agenda and priority, constructs a message, buys media then tells their story, Vaezi explained.

Advertising professionals, however, start by focusing on what interests the media and consumers, developing relevant content that gives them a role, earning media and then becomes part of the story.

“When these two [PR and advertising] work closely together, you get powerful, integrated marketing,” he said.

Reputation has overtaken image in the public discourse

Reputation is important and, according to Vaezi, statistics show that the vast majority of consumers around the world trust word-of-mouth over other forms of marketing.

“Images and what we want to tell people about ourselves have been overtaken by reputation,” he said.

“Earned [media] is the most influential canvas. And we paint that canvas by what is happening in culture, what the public is speaking about and what they are interested in.”

Conversation is at the centre of earned media and is the most powerful tool in the marketing mix, said Vaezi. In the 2017 Meaningful Brands study, 94% of respondents said if the brands in their lives disappeared, they would not care, which is incredibly worrying.

While this was a powerful indicator in itself, what was more revealing was this number had risen for five consecutive years.

“People aren’t interested in hearing from us [brands] unless we are relevant in their lives,” Vaezi said.

Brands need to embrace a new marketing approach and make their communications “so relevant so it can’t be ignored, or sidestepped”.

Organisations need to plug into culture and opportunities

In order for brands to stay culturally relevant, said Vaezi, they need to be able to react quickly to opportunities presented by what is happening in the public discourse. 

Decision making needs to be streamlined so content can be produced and approved as quickly as possible. Speed and efficiency are important.

“If you want to become relevant, we have to introduce those aspects. It is almost like crisis management,” Vaezi said.

Other observable traits consumers liked in culturally relevant brands were those that:
  • shared in their activism
  • were honest, which consumers respected, and
  • acted and not just spoke.
Vaezi explained that there are five types of brand behaviour that will significantly increase the likelihood of brands being spoken about:
  • Lead – Stand for something
  • Respond – What are you doing to show you are interested in what consumers are doing?
  • Reciprocate – Give something back to the consumer
  • Create – Inspire and bring something into the world, and
  • Convene – Bring people together in a unique way that would not have happened without the brand.

“Cultural relevance means brands can still matter. [They can do this] by transcending categories and products to do things that create more meaningful and interesting roles, and deeper connections with audiences,” Vaezi said.

For more information, visit www.ogilvy.co.za.  

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