EXCLUSIVE: "The eighties are back", Swisse CEO Radek Sali quipped when asked about his company's big-spending mainstream advertising program of the past three years.
Indeed. Blackmore's appointment last week of comms agency Naked threw up a striking clash of marketing ideology between the vitamin and health titans - and the rest of the $12 billion ad market, for that matter.
Blackmores, the iconic Aussie brand has been hit hard by the mainstream media advertising blitz Swisse has deployed over the past three years - the newcomer has made significant leaps in sales and market share.
Noisy Beast's co-founder and former Nine Melbourne CEO Paul Waldren, told AdNews Swisse is "the greatest case study to prove that advertising works that I've ever seen.” Noisy Beast is a full service agency formed at the behest of Swisse's maverick CEO, covering creative, media planning and buying, digital and content.
Blackmores, meanwhile uses MEC for media and Working Girl for creative and now has Naked for communications strategy - the latter is well known for its antipathy towards mainstream media.
The contrast is striking, not least because Swisse, the new emperor, wears old advertising clothes.
Naked said it was too soon to comment on the strategy for its new client. Blackmores was unable to provide a spokesperson. But Noisy Beast's Waldren said that Swisse's success was down to its old-style investment in media. “Well surprise, surprise, TV works,” he said
Wayward obsession with "cheap"
“Everyone else is running around,” according to Waldren. Research, strategy, efficiency and ROI have their place but he said there has been a “myopic focus” on the minutia. Keen to point out he is talking about the broader industry rather than competitors, he said it has become "a race to the bottom".
"All these things are reasonable but when it comes at the expense of advertising and creative, there has to be a pause. Ads have to get results. That sometimes gets lost."
Cost per thousand isn't something the company dwells on, said Waldren. “We look at what we get in terms of sales and brand. It is not about who can buy the cheapest spot, it's about outcomes.”
Floors of analysts
That sounds obvious. “Yes. But people get obsessed," Waldren said. "There are floors of analysts within agencies but it is all based on hypothesis and numbers.” Numbers can be made to show anything, he suggested. “Swisse measures success very differently. It is not about the equation, it is about impact.”
CEO viewpoint: forgetting fundamentals
Swisse CEO Sali concurs. “The eighties are back!” he joked, when questioned about the old-school, big bucks, high-profile strategy. But in earnest, he agreed that “gangs of analysts” have pitched up and “tried to turn art into science”.
The problem, he suggested, is that “science can become quite limited if it doesn’t evolve.” The fundamental connection between sales and marketing “is essential”, he added.
Digital push
All that said, Swisse will “probably see quite a significant push into digital fields” this year, according to Waldren. However, that is “not a change of strategy, but in support of a proven model”.
The push will be content driven. “We have invested over a long period, building an impressive digital offering that is content driven. We have to become a leader in that area,” said Sali, nodding to Red Bull's success.
“We continue to challenge ourselves and evolve,” Sali added. But “ensuring it sells product” would remain a key principle.
So now we wait. Can Blackmores strike back? The next year should prove interesting.
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