Winston Churchill, the leader of Britain during WWII, once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”
Jens Monsees, the CEO of WPP AUNZ, used the quote when presenting to his first local AGM, a virtual event due to social distancing rules.
He is using the disruption from measures to combat COVID-19 to accelerate his change program at WPP AUNZ. He first outlined his three-year strategy in February, five months into the role as chief executive and before the pandemic took hold.
Part of that plan is to align with the way Google, where Monsees once worked, operates with remote teams.
“We are leveraging the current crisis to expedite restructuring and make our company future proof,” he told shareholders this week.
“The areas of our strategy that we have accelerated include our operating model, talent, solutions and geographies.
“And we are now working in a virtual campus, which is a hybrid of physical and virtual presence.”
He sees challenges from the coronavirus crisis but also opportunities.
“Obviously we have some headwind in some sectors in industry but I see a lot of opportunities to go even faster because now I don't have to explain that, for example, working remotely as possible,” he told AdNews.
Wth these new learned behaviours and capabilities, things are going faster.”
When Monsees took the job in Australia, from BMW in Germany, he arrived with two roles -- chief executive and chief transformation officer.
Now he finds himself with a third role, a crisis manager.
“That comes with additional challenges but also a lot of opportunities,” he told AdNews.
“For example, Sydney, from my point of view, does not have the best transportation network in the world. So it takes me one hour from the Northern beaches into the office and another back. Two hours a day.
“These two hours I can now use. And I am home with the family. I have three little kids.”
Monsees points to the adaptability of children, including his own who moved to Australia from Europe. His youngest of three children, a seven-year-old, now sounds like an Australian.
“It's all about agility and flexibility and an open mind for whatever comes our way,” he says.
“And it's good that we have children reminding us of those capabilities that humans have.”
Business meetings, briefs and pitches have switched to virtual. This doesn’t deliver that traditional physical interaction to building relationships. And those with the long-term contacts may not have the great edge they once had.
“We are very social human beings and therefore that part is now a bit reduced,” he says.
“On the other side. data numbers, consumer insights, creative ideas are coming forward now and they are not so much overlayed just with all the existing relations.
“So I see that the new pitches are becoming much more insights and data, based on the ideas, and less on ‘I know that bloke for the last 15 years’.
“The other thing is the pitches in general are taking a bit longer.”
Someone always has a connectivity issue or a password failure or a wifi dropout. “The internet connection sure needs to be improved in Australia,” says Monsees.
“But we, humans, are very adaptive. So after a while, the calls are getting even more structured.”
Brands
He is seeing a change with brands, becoming less transactional and more purpose driven.
They ask: Do we have a purpose as a brand? Do we have a position? Do we have a deeper sense of being in society?
And: Do we have something important to offer to society and not just be a transactional brand.
And with social distancing, he sees stronger local communities.
“You are basically in your village and in your virtual village as well,” he says.
“I think it's very interesting times and we just have to see the patterns and read them rightly, and then enable our clients and partners to have the right virtual interactions.”
Progress of strategy at WPP AUNZ:
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