The origins of the new strategy for M&C Saatchi can be found in the long background of the new CEO, Zaid Al-Qassab, as a senior marketer.
The former CMO of UK's Channel 4 replaced Moray MacLennan, a co-founder who was with the company for four decades.
Now an outsider, a client side representative, is running the advertising group.
Al-Qassab’s first day in the office was in May this year. He told staff: “I believe in getting s*** done.”
He took the reins with the company facing negative growth.
Last week Al-Qassab presented a leaner M&C Saatchi with improved profitability and a lift in like-for-like revenue for the half year to June.
Revenue grew 4% to £211.5 million, driven by growth in non-advertising specialisms, largely issues and media. Advertising was up 6%.
To do that the company has been jettisoning non performing businesses across the world and taking a sharp knife to costs
In a briefing to market analysts, Al-Qassab outlined how the new M&C will work: to be incisive, integrated and innovative.
“I have had a long history as a client, more than three decades,” he said.
“I can say with confidence that clients today face quite a dilemma between, on the one hand, partnering with the giant holdcos, whose bureaucracy and creative ability can leave them feeling a little bit underwhelmed .. and on the other hand, niche players who can be creatively very exciting, but they offer very narrow capabilities, and they often represent a significant risk.”
He said M&C Saatchi’s is in the business of creating advantage for clients in a world where marketing services have become incredibly complex.
“Our approach is founded on three core beliefs,” he said. “Firstly, simple solutions get noticed more. Secondly, connected solutions provide better engagement with your time … and thirdly, something we call future fearlessness, which means constant innovation is required in this market.”
M&C Saatchi, he said, was just right, neither too big nor too small, sitting in what he called the Goldilocks zone.
“We have the creative flare and agility that clients desire, but that's coupled with a trusted brand and a global experience, so it makes us a reliable partner with whom to deliver breakthrough work, and that is a great place to play,” he said.
“The transformation journey we've been on is in service of that objective. For clients, they come to us for creative solutions, and we've been reorganising so that we can deliver those in the most effective way. So we've shifted our focus to go to market, to an agile, regional first model.
“It's powered by the specialist expertise I'll come on to explain the specialisms, and it builds on the strong client relationships that we have in the market, so that enables cross sell and upsell opportunities.
“We're particularly strong in local and regional hero brands and challenger brands. That's enabled by a middle office, which is shared capabilities to ensure cost effective but very high quality solutions across the group, and that in turn, is supported with a back office of group wide shared services. And the Shared Services hub for IT, HR and finance, is already operational in South Africa.”
Some of Al-Qassab's briefing slides
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