CEO of global advertising firm to speak about brand loyalty
By Rachel Gruber
The T-Mobile "Fave 5" campaign. Yoplait's "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" commercial. The Wendy's "Where's the beef?" campaign.
These ads were all launched by the advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi. Its global CEO, Kevin Roberts, will speak at 11 a.m. today in Newhouse 3's Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium. His talk will be about communications, brands, advertising and relationships.
Edward Russell, assistant advertising professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and former Saatchi and Saatchi employee, said the company transformed the advertising business.
"It grew from zero to No. 1 in the industry in just 14 years through acquisitions," he said. "In some ways, they made advertising more of a commodity than it had been before."
The list of Saatchi and Saatchi clients is extensive.
"Any Toyota advertising you have ever seen was Saatchi," Russell said. "They've had the Toyota account since the start of the company." Saatchi also works with Johnson & Johnson and the Campbell Soup Company.
Roberts worked for Procter and Gamble and Pepsi before joining Saatchi and Saatchi. Brian Sheehan, associate professor of advertising, has known Roberts for 13 years. They first met working for Saatchi and Saatchi in Australia.
"He quickly became my boss," Sheehan joked.
Sheehan joined the Newhouse school staff this semester, after working for Saatchi and Saatchi for 25 years in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and Los Angeles.
"I've been reporting to Roberts for years, and even though I'm here, I still report to him on the Toyota account," he said.
When Roberts joined Saatchi and Saatchi in 1997, it was called an advertising agency. But Roberts redefined it as an idea agency, Sheehan said.
"The creativity was highly uneven, especially in New York City, which has clients like Procter & Gamble and General Mills," he explained. "Kevin got big agencies to start caring about creativity … He got companies to see that creativity creates an emotional connection, which ultimately helps you sell more product."Roberts is most known in the advertising world for his philosophy of replacing brand loyalty with Lovemarks.
"The core of Lovemarks is all about how brands can emotionally connect on a much higher level and go from being brands to
Lovemarks - from being respected to loved," Sheehan said.
Sheehan said Apple is a good example of a Lovemark.
"If people have a high enough degree of emotional connection with your brand, they can't imagine a world without it," he said. "They can't emotionally substitute your brand for any other."
Consumers who feel a connection with the product will tell other people about it, which is invaluable advertising, said Russell, the advertising professor.
Saatchi also faced financial difficulty before Roberts became CEO, Sheehan said.
"The company teetered on the edge of bankruptcy time and again. So Kevin brought a substantial amount of discipline - both strategic and financial."
Now, the company is a "hot house" for world-changing ideas, Sheehan said.
"You always felt like anything could be overcome, if it led to a great idea. There's a passion at Saatchi. Even if it's impossible, you find a way to do it. Part of that is that Kevin is just such a passionate man, and it rubs off."
These ads were all launched by the advertising firm Saatchi and Saatchi. Its global CEO, Kevin Roberts, will speak at 11 a.m. today in Newhouse 3's Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium. His talk will be about communications, brands, advertising and relationships.
Edward Russell, assistant advertising professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and former Saatchi and Saatchi employee, said the company transformed the advertising business.
"It grew from zero to No. 1 in the industry in just 14 years through acquisitions," he said. "In some ways, they made advertising more of a commodity than it had been before."
The list of Saatchi and Saatchi clients is extensive.
"Any Toyota advertising you have ever seen was Saatchi," Russell said. "They've had the Toyota account since the start of the company." Saatchi also works with Johnson & Johnson and the Campbell Soup Company.
Roberts worked for Procter and Gamble and Pepsi before joining Saatchi and Saatchi. Brian Sheehan, associate professor of advertising, has known Roberts for 13 years. They first met working for Saatchi and Saatchi in Australia.
"He quickly became my boss," Sheehan joked.
Sheehan joined the Newhouse school staff this semester, after working for Saatchi and Saatchi for 25 years in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and Los Angeles.
"I've been reporting to Roberts for years, and even though I'm here, I still report to him on the Toyota account," he said.
When Roberts joined Saatchi and Saatchi in 1997, it was called an advertising agency. But Roberts redefined it as an idea agency, Sheehan said.
"The creativity was highly uneven, especially in New York City, which has clients like Procter & Gamble and General Mills," he explained. "Kevin got big agencies to start caring about creativity … He got companies to see that creativity creates an emotional connection, which ultimately helps you sell more product."
"The core of Lovemarks is all about how brands can emotionally connect on a much higher level and go from being brands to
Lovemarks - from being respected to loved," Sheehan said.
Sheehan said Apple is a good example of a Lovemark.
"If people have a high enough degree of emotional connection with your brand, they can't imagine a world without it," he said. "They can't emotionally substitute your brand for any other."
Consumers who feel a connection with the product will tell other people about it, which is invaluable advertising, said Russell, the advertising professor.
Saatchi also faced financial difficulty before Roberts became CEO, Sheehan said.
"The company teetered on the edge of bankruptcy time and again. So Kevin brought a substantial amount of discipline - both strategic and financial."
Now, the company is a "hot house" for world-changing ideas, Sheehan said.
"You always felt like anything could be overcome, if it led to a great idea. There's a passion at Saatchi. Even if it's impossible, you find a way to do it. Part of that is that Kevin is just such a passionate man, and it rubs off."
No comments:
Post a Comment