What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word ‘naked’? It can be anything but not a communications consultation agency.
London-based communications agency scouts for buyouts in India
MUMBAI: What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word ‘naked’? It can be anything but not a communications consultation agency.
Well, not only the name but also the services of the London based agency - Naked Communications — has are unconventional. Naked loves to call itself as communications consultation agency, and not a creative or a media agency.
And possibly because of its unconventional methodology, the agency has picked up silver at Cannes Lions 2007 for its campaign for Golf Punk gear.
The agency was launched in 2000 by Jon Wilkins, John Harlow and Will Collin. Because of its nature of work, Naked Communications easily partners with both with creative and media agencies. Some of the agency’s global clientele includes Coca-ola, MSN, Unilever, Sony Playstation, XBOX, Johnson & Johnson, etc. After exploring UK and Australia, Naked has started planning for bigger footsteps in Asia.
After Japan, the agency is now exploring options in China and India. The agency is looking for a strategic partner in India and Mike Wilson, managing partner, Naked Communications thinks “it will be too ambitious to say that the agency will be here by the end of this year. We are targeting a 2008 launch”.
Wilson explained: “We are not looking at any acquisition in India. Therefore we are looking at a strategic partnership. We are not a traditional creative or media agency and we do not have any production unit. We give strategic and creative recommendations to our clients.”
The business model of the agency is based on consultation fees. Globally Naked has already partnered with Clemmow Hornby Inge and WCRS. It also has a strategic partnership with Lunch Communications. The agency is also planning to launch Naked Numbers, a data, evaluation and modelling business, as a part of a joint venture with London-based consultancy Fuel Data Strategies.
While explaining Naked Communications approach to brand building, Wilson drew the analogy between architecture and the ad and media industry. He said that saying that a few decades ago, both the industries were inundated with antique tools, techniques and viewpoints, and now, there are better ways of ‘building’ brands and landscapes. Talking about the emerging trends and shifts in the advertising business Wilson said, “There has been a move from the model of interruption to a model of engagement, and from controlling consumers to empowering them. Also the model of aggregation has made way for that of integration. For example, Adidas getting its customers to design their own gear is a fine case in point.”
While talking in an event organised by Ad Club of Bombay, Wilson highlighted the six principles which he has “borrowed” from Bartle Bogart Hegarty (BBH) and they are participate, diffuse, coherence, integration, immersive and enabling. Wilson also spoke about six fundamental truths about the advertising businesses which are relevant for the contemporary world.
Firstly, he said: “Everything communicates.” Be it the letterhead on company stationery or how the sales and distribution staff treats customers. According to him, the pseudo psychological research is ongoing related to the importance of verbal versus non-verbal communication strategy used in advertising. He said that 90% of the communications has nothing to do with words and 10% is “what you say”.
And the second argument that he picks up is whether the world of communications is bigger than the world of advertising? Therefore he said that time has come when it is imperative for agencies to diversify its services. He said that advertising is no longer just about 30-sec television spots and ‘I am not trying to reduce the role of advertising. Advertising should no longer be the starting point but be a component of the communication strategy”.
“Treat customers as partners” was Wilson’s third truth. He emphasised that today’s consumers have many more options and they can create and propagate for themselves. There role has changed and they are no longer just passive receivers. “So it is highly outdated to think them as target groups. Rather agencies should make them partners and engaged them for co-creation.”
“Brand owners of the 21st century have inherited a marketing communication pattern, which is best suited for 1960s”, started Wilson while explaining his fourth truth. So there is a way to communicate and different media vehicles require different communication strategy even if it is for the same brand.
Wilson’s fifth truth spoke about how agencies should think about solving the problem before they think about designing the communication. He said “most of the agencies do not spend enough time in identifying the problem and so you can solve it only when you see the full picture.” Marketers need to have an open mind in order to create a disruption in this ever increasing cluttered media environment.
His final truth is “independence is virtue”. By this he meant that agencies need to give objective advice to clients on what route is best suited to their communication needs and therefore the traditional agency model is redundant. And so every agency needs to have ancillary services.
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