Nitro Group started in 2002, but I first heard about them in 2007 when Founder and CEO, Chris Clarke, spoke to the ARF about The Agency of the Future. Afterward I was in search of whatever I could learn about this group of marketing innovators and a theme began to emerge for me.
Although we’ve never stood in the same room together, I like Chris. His vision for what advertising can (and should) offer its clients is simple, but innovative, although he’s the first to point out that his is a craft long ago perfected by the likes of David Ogilvy and Leo Burnett. So is Nitro, a throwback or a curve jumping visionary?
Nitro’s willingness to step outside the communications discipline for solutions is revolutionary. Giving clients what they want is just good business.
They believe senior people should always have direct contact with clients. They believe in variable compensation according to results, a topic that’s been hotly debated lately, and their model appears to be working for a broad range of clients such as Unilever , Kraft, Coca-Cola, Nike , Volvo, American Express, L’Oréal and Diesel.
1. What was the aha moment when you realized “our company needs to be doing things differently than we have been”?
It feels like a lifetime ago but I built and sold an agency network in the Asia Pacific that was focused on traditional advertising. I was out of the industry for 2 years and I looked back at the industry as an outsider and realized how slowly the industry was changing and adapting to the needs of their clients. When we set up Nitro it was on the basis that we were truly partners with our clients – we offer innovation, communication (being advertising and digital) and branded entertainment. We offer solutions to their business problems rather than just creative communications. Our clients, particularly Mars in the early days, were craving this kind of service and have never looked back.
2. What books are on your nightstand or great blogs on your Google reader?
Years ago it was Sun Tzu, The Art of War as I was learning business skills. Then I ordered a copy of The Alchemist for everyone of my staff because I believe in the power of positive thought. Now it is Ekart Tolle, The Power of Now. Just a beautiful and powerful book to live one’s life. But to be honest I spend most of my time reading Mr Men and My Little Pony to the kids.
3. Give me an example of marketing you think is brilliant and why.
One of our offices in Australia came up with a fantastic campaign idea for our client Tourism Queensland. Our client had a very limited media budget and they needed to reach a global audience to attract tourists from all countries to the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The idea was to promote through cheap classified advertising the Best Job in the World which was the caretaker job on the island. We seeded it through all international media and it got a amazing response because the idea was so powerful. We received global coverage, 34,000 1 minute video applications for the job, over 6,000 news stories and created over US$80Mill in media value for our client. It is these type of ideas that make me most proud when we produce a result like that for our client.
You can check it out at www.islandreefjob.com
4. We’ve all read that the pitch / RFP process is broken. Many agencies aren’t even interested in competing in pitches. Do you see an alternative to this process?
Yes I can. The traditional pitch process is focused on responding to a communication brief that has already defined the issue and the usually also the media solution. We operate a step before this stage. When talking to new clients we ask them for their biggest business issue, which usually is not a communication issue. We then focus on working collaboratively with them to solve the issue in a week. This is very different to the traditional pitch process.
5. What does the agency of the future look like?
The agency of the future is built around creating and maintaining interest groups and communities that clients will be able to gain access to. As media continues to fragment, agencies will have to diversify, they will have to be the primarily creative and strategic consultants but also be able to bring expertise in executing in all forums including digital communities.
6. What do marketers need that agencies are not giving them?
A true partnership model, not just someone to give them creative solutions to their communication issues. Marketers are faced with so many issues on a daily basis and most of the time they are not communication issues. Applying creative thought and creative processes to business issues opens up a whole new area that will allow the agency to operate as a real partner with marketers.
7. Who do you admire and why?
Ray Chambers. He was one of the most successful hedge fund owners in the world who one day decided that he and all of his team has prospered beyond anyone could have ever imagined. He switched off the lights in the world’s most successful investment bank and decided to apply his skills to charity. I have had the pleasure on working on creative challenges facing some of his charities including Millennium Promise and Malaria No more. He is very inspiring.
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