When it comes to what clients really want in agencies, the 2023/2024 Agency Scope South Africa study shows a strong uptick from the 2021/2022 study in effectiveness and return on investment; the agency’s team; and strategic planning in advertising and communications as well as creativity.

This is supported by Scopen global trends, which show strategic planning and creativity being the disciplines most valued by marketers.

“There is evidence of a strong trend of strategic creativity being the magic ingredient,” says Johanna McDowell, CEO of Independent Agency Selection (IAS) and managing partner of Scopen Africa. “Clients are looking for creativity that exceeds merely coming up with ideas to include innovative strategising. The quality of strategic thinking is not limited to creative campaigns and includes the marketing approach a client may be taking, providing an external perspective on what a marketer may or may not be doing.”

César Vacchiano, president at Scopen, says that what has become noticeable in the past few months — and has been borne out by Agency Scope data — is that clients are actually recognising the importance of creativity once again.

“The focus has shifted from a clicks obsession to the realisation that it is creativity and the way the content shows up across the growing number of media channels that allow it to stand out from the clutter. Marketers are keen to see how agencies think through things,” he says.

McDowell agrees, adding: “Clients want to hear — and we encourage them to listen to — agencies’ thoughts on possible strategic direction that marketers should be taking. This is particularly vital when it comes to digital, with marketers rediscovering how important creativity in conjunction with robust strategic thinking is.

“All agencies can produce content and ads. However, it’s the quality of thought that goes into the preparation of an advertising campaign, a retail story or lead generation activity [that matters]. It’s the strategy behind it, along with the creativity that results from that thinking, that clients are looking for.”

One of the key takeaways from this year’s Cannes Advertising Festival was the value of creativity and its importance over performance in brand building.

“It’s all very well having all these channels and the ability to produce analytics and data ourselves into a coma, but if the content is shoddy, it could seal the fate of the brand,” says McDowell. “Agencies need to consider finding ways to combine platforms to drive potential clients through the ‘sight-to sign up’ process. This is not just for the sake of innovation, but to illustrate that the agency has thought about sustainability, reliability and ensuring the brand stands out.

“Today’s agency needs to understand the power and potential of everything from TikTok to outdoor digital and should be able to drive a client’s journey across all platforms with the agility to adapt to the ‘next shiny thing’, with continuity and durability.”

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