Page 30 - AdNews Magazine Nov-Dec 2020
P. 30

                 Investigation
 “In 2021 we need to understand that creativity is not about technology alone – it’s the combination of art, science and commerce ...”
CEO, Ogilvy AUNZ David Fox
Sydney to Melbourne for the Robbie Williams concert on the Saturday. That was now off.
Watts went back to his in-laws’ house, packed and returned to Sydney on the last flight out of Melbourne.
“It was just such a weird feeling,” he says. “During that weekend, we mapped out every scenario we possibly could in the business with my brother and the old man who are partners in the business with me.
“And by Tuesday we had a complete plan of what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. A full plan that we've continued to monitor every hour since. We engaged our staff and clients on that journey and they have all bought into it.”
The first few days of COVID-19 were terrifying.
“You build a business over 10 years and grow fast and you've put your heart and soul into it,” he says. “In the early days, where there was so much unknown, we didn’t know how it was going to play out.”
Watts spoke to Harold Mitchell, the father of media planning and something of a mentor to him, in that first week.
He asked: “You ran your business through some big shifts and major recessions — tell me your experience, what can I learn?”
Mitchell replied: “Listen, son, the three moments my business got fundamentally better were the ’87 stock crash, the tech bubble burst combined with the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the GFC.”
He moved faster than the large incumbent competitors (many of who are the same players facing Bastion), engaged with staff and went out hiring, not firing, to come out the other side with a bigger market share.
“And so talking to him, it was like a blueprint,” says Watts. “We're going to come out of this stronger than we went into it by moving fast, making quick decisions, engaging our staff and our clients in that journey and using size and/or scale to our advantage.”
Moving fast is what worked.
“Our staff and clients came on the journey with us,” says Watts. “Our focus was on communication, internally and externally. We talked about four things with our clients: create, grow, protect and measure their businesses.
“And we went into full-scale protect mode for our clients. We were so incredibly proud of our people. Walking around the office in those weeks in March, and they were on the phone to clients, understanding what was happening to them and working out how we could help protect their business and protect their sales.
“How do we help them grow? How do we shift campaigns from one
   
















































































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