Character-Driven Stories Will Survive the Marketing Apocalypse

Do not waste your mistakes. When you make a mistake, it’s easy to fall into a vortex of shame and guilt for having done something wrong, but instead, take a critical stance and let your mistake become a step towards deeper learning – these were the words of actor, entrepreneur, and recently a marketing wizard Ryan Reynolds, directed at the audience at the prestigious Cannes Lions festival, sharing his marketing experience that began when he decided to sell the idea of the comedic superhero Deadpool to Hollywood producers (and it lasted a full ten years!).

With a minimal budget (Reynolds claims they received almost nothing), the actor and his business partner had to work miracles: promote the film, make it interesting to the audience, and instead of relying on effects, build the story on character. Reynolds and his team deeply believed in the success of the story, took the initiative, and truly created a blockbuster that entered the annals of Hollywood production. With that, as he says, sweet profit, Reynolds bought a stake in Aviators Gin and then devised a campaign for that alcoholic brand.

He founded the digital marketing agency Maximum Effort (which he sold to MNTM last year) and now sits as the chief creative officer with a portfolio of clients that includes brands like Mint Mobile and Peloton. Although Beautiful Croatia is far from Hollywood, the story of his success and market approach symbolically aligns with the position of local marketing professionals in these modern times. As the marketing paradigm has changed – consumers are demanding more, better, stronger, more diverse, sustainable, and transparent – local creatives need to be a bit Reynolds (but also superhero Deadpool), take the initiative, believe in the idea, and with a smaller budget and more courage, step outside conventional boundaries and offer customers a story with character.

Eliminating Intermediaries

It would be desirable to innovate and one’s own work processes, seeking new sources of knowledge and inspiration, involving new faces and professions in creative creation. And that, again, like Reynolds who presented his latest project at Cannes – Creative Ladder – a non-profit organization in collaboration with Deloitte that provides talents from various (and underrepresented) groups in society the opportunity to showcase what they know and can do. When it comes to the domestic market, Igor Crnčić, managing partner at the agency Produkt, part of Val Group, described the current market situation as a bit more apocalyptic. And literally.

As he stated, the dinosaurs are creative, branding, and service agencies, digital agencies, media planning and buying agencies, public relations agencies, event organizing agencies, market research agencies that are trying to adapt to the new environment shaped by the pandemic, natural disasters, war, the trend of The Great Resignation, the emergence of new, young, cool players in the market, hitting wherever and whoever they can. At the same time, they face challenges such as the search for new staff and talents willing to learn, representing a generation of content creators who have taught agencies a lesson about virality, content, and influencer marketing.

– Global brands are also developing their own in-house creative agencies under the slogan ‘Let’s eliminate the middleman!’ and thus create a larger volume of content, while aware generations of consumers do not want to communicate/purchase/collaborate with companies that negatively impact the environment. Although it sounds like we are currently in a post-apocalyptic jungle created by some American filmmaker, this confirms that Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest, the bravest, the most resourceful, and those who adapt fastest to the new situation – Crnčić noted, adding that this drives agencies to change their business paradigm, improve services, but also the portfolio of different employee profiles.

Knowledge is the Only Currency

On the other hand, by applying this approach, clients are trying to consolidate their marketing budgets, turning agencies into partners and ensuring better efficiency/consistency of the messages they want to convey. When these trends trickle down to the level of everyday business, Crnčić notes that (especially since the pandemic) there are more project activities, production of long-form content, and personalized products.

– In short, everything has accelerated significantly, deadlines are becoming shorter, and projects more challenging. This is best noticed this year: while before you could strategically arrange activities according to seasonal peaks and almost surgically plan resources and timings, today that is almost impossible – Crnčić noted.

For the agency Produkt, specifically, the pandemic showed that the only currency you can count on is knowledge – and therefore it invested in employee knowledge and in the last year developed an interdisciplinary team of individuals who initially had no contact with the agency world, but whose skills and knowledge complement each other.

– Thus, we have actually empowered the team with people who can synergistically complement their specific knowledge on project tasks. This has provided clients with stronger agency support – Crnčić said.

Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

The agency Sonda has gone a step further and recently established the Sonda Creative Center in Vižinada, which fits into its vision of the future of the marketing market.

– The goal of our Creative Center is to create globally relevant brands, products, projects, and programs that have real market success and that primarily connect and create a better society, together with colleagues, the local community, and clients in an inspiring authentic environment in central Istria. This way of operating will also offer our clients something new: the opportunity to reach their audience differently while being socially responsible. This is evidenced by the first implemented program ‘Designed by People’ in which we designed a commercial product: skis for Elan! – explained Sean Poropat, a member of the Management Board of Studio Sonda, the agency behind the recent Kraše campaign for ‘Domaćica’ which polarized the domestic public.

As Poropat stated, modern brands are now expected to fulfill a higher purpose than mere sales, and local brands have slowly begun to realize this.

– However, slowly, it could be faster. Exceptions aside – Poropat said, adding that specifically ‘Domaćica’ showed that it pays off to stir up public opinion and step out of the comfort zone, as recent research showed a ratio of three to one in favor of those who like the campaign and are grateful for it. Stepping out of the comfort zone is not easy, but it is necessary.

Understanding the Broader Context

To encourage clients to change and create in accordance with the new marketing paradigm, Sonda has, in addition to the Creative Center, restructured its own business.

– A long time ago, it was important for us to hire only creatives, and now it has become clear that without serious business models, efficiency, and people who understand and successfully implement them, e.g., finance, account department, as well as digital systems that support them, there is no real progress. All of this needs to be well organized so that we creatives can execute our craziness – Poropat noted.

That knowledge is currently the greatest strength of local agencies was confirmed by senior advisor and team leader at Val Group Anamarija Zorman, stating that solutions are sought that imply understanding the broader context of changes occurring in the environment, and the agency has a role in guiding clients to recognize, accept, and adapt their business to these changes. Since knowledge is the greatest power, Media Val invests in upgrading competencies at all levels so that, as an agile organization, they can offer appropriate solutions.

– We see these turbulent times marked by economic, social, and ecological challenges as an opportunity to lay the foundations for building a long-term sustainable society where the community is prioritized over profit. This viewpoint is shared by seventy percent of Croatian citizens who also demand that companies place the well-being of the community above their own profit, while at the same time expecting their brands to positively impact the local economy, which is why more than half prefer to buy products from socially responsible companies and brands that pay special attention to limiting their environmental impact. These findings are the result of the ‘Nulti kvadrant’ research conducted by Media Val last year, for the second consecutive year, in collaboration with Ipsos, which brings the latest insights and trends crucial for better understanding the behavior of Croatian citizens and what they expect from decision-makers – Zorman said, adding that, unfortunately, local companies do not sufficiently exploit opportunities in creating sustainable business and society, so, for example, there have been no concrete reactions to the development of the local economy and environmental preservation, although citizens are willing to support them through purchases.

Agencies as Mediators

To raise the level of social and personal value and encourage decision-makers to introduce new business models, Media Val, in collaboration with the International Institute for Climate Activities (IICA) and the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP), as part of the ‘Future Effect Business’ initiative and under the auspices of the European Commission, organized this year the first comprehensive conference on the criteria of ESG (environmental, social, governmental) with which companies should align their operations. Established patterns of behavior must change, Zorman concluded, and communication companies, with their knowledge, should be a support in this process as key mediators. Although the current market situation, as Crnčić noted, resembles a post-apocalyptic jungle, every evil has its good, as greater investment in knowledge and mistakes from which one learns during business in these challenging times will result in a new era of marketing – more responsible, braver, and more creative.