The merging of giants

Rodney Louis Vincent, Contributor, Jakarta

Draft and Lowe are two companies at large, which over the years, have expanded into markets such as North and South America, Europe, the U.K. and Asia Pacific.

The announcement of their global alliance in March 2003 has brought their Above-The-Line (ATL) and Through-The-Line (TTL) communications programs together under one roof.

Draft's present global reach started in Chicago in 1978, when a young account executive named Howard Draft and twelve other advertising professionals got together to form an independent agency.

By 1996 they had caught the eye of one of the world's largest marketing services holding companies, the Interpublic Group (IPG), which purchased Draft. With 30 offices in 24 countries Draft is one of the largest direct promotions agencies in the U.S., while globally they are currently one of the top integrated marketing services companies, cooperating with the world's leading marketers.

To find out more about the advantages of this global alliance, ADOI talked to Eleanor Modesto from Lowe, Fary Farghob, Catherine Gale and Matt Vacarella from Draft:

"It's essential that ATL (media advertising) and TTL (non- media advertising) work together, said Eleanor, "because at the end of the day the brand should have one message. Therefore, our brand building company should also be connected with the TTL company. That's why Draft and Lowe are partners. We will keep the two companies separate, continue to operate separately, but we will work as partners. Especially in Asia Pacific because we're just starting the partnership of Lowe and Draft. So we've been exposed to their tools and they were exposed to our tools. At the end of the day, it comes down to how we work together as partners. We recently held a training workshop for all our young professionals in Ho Chi Minh. When the participants made a campaign, it was both TTL and ATL. It's really re-branding what we already have and building on that. I think that's how life is going to be: integrated."

According to Matt, "It gets important to integrate. It's not just advertising anymore. Draft can create a truly integrated campaign within Draft itself. If we need to leverage the expertise on ATL agency (Lowe) because there's a big need for ATL advertising, we can do that. Within Draft itself, the advantage we have is to penetrate within two expertise in multiple channels and multiple touch points with the consumers. It's really different from a lot of the agencies. Here you have event agencies, which do a really great event, but can't touch the consumer in any other way. Or they can do good direct marketing but they can't integrate it with advertising or online."

Although new to Indonesian soil, Draft is well known in the U.S. with clients such as Singapore Airlines, Hewlett Packard, and TNT Logistics. Draft's focus is on changing consumer behavior. "I think the common misconception is that Draft is direct marketing, and direct marketing is stamps on all the lids'. We've moved way beyond that. Direct marketing is about identifying who your customers are, understanding their relationship with the brand, understanding their needs and motivations, and developing strategies against that understanding," clarified Catherine. She went on to say that "CRM" (Consumer Relationship Management) is a natural progression for clients and it's a natural progression for them because these companies have data and customers. If you don't know who your high value customers are, you may be missing opportunities. They could be defecting and going to other companies, or there could even be opportunities to improve your profits."

The importance of creating awareness and reaching the target market cannot be felt more than by advertisers. Matt, newly arrived from Draft Singapore, helps us identify the problem and explains, "It's no longer good enough just to say, 'Here is my brand. Come and buy it. Buy my service. Buy my product.'

Marketers need to look at, how to keep the customers they have and how to attract the right customer, and that's what CRM is about. It's finding the right customer, giving the right message to the right customer, it's anticipating what that person wants, keeping valuable customers and getting rid of those who won't make you any money. What I saw in Singapore and throughout the region (and what you will see here) is truly integrated campaigns that touch, use all the channels that are needed, and touch the consumer where it's relevant and meaningful. We might mention 'Consumer! Consumer! Consumer!' but we don't forget about the trader's side of CRM application."

Fary articulates the significance of marketers grasping the opportunities as the market becomes exceedingly sophisticated. He said that "Currently, in Indonesia, there are 2.1 million outlets. We believe that the majority of the companies here need CRM to maintain the loyalty of their trade. The Indonesian consumers have more entertainment options and it has become more difficult for the marketers to rely on ATL communication only. It will be more effective if the brand has a specific target group with direct marketing and CRM.

Being a direct marketing, CRM, behavior marketing specialist, we also offer additional tools to help advertisers reach their consumers through rural communication, events marketing, sponsor programs, retail communications and interactive marketing. We have the sciences to offer service to industries like automotive, banking, insurance, logistics, transportation, and many more. "

The writer is the editor of ADOI Magazine, an English publication about advertising and marketing.