by Herman Manson (@marklives)

How did this account win come about?
Luca Gallarelli: At the beginning of 2015, we were awarded the EEMEA (Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) account for Clorets, giving us the opportunity to develop a new strategy for the brand and execute creative for countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Russia and Nigeria, amongst others.

The Global Brand Equity Team for the Mondelēz Gum portfolio felt that the strategy and creative developed for EEMEA had great potential as a global launch campaign for Clorets, just as its status was being elevated to that of Global Power Brand.

As a result, we were asked to pitch for the Clorets Global Business to act as the global creative hub agency. The brief required us to identify how we, as an agency based in Cape Town, could/would service a global account, as well as how the existing strategy we developed for EEMEA could be leveraged and adapted in their other well-established markets.

How will this win impact on the agency?
LG: Incredibly positively.

For a long time, agencies in South Africa have been on the receiving end of the trend towards the development of global communications assets. The fact that we’ve managed to swim upstream and now have a seat at the global table extends our sphere of influence — not only globally but locally, too.

We hope that the muscles we flex on this account we’ll be able to exercise on others, and that is tremendously exciting as it augments our own ambitions as an agency.

Are you working with partners in the US?
LG: We are working with O&M agency teams in each of the key markets. Specifically speaking, this would include our New York office, as well as Japan and Mexico. These are the three key markets in the three remaining regions for Clorets, excluding EEMEA. The intention of this structure is to have a local Ogilvy resource to culturally sense check, strategise and ideate with.

We will also be working alongside the locally appointed agency partners within those markets, who will be responsible for executing against the strategy and platforms we develop from a below-the-line perspective.

Are you actively looking for more international work?
LG: As an agency, we’ve had some significant experience developing work for countries outside of our borders, but to be appointed as a global lead agency is something new for us. I believe it opens up significant opportunities to expand our scope of influence with other clients and brands currently resident in our portfolio.

So, first and foremost, our mission is to do the work, and do it excellently. Should we do as good a job as we demand of ourselves, the other opportunities will come.

Herman Manson (@marklives) is the founder and editor of MarkLives.com. He was the inaugural Vodacom Social Media Journalist of the Year in 2011 and has, over his 20-year-plus career, contributed to numerous journals and websites in South Africa and abroad, including AdVantage magazine, Men’s Health, Computer World and African Communications.

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