By Ayman Jaber, digital strategy professional

For those who have spent their entire careers in the Middle East, the advertising landscape is a repetitive one. The typical ad exec’s lifecycle consists of an array of two-year-long positions, moving from agency to agency, culminating in either switching over to the marketing side or creating a new and evolved consultancy that is set to change the face of advertising in the region.

We have reached a point where new ad agencies are popping up on a daily basis in every available free zone. The market is seemingly becoming more and more saturated, allowing brands the opportunity to thoroughly vet advertising agencies and choose only the best for their specific needs.

How it all started

For someone who has built his career in Dubai, I was following the same path, planning to register yet another brilliant agency that would offer more than any other homegrown creative consultancy could. A year ago, I talked about an issue I’ve faced with small local agencies as a brand owner, which is their inability to bridge the gap between online and offline communications resulting in inconsistent campaigns. My new agency was set to connect the two disciplines in a cohesive manner, leading to truly integrated communication plans.

The business plan was underway, the branding of an integrated practice was almost complete, and the big dreams for the region’s next winning agency were about to be fulfilled. However, it only took one creative brief to realize that every idea, every process, and every practice I’ve followed was a recycled one embedded into my brain from every homegrown agency I’ve ever worked with. It was then that I realized that a new type of consultancy would never exist without a radically new perspective.

The big move

In order to gain a new point of view, I spent the past 12 months as a senior digital strategist at a creative agency in the Greater Chicago Area. The move was a radical one – although it wasn’t the social culture that caused a shock, but rather the agency one. The process of pitching, planning, creating, and executing was completely different from anything I have ever experienced in the Middle East at a small agency. Job descriptions, positions, and responsibilities all differed resulting in more efficient processes and results.

The learning

Research and data

Every campaign begins with data rather than a creative idea. The information collected from the likes of ComScore as well as primary sources influences more than just the channel mix and the media plan but the creative concept itself. While the theory of utilizing Big Data is not unheard of in the region, the practice of it is virtually nonexistent in the smaller homegrown agencies. Some attempt the Don Draper method of questioning two random strangers about their smoking habits before developing an intuitive campaign, while others simply omit the need for primary research altogether.

Only seven thousand miles away, agencies of all sizes invest in preliminary research that consists of one-on-one interviews, focus groups, secret shoppers, and other formats to aggregate data that in turn influences the concept. Even after the creative assets are created, they are presented to focus groups for feedback before they are presented to the clients.

Risk-taking

Even the conceptualization of campaigns is a daring one. Creative strategists take risks on a daily basis to push extremely far-fetched ideas. Some work, some don’t, but, that doesn’t stop anyone from trying over and over again. Inspiration can be found everywhere. Just driving around Downtown Chicago, I was inspired by many daring billboards and outdoor concepts that influenced my own concept creation thought process.

In the Middle East, we lack risk. We only go for what has been tried and tested before, barely ever attempting to pitch an over-the-top concept. It has reached a point where the smaller homegrown agencies have been converted to production lines, churning out the same basic templates.

While it is understandable that many smaller brands can’t afford to invest in research or the big ideas, it is our duty as advertisers to work with them to achieve the same results in more efficient ways. In order to match the clients’ budgets, agencies tend to go with the cost-cutting approach by slashing research processes and conceptualization hours.

In Chicago, I worked with a local college on a rebranding campaign for the new academic year. We required a great deal of research in order to understand every student recruitment step from awareness all the way down to course enrolment. The process was both extensive and costly, both of which the client was unable to afford. Instead of simply omitting the research from the cost estimate, we worked with the marketing department to evaluate all existing research, as well as developed a method to combine different research formats to save time and cost. Focus groups discussing the choice of school and recruitment channels took place during regular class hours and also included brief user-testing for the website. I was also able to participate in a “secret shopper” research where I attended classes for a week as a university student, interacting with our target audience in a non-formal environment, enabling me to gain a deeper understanding of their behavior as well as motivation.

The past year has been a truly eye-opening experience in more ways than one. As a digital strategist, I was exposed to new tools and practices that have redefined my understanding of digital product development, data collection, analytics, as well as how to integrate those into creative concepts. What I’ve learned in Chicago, combined with my understanding of the regional landscape, will hopefully result in more integrated campaigns for my clients.