Since Cheil announced its investment in Iris in late November, the ad industry has been overflowing with people putting forward their interpretations of the deal. Some pundits have given it an east-meets-west spin, with South Korea’s largest and most globalised ad agency making a major overseas investment in an agency in the UK. They’ve noted both the geographical balance and the parallels with Blue Focus’ purchase of We are Social, and Dentsu’s recent string of acquisitions. We certainly don’t disagree with those perceptions; the geographical match is great for both Cheil and Iris.
But bringing Iris into the Cheil Worldwide network is more than a geography play. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the tremendous shifts taking place in our industry over the past few years will see the bigger picture immediately. Think about digital. Think about social. Think about how intertwined agile consumers’ lives have become with digital networks, and how big data has emerged to help us sort it out and make sense of it with surgical precision. Also think about how retail has shifted, in the sense that there’s an incredible new emphasis on shopper marketing, both digitally and in the offline world.
These shifts mark an opportunity for companies such as Cheil and Iris. An opportunity to speak to our clients in a more strategic voice that matches the times. Because let’s face it, clients will never stop asking for new solutions, and the solutions required today make the old above the line/below the line dichotomy seem almost quaint.
In Iris, Cheil sees something special – something that will help us meet the transformation taking place in our industry head-on, while also giving us the ability to provide practical, unique and creative solutions to our clients that are relevant to the changed landscape. Of course, this starts with Iris’ deep well of creative talent. We also appreciate Iris’ strong tradition of putting clients and services first, and letting the money follow. Its approach breaks with the typical cycle of agency consolidation and fragmentation. Cheil definitely bought into that.
We’re looking at the long-term together. In all our discussions over the past year, we talked first about collaboration and chemistry. Despite cultural differences there is much we share, especially when it comes to passion and creativity. We both define success as a relentless drive to achieve extraordinary results for our clients. Our track records of success are remarkably similar: Cheil Worldwide has been growing together with Samsung for 41 years, while Iris credits its early collaboration with Sony Ericsson as a key part of its cultural and entrepreneurial DNA.
Even Cheil’s strapline – “Ideas that Move” – syncs well with Iris’ philosophy of creating participation brands. Both are aimed at changing not just consumer mentality but their behaviour and purchasing decisions.
Some say the history of Cheil Worldwide has been synonymous with the growth of Korean advertising. That may be true but, most importantly, our future is global, and going there with Iris makes sense. The world is changing in leaps and bounds. This new partnership addresses that.
Simon Hathaway is president and global head of RX at Cheil Worldwide, and president of the Marketing Agencies Association
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