Chris Savage has been there and done it all. From working in Hong Kong for agencies as storied as Burson, STW and Ogilvy, there is precious little he doesn’t know.
Now, running The Savage Company consultancy (and placing sixth on B&T‘s Best of the Best Independent Consultants list) he talks to B&T on behalf of the Experience Advocacy Taskforce about why adland would do well to heed the advice of its older members — particularly when it comes to junior staff dealing with client management roles.
B&T: Why is it important for adland to embrace experience when there is often such a focus on newness?
Chris Savage: Experience often brings with it wisdom. Not always. But often. Clive Burcham calls it ‘wisdom from my scars’. I love that. As I do Clive. If you have experienced talent available with wisdom – they have been there, done that, seen it, learnt lessons, know probabilities, traps and solutions – AND they can add other value today to your business, then hire them. But experience and wisdom alone are not enough. It is our responsibility as our careers evolve to keep refreshing, learning and sharpening. The older tribe has to be able to add genuine value to today’s business realities. Wisdom will bring some of that. But we have to also keep reinventing and innovating our own offers to ensure we are value-adding.
B&T: What do more mature and experienced agency folk need to do to increase their potential to be part of the industry today?
CS: We have to work on ourselves as a project – a project designed to ensure we stay sharply relevant. Never rest on laurels. We’re only as good and valuable in terms of what we bring NEXT to our businesses and colleagues. So keep working on your brand, sign up to continuous learning, and think of yourself as green. If you’re green, you grow. If you’re ripe you rot.
I love comedian/actor Steve Martin’s approach: “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Strive to be the best you can be at what you bring. That means keeping up with change at the minimum and staying ahead of change ideally. Try to know five per cent more than anyone else in the room on the topic being discussed. Do that, and you’ll be wanted in the room, irrespective of your vintage.
This will no doubt be unpopular with some but also price yourself appropriately. Often more experienced executives have become more costly to the business. But has your value proposition kept up with your increasing costs? Get real in terms of remuneration expectation vs the value you bring.
B&T: You’ve worked for some of the biggest agency names in the world such as Burson and Ogilvy and around the world from Adelaide to Hong Kong. What has that experience taught you that younger staff wouldn’t necessarily appreciate?
CS: If you can develop relationships, anything is possible. Every new business pitch, client assignment, colleague, industry contact — these are opportunities to develop meaningful, strong and enduring relationships. Focus on adding value to your relationships – for them. The first rule of crisis management is this: you don’t make friends in a crisis. You have to have built goodwill equity before you have a problem or issue. Do that, and you’ll be surrounded by support and love when you need it. As you would do for them.
B&T: You left STW back in 2015 and started out on your own with The Savage Company. What has that experience been like for you and what have you learnt from it?
CS: The power of relationships — my point previously. When I left STW, I was under pressure. Educating three children, mortgage, late 40s, ten years since I worked directly with clients. Was my use-by date expired?
But then the phone began to ring: industry friends reaching out to help or ask me to help (professionally). Andy Lark pumped my tyres and got me a speaking gig at a major conference; Simon Davies from Bastion Brands was at the event, and we started a wonderful eight-year business growth relationship that’s still ongoing; Andy Antoniou called from Orchard and likewise, we started the next phase of the Orchard journey of success with Wai, Martin and Sarah. Neil Stewart from Facebook Asia called and flew me to Singapore for a workshop (and gave me narrative as ‘a key Facebook advisor’, all good chat as I started out). And so on and so forth.
I have learnt to love the relationships and value them more than anything else.
B&T: What do you see the business leaders you consult with at the moment struggling with the most?
CS: Rising costs, and clients wanting more for less. It is becoming harder, much, to make a fair return from the value we bring. We have to price differently (harder done than said), but most importantly, we have to get back up the influence and value chain within client organisations. There is massive change happening in our industry. What got us here won’t get us there. We have to keep pace with that change – with our structures, offers, talent, pricing. Too many agency leaders are moving too slowly. The water is heating up.
B&T: What change in the industry has surprised you most?
CS: The power shifting so dramatically to clients. And the disrespect some client executives (not all, but a growing number) show towards agencies and their staff. I have been horrified by stories I hear of the brutal demands, expectations, disregard and sense of entitlement from some younger client executives. (A lot of this is I think due to junior client execs taking on larger client/agency management roles and without training or experience).
This is a major issue for our industry, as this behaviour can seriously damage our people. We have to make a stand. In the PR industry, I am leading within our industry association CPRA the development of a client/agency charter that will set best practice behaviours around relationships, commercial best practices and new business processes (another area where client demands have got way out of control). Now is the time to fight back. Please note- not all clients. Some. It’s a trend that has to be reversed.
B&T: Where is your career going next?
CS: I feel like I have only just begun. I am learning and growing so much in what I do. I’m turning 64 this year. People ask me: “When are you going to retire?” I am always kind of shocked. Retire? To do what? If I retired, I’d do exactly what I do today, but just for no money. But shhhh, please, don’t tell anyone!
I do find it hard though to keep ahead of all the change afoot, particularly when maybe my runway is (health permitting) a few more years in the saddle. So I am embracing the words of Jeff Bezos, when he said something like: “The best question about change is to ask what is NOT going to change in the next 10 years”. For me that’s clear. It’s human communication lives with other humans. It’s selling and persuading. Influencing. Getting a YES. And my original craft of reputation and issues management. The imperatives, tools and strategies are essentially the same as they were 30 years ago. Some channels have evolved. But the consulting magic remains pure. I’ll be leaning more into this area. Back to the future, and I love it!
B&T: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given by someone in the industry and by whom?
CS: Paul Cocks, the regional CFO at Ogilvy for many years. “Chris, give it the 24-hour test.” He taught me to be measured with certain leadership reactions. Pause for even a few hours. A bit of breathing space often leads to a more effective response. Thank you, Cocksie-san.
