Spikes Asia 2019: Why Most Transformations Fail

Spikes Asia 2019: Why Most Transformations Fail

Day two of Spikes Asia 2019, began with Justin Peyton, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer APAC for Wunderman Thompson saying “Transformation is the buzzword on every marketer’s lips, and the objective of what feels like every brand’s strategy. Why then do around 70 per cent of transformation programs seem to fail.”

In order to secure their future, Peyton believes agencies need to look at transformation through three lenses: what is driving it from a consumer and cultural perspective, how brands are reacting and focusing their internal transformation agendas and how agencies are working to simultaneously transform themselves in order to better serve these emerging needs.

Peyton said transformation projects are flawed because they are focussed on technology in the belief it will solve their business problems. Peyton went on to say that technology is winning for three reasons:

  1. Technology owns the promise of transformation and drives the agenda.
  2. Products have clear unique selling propositions making them easy to buy, and
  3. Software as a Service model provides recurring revenue.

Peyton said “rather than approaching transformation projects from a technology-first point of view, what you want is virality within your business, that means putting people with that vision at the heart of that change.”

Successful transformation accelerators are the results of:

  1. Rapidly shared successes and lessons learned.
  2. Aligning incentives to drive cross-functional work and collaboration.
  3. Setting a powerful and actionable ambition.
  4. Aligning talent systems in the service of transformation, and
  5. Recognising and rewarding progress, not just outcomes.

Peyton talked about the success of luxury brand Louis Vuitton and their remarkable transformation. Louis Vuitton used to spend six months of their time building one collection, planning for their shows and getting their product to the consumer. Now that the world has transformed to digital and ecommerce they have moved to a model where they released twice a year, to almost every single day. Peyton said the way Louis Vuitton achieved this was “they looked at their data, what people were buying, and they have moved their development supply chain from one which was six to eight months long to on which is eight weeks long.”

Peyton said “Agencies need to be more pragmatic and have conversations with their clients on what problems they have in their business. This isn’t about finding proactive work, this is about proactive work that changes a business’s bottom line”.

Agencies need to move from being process-driven, and being much more agile, from briefs to problems, from stories to experiences, from short term thinking to big picture, and from promise to growth and how to make a brand truly meaningful or face the risk of  “becoming obsolete”.

Relentless change is happening today and the world will never be this slow again. Agencies need to adapt to this change “otherwise the risk is we move to a world where we only talk about technology, personalisation that isn’t personalisation but gets to the lowest common denominator and losing the creative ideas that drive this. We wind up with less differentiated work and as an industry we become more and more obsolete. That doesn’t sound like a world where brands are really going to stand out. The challenge for us is to look at all this transformation as an opportunity, and how creativity can guide this” he said.




Please login with linkedin to comment

Spikes Asia 2019 Wunderman Thompson

Latest News

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!
  • Media

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!

Take B&T's trivia quiz for your chance to win a $100 booze voucher and possible cirrhosis of a major internal organ.

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Big data technology and data science illustration. Data flow concept. Querying, analysing, visualizing complex information. Neural network for artificial intelligence. Data mining. Business analytics.
  • Marketing

SenateSHJ Launches New Trans-Tasman Practices

SenateSHJ has launched a new digital, data and insights capability designed to help clients tackle the growing complexity of communication challenges. SenateSHJ Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) will combine the firm’s existing Digital and Insights functions to create a Trans-Tasman capability focused on digital communication, and the generation and use of data to improve communication. […]

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile
  • Media

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile

Creative technology platform Bonzai has announced the launch of BrandStory – a new premium mobile ad format. BrandStory offers triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats, addressing the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration […]

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7
  • Advertising

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7

B&T went through the looking glass this morning, with editor-in-chief David Hovenden (above) appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to get the general public involved in our search for Australia’s Greatest Ad. Hovenden chatted with Kylie Gillies and stand-in host Matt Doran about what makes a great ad and showcasing some of our favourites […]

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma
  • Opinion

Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma

The science is not in question – smarter people than I, with far more data, have codified it. The logic is not up for grabs…it makes sense that creating mental shortcuts to your brand keeps you at the top of your mind. Lead image: Kate Smither – Owner, The Tall Planner I wouldn’t even take […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
African woman using a cellphone in an office alone
  • Marketing

Ortto & Tall Bob Partner To Deliver Better SMS & MMS For Australian & NZ Businesses

Two Australian-born technology providers have joined forces to bring more power and choice to marketers in Australia and New Zealand with mobile messaging that is more local, cost-effective, and integrated. It’s a partnership that sees two Australian software companies come together to deliver a world-class mobile-first solution for marketers building data-driven, personalised, omnichannel campaigns. While […]

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.
  • Media

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. has announced a number of new recruits. B&T unaware if it positively impacted SEEK's share price.

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh
  • Technology

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh

This will be of interest to any Reddit fans, graphic designers or lovers of an orange so bright it burns the retinas.

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market
  • Advertising

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market

Zitcha and Broadsign have teamed up to integrate the Broadsign out-of-home (OOH) advertising platform with Zitcha’s retail media platform. The collaboration empowers retailers to maximise and monetise in-store digital display networks and enables advertising partners to easily view and book available in-store inventory and review campaign performance alongside the retailer’s other media channels. With the […]

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label
  • Marketing

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label

Today, 7-Eleven has announced a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the popular Sydney-based anti-resort wear label Double Rainbouu. Dropping tomorrow, December 1, just in time for summer, this limited-edition capsule will infuse the fashion brand’s rebellious spirit with a distinctly iconic 7-Eleven flavour. The unisex collection features five must-have styles comprising two signature Hawaiian shirts, a peaked cap, a bucket hat […]