A remarkable client-agency relationship

The winner of the 2022 AdFocus Partnership of the Year is that of TBWA South Africa and MTN.

The MTN-TBWA relationship has its roots as far back as 1993, the year before the official launch of what was to become Africa’s largest telecommunications provider. Since then the client and the agency have worked together during two separate periods amounting to a 13-year relationship.

The latest iteration of this partnership began in 2016, when TBWA was bought on board in the aftermath of the devastating $3.9bn fine levied against MTN by the Nigerian government. This was a period of consolidation and of re-establishing MTN as the No 1 telecommunications company on the continent. The brand operates across 19 markets in Africa and the Middle East.

The level of diversity and complexity in presenting a cohesive brand experience in accordance with local nuance is highly complex. TBWA’s efforts arrested a share price decline and set the foundation for MTN’s next phase of growth.

The next test of the partnership came during the Covid pandemic, ironically a period when the contract had expired and a mandatory pitch process was taking place. It was also during this time that MTN was forging what became known as Ambition 2025 as the business transitioned from a telecommunications company to a technology firm.

TBWA’s pitch – which ran from December 2019 to November 2020 – was punctuated by the global pandemic, budget cuts and heightened uncertainty. Ultimately it was a success, and the business was once again awarded to Omnicom, which appointed TBWA South Africa to drive the partnership. The agency was tasked with the ambitious task of relaunching MTN’s strategy simultaneously across all 19 markets during the first quarter of 2022.

The campaign to relaunch Africa’s largest brand was initiated immediately after the account was awarded in November 2020. Inspired by the insight that “doing” is the bridge between “can” and “done”, TBWA replaced MTN’s old tagline “Everywhere you go” to “What are we doing today?” to align with its intention to provide digital solutions to support Africa’s progress through driving digital and financial inclusion.

On February 27 2022 MTN successfully rebranded for the second time in its history, with a simplified logo and an updated brand colour. Navigating different markets and operating entities in tandem with dealing with global economic headwinds that had a different impact on each market required partnership, teamwork, support and communication between the broader teams.

While TBWA has always tapped into the diverse thinking and specialisation of its separate operating companies, collaborating meaningfully across those companies has been a weakness.

The MTN campaign forced the group to improve this. But being able to cut through the nuances of such a varied and dynamic market takes a special understanding and co-operation from a diverse team of agencies.

TBWA SA – which includes its specialist entities Magna Carta, Yellowwood, TBWA Hunt Lascaris and Grid Worldwide – realised it needed to reframe its narrative in order to come together as a collective.

The end result proved that TBWA SA nailed both the thinking and the execution, delivering strong work from corporate identity through to communications and in-store executions, all aimed at pushing the brand forward.

The ultimate prize, says the agency, was not simply landing the coveted MTN account, but successfully bringing together a disparate group, allowing the TBWA collective to realise its value is in the sum of its parts.

The partnership has endured beyond the relaunch. MTN’s latest campaign has played off its commercial sponsorship of the Springboks featuring a nail-biting rugby match which buffers on screen at a crucial moment, demonstrating the difference in quality between 5G and fibre. The commercial, which is the first major piece of work that is not part of the relaunch campaign, is the new brand and identity in action.

Over the past two years TBWA has reconfigured how it works with MTN, establishing a global brains trust which is responsible for the governance of the brand across the full geography. This is implemented by operational hubs in four key markets that are responsible for the management of the relationship across all 19 markets and 28 agency partners.

The partnership has achieved impressive results. MTN’s share price, which was at an all-time low after the fine was levied in Nigeria, rose, for the counter to become one of the JSE’s best performers. In 2022 MTN was acknowledged as SA’s most valuable brand in Kantar’s BrandZ ranking, having grown an astonishing 85%. Brand Finance has acknowledged MTN as Africa’s most valuable brand for five consecutive years, while Brand Africa called the company the most admired brand in 2022.

MTN’s campaigns have won numerous Ads of the Month, Loeries and Ads of the Year awards and have been recognised at The One Show and D&AD. MTN was awarded the Best Advocacy Campaign at the Warc Purpose Awards while TBWA South Africa walked away with the Agency of the Year accolade.

MTN marketing director Bernice Samuel was named the Marketing Person of the Year at the Marketing Achievement Awards, in addition to winning AdFocus’s Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2021. Asked to comment in support of TBWA South Africa’s entry, Samuels said: “This year’s AdFocus theme could not be more relevant. The ability to bounce back has been a hallmark of our partnership over the years; an ability that has demonstrated true resilience, character and commitment.”

Her letter added: “Ours has been a tumultuous relationship, as many relationships are. And, like many relationships, this pushes us to be more and do more. Our interactions are truer, our words honest, and the work the better for it. Together we have pushed through highs and lows, moments of incredible joy and others of deep frustration. The result: better work and more human relationships.

“For me, partnership is not only smooth sailing. Partnership is learning and growing, founded on a commitment to each with the understanding that we are both the better for it. I am proud that our partnership with TBWA is a tribute to both.”

Johanna McDowell, CEO of IAS, Scopen and the sponsor of this year’s AdFocus Partnership of the Year Award, agrees that the TBWA-MTN partnership is a worthy winner. “This is a remarkable relationship,” she says. “Having renewed the relationship through a very tough re-pitch process almost three years ago, the agency and the client have gone on to produce exceptional creative work, which has played a large part in the success of MTN as the No 1 brand in Africa – according to the most recent accolades.  The rebranding exercise earlier this year was a huge logistics exercise to roll out into all of the markets as well as positioning MTN as much more than just a mobile network. This relationship extends across 19 markets in Africa where both MTN and TBWA have performed at high levels in local [regions].”

McDowell adds that the partnership is also testament to the agility of TBWA as a group, given that it has been able to run their operational system to work seamlessly with the MTN system, the latter which is a complex – and highly organised – set of moving parts.

This year’s AdFocus judges commented: “Despite the scale and complexity of this account across both disciplines and geographies, this partnership still manages to produce excellent work and has achieved new heights this year, with both a seamless repositioning across the continent as well as being named Africa’s most valuable brand. The agency is clearly critically important to the client’s ecosystem.”

Once again the TBWA Coastal and Spar partnership was a finalist in this category. McDowell points out that this is probably one of the longest client-agency relationships in SA, yet has managed to remain fresh and interesting. 

“Interestingly, this relationship has no formal agency-client appraisal system – which is fascinating – and yet they have developed unique systems to manage the demands of this highly successful retailer as it also innovates its way into the new way that consumers buy food.  Refreshing creative work that works hard to drive sales and position the brand as warm and friendly is not an easy combination to achieve,” she adds.

The lack of a formal contract in place speaks to the inherent trust that exists between client and agency, said the AdFocus judges. They added that evidence of the close relationship is the fact that the client talks about them as a business partner rather than a supplier to the business.

Joe Public’s partnership with Nedbank also made the finalist list. This is an exceptional partnership with aligned ambitions between client and agency, producing outstanding work, commended the judges.

“This is a very productive and effective relationship for both parties,” agreed McDowell. “Of particular interest is that their client-agency contract focuses and agrees on the quality of work that is going to be produced, the way they are going to work together as well as the normal financial and legal arrangements. This says a lot about the commitment that both parties are willing to make and willing to review on a regular basis. The marketing leadership at Nedbank, with the support of Joe Public, has been able to raise the level of importance of marketing within the banking environment – which is quite an achievement.”