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The Wunderman Thompson of today is the result of a series of mergers and acquisitions in the past four years. They include a merger between Wunderman and SA’s oldest traditional advertising agency, JWT, and acquisitions of Cerebra and Applogix, among others. The result is an agency which is part creative agency, part consultancy and part tech firm, with strong insights and data capability. “The old days of beautiful advertising on its own are gone,” says chief growth officer Astrid Ascar. “To be effective, advertising today has to be backed up by business intelligence and data insights.”
As she puts it, consumers experience a brand and its products and services across multiple touchpoints through an interplay between the real world and the digital. “Understanding customer pain points is fundamental to helping clients grow, so whether its marketing communications; customer journey mapping to enhance user experience and commerce platform performance; integrating new tech backend systems and redeveloping websites or apps; or applying data insights that help build better relationships with consumers, Wunderman Thompson has the scale and depth of talent to deliver.”
The agency turns work around in agile ways, offering unrivalled access to proprietary tools and data sets through its global network that help clients achieve speed, accuracy, automation and efficiency, she says.
Rather than merely paying lip service to offering integrated services and capabilities, Wunderman Thompson really is integrated, says Ascar.
“It ’s in our DNA and our roots, which means we have a deep understanding of what customer experience is all about. This also makes us very capable as a lead agency as we understand the entire value chain, from strategy and creative, through to production, technology and platforms, across all touchpoints.”
One of the agency’s biggest differentiators, she says, is its ability to motivate both strategy and creative based on data insights and analysis. The agency also continually A/B tests and optimises assets and content to address KPI metrics. Its insights elevate to a level beyond campaign performance report-backs to solid business intelligence for clients.
Its creative work is increasingly being driven by data insights and analysis, and an ability to adapt creative concepts and executions across all consumer touchpoints, both real-world and digital.
“The traditional linear funnel cannot be considered in isolation, so customer experience through strong creative and tactical executions has become crucial,” she says, adding that the agency has won awards over the past 12 months for its creative technology and gamification expertise, as well as content that has achieved impressive viral results.
In the past 18 months the agency has become completely flexible in how it has adapted its operations to align with how clients themselves have had to adapt, both in terms of ways of working and in terms of budgets. “We ’ve invested in key strategic service capabilities that align with how our clients have had to pivot their strategies and fast-track digital transformation,” says Ascar.
The agency is also preparing its clients to tap into the explosion of e-commerce. “We’re well positioned to offer talented professionals who can help them build better customer experiences and exploit new marketing technologies, while our creative teams are flourishing in an operating model that enables them to cut through the clutter.”
Wunderman Thompson
2021 Financial Mail AdFocus Profile
The Wunderman Thompson of today is the result of a series of mergers and acquisitions in the past four years. They include a merger between Wunderman and SA’s oldest traditional advertising agency, JWT, and acquisitions of Cerebra and Applogix, among others. The result is an agency which is part creative agency, part consultancy and part tech firm, with strong insights and data capability. “The old days of beautiful advertising on its own are gone,” says chief growth officer Astrid Ascar. “To be effective, advertising today has to be backed up by business intelligence and data insights.”
As she puts it, consumers experience a brand and its products and services across multiple touchpoints through an interplay between the real world and the digital. “Understanding customer pain points is fundamental to helping clients grow, so whether its marketing communications; customer journey mapping to enhance user experience and commerce platform performance; integrating new tech backend systems and redeveloping websites or apps; or applying data insights that help build better relationships with consumers, Wunderman Thompson has the scale and depth of talent to deliver.”
The agency turns work around in agile ways, offering unrivalled access to proprietary tools and data sets through its global network that help clients achieve speed, accuracy, automation and efficiency, she says.
Rather than merely paying lip service to offering integrated services and capabilities, Wunderman Thompson really is integrated, says Ascar.
“It ’s in our DNA and our roots, which means we have a deep understanding of what customer experience is all about. This also makes us very capable as a lead agency as we understand the entire value chain, from strategy and creative, through to production, technology and platforms, across all touchpoints.”
One of the agency’s biggest differentiators, she says, is its ability to motivate both strategy and creative based on data insights and analysis. The agency also continually A/B tests and optimises assets and content to address KPI metrics. Its insights elevate to a level beyond campaign performance report-backs to solid business intelligence for clients.
Its creative work is increasingly being driven by data insights and analysis, and an ability to adapt creative concepts and executions across all consumer touchpoints, both real-world and digital.
“The traditional linear funnel cannot be considered in isolation, so customer experience through strong creative and tactical executions has become crucial,” she says, adding that the agency has won awards over the past 12 months for its creative technology and gamification expertise, as well as content that has achieved impressive viral results.
In the past 18 months the agency has become completely flexible in how it has adapted its operations to align with how clients themselves have had to adapt, both in terms of ways of working and in terms of budgets. “We ’ve invested in key strategic service capabilities that align with how our clients have had to pivot their strategies and fast-track digital transformation,” says Ascar.
The agency is also preparing its clients to tap into the explosion of e-commerce. “We’re well positioned to offer talented professionals who can help them build better customer experiences and exploit new marketing technologies, while our creative teams are flourishing in an operating model that enables them to cut through the clutter.”