On the latest episode of Campaign Middle East’s On The Record podcast, Troy Ruhanen, President and Global CEO of Omnicom Advertising Group, discusses how the time has come for the brand and marketing industry within the Middle East region to build on its success and really ‘turn it on, to get to the next horizon’.
Through this conversation with Campaign Middle East, Ruhanen shares his confidence in the Middle East market, and the capabilities that marketers – and the agencies supporting them – need to improve to better serve customers and build brands that stand the test of time.
Ruhanen calls on marketers and agency leaders to be daring and distinctive, and to build on the foundations of human ingenuity and data-led disruption. He calls on the industry to be bold and bullish amidst ongoing success, not to lose the appetite for growth and progress, and to accelerate instead of resting on the laurels of the past.
“The Middle East is a very strong region. You can feel the economic tide rising and the energy of the market cresting. You have to take advantage of the momentum when it’s there. You can’t take it for granted,” Ruhanen said. “You can’t count on the fact that just because we’re in good shape things are operating well and the tide is with us that everything is going to be fine. You’ve got to have a sense of urgency to reach your full potential.”
He added, “We need to ask ourselves: Are we really reaching the next level of our performance, or are we getting comfortable and a bit conservative? The time has come to really turn it on to get to the next horizon. For people in the region who are in a good position, the message is: you must take advantage of it, and you must have a sense of urgency around that.”
The time has come to tear up the script and be daring, Ruhanen added during the conversation, alluding to how that reflects in the success of brands. He refers to the Interbrand Top 100 Survey, which charts out the performance of the top 100 brands be tracked over the last 25 years compared with the performance of the S&P index.
“It’s very clear that these top 100 brands outperform the S&P by quite a margin. What’s then interesting is that when these brands move into new spaces – such as Ferrari moving beyond automotive into luxury, merchandise, experiences and museums – you start to see that such brands outperform even the top 100 brands. This shows that by being daring, by having very distinct assets, by having a very clear place in the market, brands are able to grow far beyond even the time-measured S&P investments,” Ruhanen said.
He also spoke about the beauty of being a creative in the age of collective intelligence, data-led decision making and artificial intelligence.
“I think it’s such a great time to be a creative person. Technology is coming in a way that’s not purely robotic. Everything we’re working on today is pure stimulation for the most active minds you could have. You can clearly see and experience the way technology is partnering with you, not replacing you. It still takes human ingenuity to ask the right question, to take that thought, build on it, put it in the right place, and connect the dots. You can see where partnerships are going to be essential; you can see where collective thinking is going to be essential,” Ruhanen added.
For more insights – including a dive into clients, customers, collaboration and collective intelligence – watch the full video above.
CREDITS:
Guest:Troy Ruhanen, President and Global CEO, Omnicom Advertising Group
Host: Anup Oommen, Editor, Campaign Middle East
Videography: Mark Mathew, Creative Content Producer, Motivate Create
Edits: John Melencion, Content Producer, Motivate Media Group
Studio and production: Ahmed Abdelwahab, Studio Manager, Motivate Media Group
