Middle East: JWT Cairo; Taking One for the Team

Mohammed Sabry, JWT Cairo’s acting ECD and MD, is modest about his acronym-packed job title and his agency’s successes, which he credits partly to the creative outbreak that has emerged since the Arab Spring, but largely to JWT’s team-spirited, collaborative work ethic.

Creatives – want to know how to get to the top? Don’t ask Mohammed Sabry, he’s not sure how it happened. “Two and a half years ago I found myself [here],” chuckles the self-effacing acting ECD of JWT Cairo who balances the role with that of MD. “But it’s been really fun and I think the reason it works well is that we have a very collaborative and tribal culture.”

Sabry, a former BBDO account man, explains how all JWT staff, from planning to account personnel, are expected to contribute ideas. “Everyone who works here has to have an understanding and passion for creativity,” and that collaborative culture extends into working with the best external talent in fields from film and music to theatre and art, which are currently enjoying something of a renaissance sparked by the Arab Spring.

“It was a very emotional time for everybody and when emotions are stirred up in a society it often leads to resurgence in art. A lot of new street artists and musicians are emerging and that has an effect on the ad scene. It’s given us a boost, making people more daring in their approach, experimenting with new media and ideas.”

The Super Bowl of the Middle East

One such experiment came in JWT’s 2013 Fakka campaign for Vodafone. In Egypt most people with low disposable incomes (90 per cent of the brand’s market) buy groceries from small shops where items like sweets or even a single aspirin are commonly substituted for the small change (fakka) that is rarely available. Spotting a golden opportunity, JWT designed POS material that positioned Vodafone’s micro recharge cards in 46,000 non-telco retail outlets and even made the cards small enough to fit into a cash register.

As a result shopkeepers handed them out as small change. Revenues exceeded the client’s original target by 510 per cent and average revenue per user increased by seven per cent. “Our thought process was; how can we make the product more useful in a consumer-centric way, rather than a business-centric approach?” recalls Sabry. The campaign won not only the Promo & Activation Grand Prix at Dubai Lynx in 2013, but also Egypt’s first ever gold Lion, as well as a silver. “When we got back [from Cannes] we were congratulated by all the other local agencies and I think it set a precedent and belief that [Egypt] can do well on a global level, which is really contributing to a positive vibe in the market in general.”

While employing alternative methods to reach audiences is important, making great films is still essential in Egypt, particularly during Ramadan. “It’s like the Middle East’s Super Bowl,” explains Sabry. “For 30 days, every family is glued to its TV set. Last year over 65 TV series were produced specially for the month, which goes to show how much advertising you can buy around that.” Agencies relish the competition of making theirs the work that stands out and lives up to the public’s high expectations.

“It’s important that you keep people engaged and entertained for a whole month, so doing one big spot doesn’t cut it. You have to make sure your whole eco system is rich with content.” JWT did this in 2012 with Big Bite for Nestlé Maxibon, a series of films that went viral, earning over 10 million views, and sparked fan-made spoofs, becoming one of the most successful Ramadan campaigns in last the decade.

Barring 2013 when none was awarded, Film Grands Prix have been awarded to Egyptian agencies at Dubai Lynx every year since its 2008 inception. That is not a surprise considering the  country is regarded as the ‘Hollywood of the Middle East’ due to its prolific output in not just the film industry, but pop culture in general, which is all exported around the region. However, Sabry believes there is still room to develop TV advertising. “We shouldn’t define it as ‘TV’ anymore.

It should be called ‘Film’ or ‘A/V content’.” Sabry points to several recent JWT campaigns, such as Aqua Mangos for ice-cream brand Dolceca, where long-format films are hosted online and merely trailed on TV. “The beauty is you’re able to develop engaging content and put it where it can live naturally because sometimes you can’t tell your story in 60 seconds.” This in turn makes it essential to, “create ideas that people want to spend time with. It’s the importance of not interrupting what people are interested in but becoming what people are interested in,” he adds.

The potency of a portfolio culture

How does JWT stay ahead of the creative pack? “Our approach is all about attracting, developing and retaining the best talent in the market,” explains Sabry. “When you build a brand that becomes a magnet for talent, you’ve done your job as an ad agency.” Sabry underplays his personal contribution to JWT’s recent success but is quick to praise his four creative directors for their work, although they might not be judged on it individually.

For more than a year JWT has employed a ‘portfolio culture’ across the 12 MENA regional offices where every employee is evaluated by the work produced by their agency. “You don’t have people in different departments working for different objectives – everybody is aligned [with the objective of] creating great work and that really breaks down the walls between departments and paves the way to developing amazing results. We’ve put our money where our mouth is.”

The agency’s not currently actively seeking an ECD and the way things are going, that’s not a surprise. Perhaps Sabry and JWT MENA have proved that the best way to get ahead in the ad game is to concentrate not on your own career, but on your agency’s work instead.