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Company: M&C Saatchi Performance USA NY
Nomination Submitted by: Melissa Sones Consulting
Company Description: M&C Saatchi Performance is a London-based global digital media agency leading the evolution of media buying. They work closely with brands to engage and grow their customer bases through evolving media strategies and best-in-class client service. During Covid, it was their U.S. team that stood out. As others faltered, their client roster doubled, notably for streaming services desperate to scale.
Nomination Category: Marketing Organization / Professional Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Team of the Year
 Nomination Title: M&C Saatchi Performance - The USA Team
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated team's achievements since January 1 2020, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Briefly describe the nominated team: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 200 words used.
While digital marketing firms pay lip service to user-centric approaches, results prove otherwise with one in two apps uninstalled within 30 days. Then there’s the powerful U.S. team of M&C Saatchi Performance, the global digital marketing/advertising division of M&C Saatchi Group, the $154 million London-based brand-building network. Inaugurated in 2006 as Inside Mobile, M&C Saatchi Performance pioneered digital marketing long before it became fashionable. M&C Saatchi Performance was the brainchild of Global CEO James Hilton, a pioneer in enhancing human connections via mobile. Where others go for quick results Hilton’s Performance has long been known for in-depth research, beginning with weeks-long discovery aimed at learning about users, problems they face and translating them into innovative solutions that rival advertising’s big guns. Where “get the job” and “disappear” is routine industry-wide, they work hand-in-hand with customer-users day-in and day-out, often growing original contracts into new performance marketing channels. Teams are uniquely often seen as extensions of clients' own in-house teams. The U.S. marketing team has stood out since its 2011 launch - for conversion, which Harvard Business Review still calls “a fallacy.” Most team clients are retained with Audible, Kindle and Amazon Shopping among them as of 2019.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Outline the nominee's achievements since the beginning of 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
2020 on was a banner period for the M&C Saatchi Performance U.S team under the leadership of Guillaume Lelait. And so they came - in industries as diverse as retail, education, entertainment, e-sports. As Covid ravaged the globe, Lelait‘s team became a leader for streaming platforms needing to scale at a time of exponential growth.
One such client was Local Now. Part of the Weather Group, it is a community-based entertainment-streaming service providing local news but also uniquely offering movies and other entertainment options. Desperate to scale, under the leadership of Planning Director Bridget Hall, they did just that – in under 12 months.
Utilizing the marketing “funnel” for which M&C Saatchi Performance is known, the U.S. team went unusually broad channel-wise; maximized user testing including oft-overlooked behavioral testing; painstakingly matched the creative to the channels and tested and retested to ensure conversions. Client updates were weekly (the norm is less often); placements changed at the pace of tech itself (instead of leaving the same ads indefinitely).
So, too, the team signed Rakuten Rewards, a leading cash-back shopping service. Using a unique influencer-based TikTok strategy, the agency drove results: 80% lower cost per install (CPI); 91% lower cost per sign-up; 2.5 million organic views, all major client goals – again, in months-time. The same went for SoundCloud, an audio streaming service that saw 69,000 new customers sign up – in “no time”. As other firms faltered, in 2021 alone, 34% of revenue came from new business.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
During Covid, as numerous marketing firms faltered, this team experienced one of its best years ever. There were no pay cuts; and while companies of its size (a talented 40-member team) usually draw same-size clients, during Covid they attracted bigger companies including Quizlet, Rakuten Rewards, SoundCloud, Local Now, Audiomack, Schmidt Futures and Skillz.
While companies fail at internet/digital advertising due to little or no behavioral testing, this team operated otherwise. For Local Now’s holiday campaign, for instance, in addition to the usual core users (read: young), they chose to target often-overlooked older suburbanites, too, with images focused on what families were reported to be doing during the pandemic (read: taking in new pets; wearing comfortable clothing, etc.) Local Now had a 225% increase in revenue during Covid.
During Covid, too, this agency's team alone provided much-needed research reports – not just to clients – but the industry as a whole - on the spot during Covid as desperately needed: on travel; sports betting; audio; wearable fitness devices and, imortantly, the impact of Apple's iOS 15 on the App Store and how agencies can cope, which they did as others buckled.
Where other firms are “agile” this team was flat-out acrobatic: there was unusually rapid Q4 activity for Rakuten, especially during Covid. Quizlet, a global education technology company, saw tracking seriously affected by Apple’s privacy policy immediately replaced by emerging channels, connected TV and Reddit. No wonder this team's client retention rate continues to be almost 90% - even during Covid.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination. (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
This nomination includes, all from the awards period:
M&C Saatchi Performance - general global website link
Sample Case Study - for Local Now - PDF
Sample Case Study - for SoundCloud - PDF
Sample Case Study - For Rakuten Rewards - PDF
Sample Industry report - On Domestic Travel - PDF
Sample Industry Report - on Engaging The Relient Consumer - PDF
Sample Industry Report - On Online Sports Betting - PDF
Another important industry report - on the OTT Landscape USA - Market and Audience Insights for streaming services - PDF
Yet another trend report - this one also very important, - on the Impact of iOS 15 on the App Store, which affected many users and agencies targeting them - PDF
A Bio of Global CEO James Hilton - PDF
A Bio of Planning Director Bridget Hall - PDF
A note: statistics on app failure rates at the start of nomination are from AppsFlyer.com, a mobile analystics firm whose data is used by known brands; similar numbers are available from the App Attention Index, a Cisco company and from Loyalistics, a mobile analystics firm used by The New York Times, among other major media
*All case studies included here are of companies noted in the nomination itself in order to give you more detail; the subject of industry reports is mentioned more generally and here you can see them in far more detail; the bios are of the two key team members noted in the nomination
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