Laziness towards learning stops agencies from evolving like Facebook, says Val Madon of Havas
The chief creative officer of Havas South East Asia has revealed that her one-year stint at Facebook was a “life-changing” experience for her in terms of shaping her approach to creativity.
Valerie Madon, who left J. Walter Thompson Singapore for Facebook in December 2015, said creative agencies are being held back by a “fear of letting go” and a “laziness towards learning”. They should instead embrace the social media giant’s “openness” and “willingness to disrupt” – she said.
Speaking during the Mumbrella360 Asia conference, in Singapore last week, about how data can transform creativity for the better, Madon said agencies were too focused on the “sexy” side of executing campaigns, rather than using the available data to boost return-on-investment for clients.
When asked further by Mumbrella Asia about her time at the social network and its relevance for the agency world, she said: “My experience at Facebook was quite life-changing and it comes down to really the culture of a place.
“And I have to say admittedly, and this is partly the reason I went back to an agency, I believe there’s no reason why an agency cannot evolve and adopt that openness, that willingness to disrupt and change – and lose themselves – and start over again. And it’s that what’s holding the agency back because everyone’s too afraid to let go of what they knew before.
“Either that or it’s just pure laziness of wanting to keep learning, which is a huge difference with Facebook. Every day, they are learning something. Despite them being a billion dollar company, Zuckerberg says they are only 1 per cent done. When does an agency ever say they are 1 per cent done? The agency is always happy to say we’re 100 hundred per cent done and now can we sit back and party.”
She added: “That complacency and closed-mindedness is very ironic for an agency that’s supposed to stand for creativity, newness and innovation.”
Val Madon: “I have been exposed to the world of Facebook and with every campaign, if you are lucky, you will get a single-digit conversion.”
Before joining Facebook, Madon was the chief creative officer of the JWT Singapore office for three years and globally the executive creative director on the Shell lubricants business for the last two years.
After leaving the social media network in June this year, she was snapped up by Havas to take on the role of CCO for the South East Asia region – leading the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) account.
During her 30-minute presentation, Madon told delegates at the Marina Bay Sands that she now schools her creative team in executing a “slew of messages to rightfully target the person in the most relevant manner” rather than just the same message and visual for every consumer.
“If you think about your customer like the girl you’re going after, the first thing you are going to do is go on her Facebook page; trying to find out what she likes and what she’s interested in so that you can have a more relevant conversation with her,” she said. “But the interesting thing is, do you say the same thing to her in the morning, the noon and at night – and you don’t.
“Whenever I show my creatives [the methodology], they all ask me: ‘Why are we not doing this?’ We really need to assess the way we think creatively today and over the last 150 years. I think today still brands and creative teams still look this way: we look for one insight. The one insight became one idea; the one idea became one message and one key visual.
“Eventually that one key message and visual became plastered all over the media channels. It worked this way in the past because things couldn’t change fast enough. But with today’s media platform, why are we still using 150-year-old methods?”
She added: “I have been exposed to the world of Facebook and with every campaign, if you are lucky, you will get a single-digit conversion. So what happens to that other 90 per cent of non-converters? And how much money is actually spent if you don’t investigate why they are not converting?
‘It’s a very different way of thinking, but who is to say we can’t change things with this much data in our hands?”
Eleanor Dickinson is the editor of Mumbrella Asia. Eleanor joined the Asia platform from Dubai, where she acted as senior reporter for Campaign Middle East.
Elsewhere, on this same Mumbrella page, is some awesome work from BBH for NTUC Income. Local brand magic from local creative heroes.
Valerie, you might just want to start all over again in your career. Reset your self, training under these BBH sparks who are young and impactful. An internship at BBH may not be such a bad idea after all.
ReplySomewhere in the past you’re living.
Marketers are cutting budgets and they want fully quantifiable results that show them how their marketing dollar is working. While it may not be sexy, it is the future; and the future is up to us.
have a good one, a cold one perhaps while you’re writing that brand manifesto only you care about.
Reply@ @Elsewhere
All that doesn’t sound like a response to Elsewhere, who merely suggests that Val Cheng isn’t exactly an industry-leading creative resource because she hasn’t a single inspiring piece of creative work worth mentioning in all the years she’s worked.
The fact that she got picked up for an SEA role (not even an Asia one, let alone a global one) for an agency like Havas sort of corroborates the quality of her book. She isn’t all that young either, so greater opportunities can only dwindle.
Val’s spoken of other stuff, besides creative work though. Examples: designing a photographers website using dreamweaver 1.0 manual and redesigning cpf statement. (https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/07/got-valerie-madon-havas)
Marketers are cutting budgets, yes.
But the crème de la crème of those marketers includes visionaries of the likes of P&G’s Pritchard who are actually more wary of Val Cheng’s Facebook solutions than he is of traditional media. Fake FB profiles and likes continue to bleed marketer dollars long after some burning questions linger about last year’s most tweeted election.
In any event, all we’re asking for is proof of what Val’s accomplished by way of being a creative person, not an SEO marketer or website template designer.
Don’t know why she shies away from sharing any creative accomplishments that modern day creative heroes like Dave Droga or Nick Law would consider worthy of targeting their trashcans with. Long Live Locke!
Nothing unfounded or particularly personal up there. Indeed, a wider industry survey of this lady might be a lot more unforgiving. Minus Havas, that is.
Replythat’s most of the Singaporean ad industry you’re talking about
ReplyDoes Mumbrella go soft on Val criticism because she was a speaker at your show? There’s been a lot more corrective/critical candour entertained by Mumbrella, with barbs directed at other people/agencies featured in past articles. (TSLA, Dentsu and GOVT, to name just a few.)
Also, there’s the “edited under Mumbrella’s…” bit that has been used to soften blows (if any) against others. But in Val’s case, entire comments appear to be discarded. Why the bias?
In perspective, Val’s truly the dregs and Mumbrella is guilty of furthering her dark interests if the other side of her story remains untold. She’s been pulling wool over the industry’s eyes and tormenting subordinates, without any stunning creative examples in her own book.
Only asking so we don’t waste time writing about people protected by Mumbrella. Pity we’ll lose our much needed voice to unmask the unscrupulous, and have to post only on FB instead.
ReplyHi Sincerely,
We are not shielding anyone. We allow constructive criticism of agencies and individuals, but when an attack is wholly personal, unsubstantiated and defamatory, we either edit under our guidelines or omit completely if there is nothing of substance at all.
The guidelines are here: https://www.mumbrella.asia/guide-submitting-opinion-pieces-mumbrella
Cheers,
ReplyEleanor
Thank you for clarifying, Eleanor.
ReplyYou are our voice. Without you, we can’t hope for change.
“I believe there’s no reason why an agency cannot evolve and adopt that openness, that willingness to disrupt and change – and lose themselves – and start over again.”
LOL….wonder if that’s the strategy being brought into play at Havas…and how many millions it’s going to ‘lose’ them in the process.
“Before joining Facebook, Madon was the chief creative officer of the JWT Singapore office for three years ….”
Indeed…and look where that poor company is now. And if Facebook is so great, why leave…surely they pay better than Havas. (smells rat)
None of this proselytising data bullshit is anything new…targetting customers with different messages etc…the entire social format is entirely based on that….reacting to data and real-time events to shape and evolve the message. I’d be more interested if she showed some work that she put out that did that…in an INTERESTING way. No point spouting off if the output is crap.
On another note, Mumbrella really needs to probe her claims of being a digital native. A look at history books and talking to a few people would would reveal the truth. Clients shouldn’t be thinking they are dealing with a digital dynamo. Knowing banner pixel sizes is not knowing digital.
ReplyThe key fallacy of digital media is trackability and traceability.
Both have nothing to do with the alchemy of creativity.
Just because FB can trace digital pathways, track what works better and what doesn’t won’t lead one to the conclusion that they actually know how to create campaigns that work.
Perpetual learning is good but the number one pevee among clients is that agencies are not learning more deeply about their business.
ReplyClients pay us to solve their problems.
Anything else is conference fodder.
Official? Levent Guenes and Val Cheng [Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards]
Together, these two digital/social warriors have won every single pitch and taken their existing clients to FB Nirvana, with accompanying market share domination to match.
Other agencies have begun demolishing their old structures already.
Gone are the demands for good portfolios. If Val’s got away without any globally-acknowledged creative pieces in her book, so can the rest of the new workforce. Just need to be little, look awkward, sound relentlessly screechy and share life with someone who has an equally bland portfolio.
Burn those great creative ideas that were celebrated at Cannes and the Effies. Let the emerging wisps of smoke snake sensuously around the evangelized altars of Levent and Val.
Droga has crumbled. He now kneels outside Zuckerberg’s door, ruing his purist creative mandate. He genuflects before halo-embellished portraits of Levent and Val, with wisps from Royer’s smouldering portfolio adding a hedonistic touch.
Levent and Val have officially reinvented creativity. With FB. Without creativity.
[Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards]
ReplyConference fodder, indeed.
ReplyWhere hard earned attendee dollars are involved, Mumbrella should screen speaker content a bit more carefully in the future.
[Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards]
“The key fallacy of digital media is trackability and traceability.”
trackability and traceability in digital media is not a fallacy. lol. what are you talking about.
the number one peeve of clients is agencies insisting their creative work, works, when we want to know how that said creativity is going to help build my business and sell more toothpaste.
you boys in advertising act like you know everything and assume yourself to be right.
ReplyUnless you are peddling porn, online gambling or massive discounts 11.11-style, Digital cannot conclusively explain the magic of tracking someone online till purchase, which means programmatic buying by bots is a nicer way of saying we spam someone everywhere he/she goes online and call it tracking/traceability. If every FMCG is doing this now and they all are, how do we hold Digital accountable for ‘business building’, let alone selling toothpaste? Maybe that’s why Adobe has started offering FREE programmatic buying to its clients coz programmatic buying is not a diffentiator anymore.
ReplyHey fart, you’re obviously not up there with the big CMOs like Marc Pritchard.
So will you please fuck off and take depressing Val out for a drink, after buying one of her ice creams.
Order: read this.
https://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwii5-PoysXXAhVFYo8KHYNJAzgQFgg9MAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketingweek.com%2F2017%2F10%2F04%2Fmarc-pritchard-quest-transparency%2F&usg=AOvVaw37DMyRtev4-UPD51p-ngPE
ReplyThe depressing bit is spot on….wondering about the ice cream!
Replyobviously, no one here is up there with the likes of Marc Pritchard.
This is mumbrella, where no one gives their names, lest some of you heroic keyboard warriors forget.
I hope your work is as good as how toxic this forum is. 🙂
ReplyGot a decent degree to begin with?
ReplyThat aside, as degrees go, I’m proud to flaunt a gallant ninety.
ReplySo, even big global Havas boss Bollore is ignoring poor Val Cheng now. Tsk tsk.
https://www.mumbrella.asia/2017/11/havas-apac-posts-8-growth-as-global-business-flattens-out
Two takeaways:
1. Havas APAC posts 8% growth as global business flattens out.
2. Markets such Australia, China and Hong Kong were cited as the main growth drivers. N-O-T Val Cheng’s South East Asia.
[Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards]
ReplyI pressed play on that video expecting the worst and was not disappointed. A haltingly delivered mishmash of unoriginal cliches ….as usual. Made me wonder if this person is really qualified to be a CCO. Cant speak english the way a top communicator is mean to.
And zero mention of creativity anywhere….just regurgitating the same old data mantra over and over. What exactly does she know about data anyway….she [Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards] Just a bit tired of all the posturing of being a digital expert…with zero proof provided thereof.
I’ve had Facebook higher-ups corroborate this but cant provide details as they would be expunged. And the work she has put out so far…sheesh…obviously being hitched to a copywriter has rubbed off….the wrong way. I feel so sorry for the ECD of Havas.,.he’s a good natured guy who needs to be on guard at all times. The only thing thats sure as death and taxes is, in this business you cant hide forever.
ReplyLaziness towards learning stops ageing creatives from landing more coveted positions than sub-regional ones at mediocre shops. A look at the kind of talent that reports to this bird says it all.
ReplyTake away the usage of “i used to work in FB” and what have you got?
ReplyHaving a short stint in FB do not make one Mark Zuckerberg. Also, sorry to burst the bubble. But most folks already know and embrace data. It’s scary i know when you realise that other agencies aren’t prehistoric, clients are savvy about data and in the end, you still need a good idea. Scary.
The general feedback on her talk was that she sounded confused, angry and incoherent [Edited under Mumbrella’s community standards].
Reply“The general feedback on her talk was that she sounded confused, angry and incoherent.”
Stick a fork in me baby…I’m done!
ReplyI imagine the perfect female driven agency would have Linda Locke as CEO, Valerie Cheng as CCO and Cindy Gallop as Head of HR!
How wonderful it would be to have them all in one confined space insulated from the rest of the agency world. Sigh, one can only dream, I suppose.
Replyearns more money than any of us here
ReplySo it may be kinda necessary for her to.
ReplyData-driven marketing is nothing new. Am i missing something here or is it just the creative folks?
ReplyHave your say