Ogilvy & Mather's Brand Stewardship Model

In the following pages, I would like to make suggestions on how to increase acceptance of the new vision of Ogilvy & Mather on all employees.

At the end of 1993, Charlotte Beers realized that although clients appreciated the Brand Stewardship model, employees had still not embraced it. I would like to analyze why this is a key problem, the reasons for it and what recommendations could be useful to overcome this barrier to the agency’s success.

Case background

The changing industry context since the 1980’s has shaped the history of the company: hostile takeover, loss of key accounts and credibility, and increase in employee turnover all led to the appointment of Charlotte Beers as new CEO. Overall, marketing has become more global and customers

She also paid attention to the staff to understand their sources of motivation, what they value and what they feel about brands. She also met on a one-on-one basis with senior executives and assigned them to random tasks to observe their performance. Ignoring the confusion and ambiguity created, she took the time to find out what had to be achieved, and created the “Thirsty for change” group. Its diversity should ensure she had the right talent to achieve her plan. She used the need to affiliate theory: people need to feel they belong to a group and this need is so strong that we experience pain if we are excluded, that can also be physical pain. Operational networking gave Charlotte the power over functional areas within the company to drive her vision and obtain the right results within a reasonable time

Voluntary resistance to the brand stewardship: some employees believe the auditing part is synonym of admitting that previous working practices were wrong. They have a low tolerance for change. Others fight over fees and billings between the WCSs and the local offices. Employees should receive support and facilitation to overcome this belief.

3. No real interest in the Brand Stewardship: employees have the impression that this new vision is a waste of time and they do not all have the same degree of urgency. The importance of the brand stewardship ought to be communicated to employees in a clear way.

Everyone has to accept the new vision because the image of the company depends on how everyone will interpret and implement it. Clients perceive the company’s employees as reserved, distant and not involved. Charlotte has to find a way to reach all employees as efficiently as she did with the “Thirsty for change” group. The employees have to become more creative, not work along with the old rules anymore and truly embrace the new statement of vision and values.

Recommendations

1. Reach people in