Ad man applies creative mind to counter crisis

Ten years ago, former Port Elizabeth resident Mike Abel started an advertising agency.

He had no clients and no furniture, and there was the matter of an economic downturn and overtraded industry to contend with.

The odds were fully stacked against him, but he had a vision to build SA’s next great ad agency.

Fast-forward to 2020, and M&C Saatchi Abel is one of the most highly regarded agencies in SA,  with clients that include Takealot, Nando’s, Standard Bank and Lexus.

“I was never interested in having a small agency,” Abel, 53, said.

“I had co-led Ogilvy SA for many years, the largest agency in the country — and had led the M&C Saatchi Group Australia as CEO — the largest in Australia.

“Metaphorically, I didn’t want a gravel landing strip for Piper Cubs, I wanted to build an international airport to land A380s.

“I’ve never believed in ‘build it and they’ll come’, but in build it — and we’ll fetch them,” he said.

Abel, who now lives in Cape Town with his wife, Sara, and their sons Ricky, 19, Jake, 17, and Anthony, 12,  matriculated from Grey High School in 1984.

“After school, I started studying architecture at UPE (now NMU).

“Shortly into the degree and following getting a voluminous book on The Fundamentals of Plumbing, I changed direction to study a BA with the intention of becoming a psychologist.

“But I found myself more drawn to my older brother’s marketing textbooks and thought I’d rather become a ‘commercial psychologist’ and for a third time changed track to study a three-year diploma in marketing and sales management, followed by a postgraduate diploma at the AAA School of Advertising in Cape Town.

“I moved from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town at age 21,” he said.

M&C Saatchi Abel employs about 350 people and, while the Covid-19 pandemic disrupts business and economies, top of mind for Abel is ensuring his employees are well taken care of.

“Aside from staying in constant, positive contact, being upbeat and constructive, we have put an emergency budget in place to help them and their families should they find themselves in financial trouble moving from a dual income to a single one, should their parents or siblings not afford food or medication.

“Allocation of these funds happen at an executive committee level and it is really to help out where there is a crisis over this extremely trying time,” he said.

During the lockdown, Abel is trying to create an environment for his employees where it is business as usual as far as possible.

“We had fortunately implemented a number of strategies to work remotely if, for example, our building burnt down.

“You need such measures in place when you handle big and important accounts.

“We use off-the-shelf but excellent tech like Microsoft Team and our existing platforms to stay connected.

“And we still have virtual drinks and parties where we all connect from our homes, share ideas, fun, banter and keep the connection going.

“It’s business as usual as far as is possible — just on a different platform.

“Naturally, there are now huge limitations on production, so no TV shoots, but then one needs to find creative solutions around that — for now.”

Abel focuses on the positives and what he can learn from this time.

“We can learn to slow down. To reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones.

“To see what we like and works. To learn new ways.

“To experiment with business models that we may not have had the courage to test before.

“It is a time for introspection, re-evaluation and even reinvention.

“We will see how the clampdown in travel and production will help the planet with pollution and emissions,” Abel added.

“It's our one home. There is no Plan B.

“We will learn from it. It will show how we are all equal.

“We are all just humans trying to live our lives — now, hopefully, our best lives in terms of real meaning and societal contribution.”

Abel is also passionate about the #ImStaying movement, founded by Jarette Petzer, and has been instrumental in its growth.

“I contacted the founder of #ImStaying when the movement had about 20,000 members.

“I asked him what he knew about running a civil movement and a social media platform with so much potential, and if he needed mentorship and support.

“Jarette was an estate agent at the time.

“I was and remain extremely concerned by the level of inequality, exclusion, divisiveness and racism from all sides in SA.

“I believed #ImStaying had a profound ability to change all that, so my involvement was to help Jarette structure it into an NPO.

“We gave them premises and  raised essential funding to help pay their salaries while growing the movement,” he said.

“I remain in almost daily contact with the movement, helping to support and shape it as it grows.”