Keith Wiser says business is booming. But there is a down-side.

I recently read the 1997 biography of Paul McCartney by Barry Miles, Many Years from Now. Apart from being a rollicking good read, a number of things struck me.

One was the sheer speed at which Lennon and McCartney knocked out hit after hit after hit. And they were all belters. The second thing was just how easily one can recall the words to almost every Beatles song that was ever written just from hearing the title.

(OK, that probably doesn’t apply if you were not around in the ’60s. But I was. And trust me, if you were there, this is true.)

I can’t think of another band or song-writing team to whom this applies.

Which brings me back to the title of this article, which was taken from the Beatle’s song called It’s Getting Better All the Time. You can probably see why the lyrics are so easy to recall from the chorus below.

It’s getting better all the time

Better, better, better. It’s getting better all the time

Better, better, better.

Which then, with a bit of a hop and a skip, brings me back to the present. Suddenly, I find myself turning away business that last year I would have kissed feet for. Yes sir, I have to admit it’s getting better.

It’s getting better all the time!

Spending frenzy

As you will have gathered from my last DMI article (January/ February 2010), South Africa finds itself in a unique position this year, due to the fact that we are the hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. You will also recall, if you read that article, that the country has been in the midst of a spending frenzy as part of its preparations for the great event. But that in no way explains what happened at the beginning of 2010.

I deemed last year a success for my agency because we survived. Business was like the Monty Python parrot: it was dead . . . it had expired . . . it had ceased to be! Suddenly, we are on a roller coaster of note. Which is all a bit frustrating. Last year I bit my leg off because I was hungry. Now I have been entered into the Olympic 100 metres!

In times of recession, one has little choice but to cut back and this primarily means on staff. What’s he banging on about, I hear you cry. Just be grateful and hire a new team or two, I hear you say.

Well, it’s not that easy. And there’s nothing like a recession to make one a little cautious, particularly when you look forward another 12 months.

Down to earth

Just as I was getting all gung-ho about the new year, one of our clients brought me down to earth with his projection for 2011. Apparently, every country that has ever hosted the World Cup has experienced a major recession in the following year.

I seem to recall getting into this business because it was fun. Am I still having fun? You’d better believe it. But I have never, while running my own agency, had to face challenges like the ones that confront me now on a daily basis:

• I am basically working 24 hours a day and if that’s not enough I work nights.
• Clients seem to have forgotten the meaning of the word ‘planning’. Yes, there’s lots of work coming in, but it normally begins with a phone call that goes something like this: “Hi, I believe you are a direct marketing agency. We’d like to talk to you about a campaign we would like to get out in the next five minutes’ time.” OK, it’s not quite that bad, but not far off!
• Of course, we weren’t the only people to experience the recession, so clients are still looking for suppliers with very sharp pencils.
• Apart from suffering from SPS (Sharp Pencil Syndrome) clients are also suffering from commitment issues.
• Asking clients for retainers these days, so that one can plan and provide the required resources, is met with about as much enthusiasm as the Gunners on a visit to Old Trafford.

The upside, of course, is that we might just be getting all this work because the world is changing. Short deadlines, tight margins and lack of commitment are part of it.

But on the upside, this brave new world may FINALLY be at the point where it is starting to take what we have to offer seriously.

Now wouldn’t that be a thing! And, if having to live with all the hassles I have just been describing are part of it, so be it . . . because it’s getting better all the time.

Keith Wiser is founder/CEO of 5th Dimension, based in South Africa. Email: KeithW@5thDimension.co.za