diannetippingwoods

Written for and published in Altitude Magazine

Reg Lascaris was a chubby child who liked white mice. He is now President of the Africa, Middle East, Mediterranean and Eastern European region of the TBWA global advertising group and creative agency, and the founding partner of TBWA Hunt Lascaris, South Africa. “And I’m less chubby”, he laughs.

Lascaris is articulate and honest and as he talks about how he has achieved what in 1983 was a distant vision for the young entrepreneur and his partner, John Hunt. “We sat down over a couple of beers one day and we decided we wanted to build the first world class communications company out of Africa” Lascaris says. It was as simple as that. The operation began out of the boot of an old station wagon. TBWA Hunt Lascaris, South Africa is now one of the leading creative agencies in South Africa, with a string of high profile clients and a reputation for professionalism and creative daring.

“When we started this in 1983 there were one or two agencies that were pushing the creative thing, but we really tried even harder to break the rules and come out with stuff that was so different that everyone would notice us and that worked very well for our clients” smiles Lascaris.  “It was never creativity for the sake of being creative but it was relevant creativity, with the strategy behind it” he adds.

As the local success of TBWA Hunt Lascaris grew, so did their vision, “and that was to be a world class creative agency and to play in the global area”, says Lascaris, “fortunately for us that’s happened”.

Lascaris attributes this international success to a combination of things, including the backing of a great team. “But in the end you have to have a philosophy and a set of values and the first thing we did was set own our mission, our vision and our values”, he explains, “and that vision should always be greater than what we could actually achieve”.

By staying true to their vision and always striving towards their goals, Lascaris, and his partner, Hunt shaped TBWA Hunt Lascaris, South Africa into a model that works for the global TBWA network, of which the original agency now forms a part. “The network has leant from us and we’ve learnt from the network” says Lascaris, who has spent the last five years travelling the world and developing the Asian, Eastern European and Mediterranean branches of the organization that has 258 full service agencies worldwide, with expertise in all of the disciplines required for the positioning, launching and long-term management of brands.

“We’re now the leading agency in Turkey, and in the top five in Eastern Europe”, says Lascaris, “but we still have a hell of a lot to do of course, as hell of a lot”.

This is despite the fact that the TBWA network was voted ADWEEK’s “Global Agency of the Year 2006”, their most recent in a long list of international awards and accolades. “We’ve also become the most creative network in the world” Lascaris adds, “and at the Cannes festival over the last three years we’ve dominated, so we’re going in the right direction”.

The challenge now is to maintain their position, and to keep winning the awards. “My biggest lesson is that you’re as good as your last ad or creative project and you have to keep on trying. And pushing” he says. “No matter what you learn, it will never be enough, and the creativity is “our catalyst, our magic potion-we can never forget that”.

TBWA’s latest creative ventures involve effectively using new and emerging technologies, which align with new consumer trends. A combination of digitization, increased consumer sophistication and a kind of brand socialism is leading TBWA into new exciting territory. “This industry is changing dramatically” he says, “you can’t just have a big bang approach any more. Change is inevitable, and we shouldn’t be scared of going where we haven’t been before”.

This attitude shift is reflected in TBWA’s overall strategy if not strictly under the banner of TBWA Hunt Lascaris, South Africa. “We’re looking at specialist companies and more will be revealed this year” he says, describing some of the work being done in the states with the Media Arts Lab, a creative partnership with Apple, as well as collaborative projects with Sony Play Station as examples. “We have to bring media back into the middle”, he says, “and we need to understand what media types are out there and what they’re delivering and then start catering for those”.

Although TBWA Hunt Lascaris, South Africa has been going through a difficult time recently, Lascaris believes the things are turning around.” It’s going be a year of change for the industry and for myself” he adds, giving little away other than a confident smile, “and more than anything, life’s too short to be mediocre”.