5 Minutes with… Johan Borg
“Be kind, and give a damn,” says Johan Borg, VMLY&R’s chief growth officer for AUNZ. As the agency’s’ first chief growth officer since the merger of VML and Y&R in 2018, his work philosophy pretty much sets the tone for his stewardship. Johan adds, “Take care of your people, be a good person, and care passionately about what you do. The rest will follow. That, and remember, average is not the benchmark.”
As a business that is about people and creativity aiming to capture the attention of consumers, it certainly makes perfect sense to embrace the ‘human’ factor, be it in creativity or strategy. Johan sums it up well when he shared that even though his role is about business growth, it is also about “connecting with people to create shared opportunities and actively building an environment for that to thrive”.
“Hardly a day goes by where I don't have a conversation with someone somewhere else on the planet, and the beauty of being part of a global company that is connected in this way is the power it brings to accelerating growth when applied properly. With that, a large part of my strategy is to make sure we harness this advantage and bring our BX, CX and Commerce capabilities together in ways that have never been done before,” Johan shares.
Johan is a key driver of transformative work in both creative and technology agencies, and he brings with him over 14 years of experience at Ogilvy, Host, Soap, Isobar and Merkle. Creating connected brands is his forte, and it sets the framework for Johan to optimise the business opportunities at VMLY&R.
“I've focused on our brand narrative and how we thread this across everything we do, internally and externally, as this plays a big role in unifying our growth ambitions across the region. Lastly, our tech alliances and the wider WPP network are important elements of our growth strategy, and many growth goals are being built around maximising these partnerships,” emphasises Johan.
For this father of two little girls, building environments and partnerships is something that is undertaken with a healthy dose of fun, just as his parenting style is about imparting good values with a lot of play. Empowered by his new role at VMLY&R since August this year, Johan is setting the bars high, all while enjoying every moment he’s got – including nice whiskey, vintage cars and exotic travel locations.
LBB> As chief growth officer, what changes and improvements have you implemented within VMLY&R?
Johan> Focus in my first few weeks has been to establish common principles and ways of working across the region. We've implemented a new CRM to manage our pipeline for net new and organic growth; developed a new bid /no-bid tool to make informed decisions and gather more learnings; did whitespace mapping across all of our clients; spent a lot of time with our technology partners; looked at our communications plan for the next 12+ months; and worked on new go-to-market strategies for strategically important capabilities.
More importantly I’m connecting with our teams across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington to see and hear firsthand what is working and what can be improved.
LBB> How has VMLY&R’s approach in harnessing creativity and technology sharpened its competitive edge with clients?
Johan> The whole reason to merge VML and Y&R was to combine creativity and technology. And the competitive edge comes from delivering that in a pure, unencumbered way, where all of our competitors will have a creative or a technology brand.
LBB> How does VMLY&R’s approach align with your own thoughts and processes with regards to creativity and technology?
Johan> That is a great question and one that is very relevant to me as VMLY&R’s philosophy around creativity and technology is what made me want to join in the first place. Far too many technology implementations (and by default system integrators) don’t fully consider the brand experience and equally traditional brand creative doesn’t always leverage technology the way it could.
At VMLY&R we don’t compartmentalise between experience and brand, and it creates connections on a whole other level, which in turn helps our clients’ brands to grow.
LBB> Digital transformation is a need, not a want. What are your thoughts on that?
Johan> In a way, I think it’s more about the different levels of maturity every client is at, and the different meaning digital transformation therefore will have for them. For some, implementing a digital asset management system could count as digital transformation, whereas for others, digital transformation could mean changing how the entire company operates.
Those that are more mature, I believe, are less likely to be driven by a (perceived) need.
LBB> What is often the big mistake(s) that brands make when it comes to this agenda? Why?
Johan> One of the most common mistake we often see is clients investing a lot of money in new technology or digital ecosystems but not investing in how to maximise the opportunities it represents. Another common mistake is not realising digital transformation is (in most cases) cross-departmental and requires alignment to succeed.
LBB> In your past experience leading digital transformation, what are the vital takeaways and what’s key to success?
Johan> In my experience, successful digital transformations have always understood that you can’t transform just one part of the business in isolation. You need to resolve competing priorities, get stakeholder engagement from all areas and clearly articulate what it will mean for everyone. Implementing the technology is relatively easy, but only a few succeed in managing the change it brings.
LBB> Building connected brands requires an awareness of social and community needs. What’s your strategy for growing clients’ businesses?
Johan> You are right, building a connected brand does require contextual awareness. And as a result, I don’t think it’s ever been more important to build a brand that really matters to your customers. The role of our strategy is to ensure that the brand is connected across every touch point - from product to service to experience and conversion.
If we do that well, the brand becomes a more integral part of their customers’ lives and the business grows.
LBB> How does the agenda of building connected brands lend itself to the AUNZ markets and what’s your take on the growth potential?
Johan> In my experience, the importance of building a connected brand is no different in AUNZ to the rest of the world. The ’how’ and ‘what’ may differ but not the ‘why’. Today, as an organisation, your experience is your brand and every client should approach brand experience and customer experience holistically.
LBB> From your past experiences, what’s vital in contributing to the success of long-term client relations and partnerships? Where does VMLY&R stand?
Johan> Long-term success is built on a mutual commitment of what it takes to succeed; that both the client and agency place great emphasise on having the best team and are investing in their capabilities. It is about everyone being comfortable in their roles and having a safe space to put ideas forward; to share the same mindsets; to work towards common goals without conflicting KPIs; and to have a desire to create something great. These things in turn build trust and honesty, which keep partnerships alive. That and always having fun together.
LBB> Looking ahead, what have you identified as the industry sectors that are significant in complimenting VMLY&R’s portfolio and what’s your strategic approach in moving towards your goal for growth?
Johan> We have identified industry sectors where we will certainly invest time, such as government, retail, FSI, travel, technology and social good, and we do need a footprint in every large sector due to our size and to manage conflicts.
We are also deepening our specialisations in key sectors with multiple client partners in each. No sector is exclusive though, and our main driver for growth is always going to be around the connections we can make through our work and the impact we’re having on our people, our clients' businesses and their users.
