The traditional consumer purchase \u201cfunnel\u201d doesn\u2019t carry much weight with new marketing agency Wavemaker. \u201cA lot of communication agencies out there look at the purchase journey as a funnel and really it\u2019s not that whatsoever. It\u2019s actually quite cyclical,\u201d says Derek Bhopalsingh, VP, Digital, Wavemaker Canada.<\/p>\n
The new GroupM agency that launched in the U.S. last November debuted in Canada in January 2018, led by CEO Ann Stewart<\/a>, formerly CEO of Maxus Canada. In this interview with Beet.TV, Bhopalsingh explains what clients are looking for in a modern agency and why being slightly behind the consumer trends curve has its advantages in the Great White North.<\/p>\n One of the key things in the creation of Wavemaker<\/a> was to be able to identify and prioritize client needs. \u201cTrading on media inventory is table stakes,\u201d says Bhopalsingh, whose background includes stints at Aegis, OMD and MEC. \u201cIt\u2019s expected of us but as consumers have evolved, as technology has evolved, clients\u2019 needs of media agencies have evolved as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Helping marketers navigate \u201cthe new consumer journey\u201d and how it evolves requires covering many bases.<\/p>\n \u201cThat can extend from anything from paid media though to omni-channel experiences to how they collect and analyze data to impact their business,\u201d Bhopalsingh<\/a> adds.<\/p>\n What others call a purchase funnel Wavemaker sees as \u201cmomentum.\u201d The rationale is that consumers will always be impacted by messages they see in-market, even if they\u2019re not at the stage of actual purchase consideration of, say, an automobile.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though I may not be in the market for a vehicle, I\u2019m constantly seeing messages and making subconscious decisions about the brands that I like and align with.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, that leads to a \u201ctrigger phase,\u201d which could be having a child, starting a new job or something along those lines, according to Bhopalsingh. \u201cYou then move into different phases where you are evaluating and through to purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada is unique in the sense that a lot of the technologies on display at events like CES 2018 will take about a year and sometimes two or three to reach the market. \u201cThings tend to roll out in Europe, Asia Pacific and the U.S. rather quickly. It gives us a bit of leeway and a runway to help prepare our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n