Joe Pollard is confident she can give Mojo back its mojo. Not that she’ll admit anything was ever lost. The boss is quietly reshaping the firm. Now it’s ready to tell stories – not tall tales but those of the brand-funded variety. Mojo Motion’s the name, expansion’s the game. And that’s just the prologue.
First out of the traps for the unit headed by Brendan Thomas is some storytelling for Nestlé. Then, in a couple of months, “a big piece of work” for a beer brand. Pollard thinks it will be a roaring success. After that, there’s money to be made from internal comms stories – from communicating corporate values for multinationals to 300 headcount SMEs. “They all need good storytelling. And that gets us in with our sales teams,” she said.
And the sales team may have new units to sell. Such as Mojo’s design team, another area Pollard’s earmarked for expansion. Corporate design and branding is low-hanging fruit, she suggested, especially when you understand the brand – and already handle other elements.
But back to the branded content division, where given the “huge shift of dollars” away from traditional advertising, the market has been swift to follow. Understanding the brand is what will set Mojo Motion apart, Pollard said.
“A lot of firms have set up shop and say they can produce. But we have brand essence in mind as part of our DNA. That is a differentiator. We also understand the consumer. We advise clients on how to act. The story has to be worth telling and the content has to belong. Shitty content is shitty content whether long or short-form.”
Garbage in, garbage out, but “consumers don’t mind [advertisers funding the content] if the brand belongs there.”
Along with pushing further into digital and design, point-of-sale activation will become another “core focus” for the business. The company has the resources to develop big ideas regardless of medium, she said.
So with all these potential new units, Mojo looks set to find itself up against a whole new bunch of competitors. In the case of its newest division, there is also ZenithOptimedia’s branded content unit within the group. So how will that work? Pollard is diplomatic.
There will be levels of collaboration, the group will share its resources, there may be times when the spoils are shared and the two can solve issues of client conflict between them. But, she insisted, there will be no favours, the unit will stand on its own two feet. “I think if you asked ZO they would see us as a production house on their roster, but may the best man win.”
This article first appeared in the 14 June 2013 edition of AdNews, in print and on iPad. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
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