The Shift from Image to Impact: How Brands Can Create an Antidote to Apathy

Since its founding in 1948, Ogilvy has been growing major brands and businesses like Dove, IBM, Coca Cola, Mondelez, YUM, Nestle, and many others through borderless creativity – operating, innovating, and creating at the intersection of talent and capabilities. Ogilvy’s experts in public relations, consulting, advertising, health, and experience work fluidly across 131 offices in 93 countries and have managed to make Ogilvy the most-awarded creative agency network in the world for the third straight year.

In 2020, Antonis Kocheilas became the global CEO of Ogilvy Advertising, with the sole responsibility of harnessing Ogilvy’s global capabilities in branding, advertising, and content creation for the growth of its clients. His next-level dedication, hard work, and thought leadership haven’t gone unnoticed, and he was recognised as the UK’s Most Influential International Advertising CEO in 2023.

Since David Ogilvy established the agency 75 years ago, the Ogilvy values have remained the same, despite the world having changed so much. “We have never lost sight of our purpose in the world,” says Antonis. “We exist to inspire people and brands to make an impact.”

“We have succeeded because, despite massive social shifts over the years, we have always operated in the way David Ogilvy envisioned. He created a culture that deeply respected and cared about its people and its clients. We honour his legacy by showing that same commitment.”

Ogilvy’s greatest asset is – and always has been – its people. It is entirely devoted to its diverse workforce, empowering each individual to be their best authentic, creative, and professional self, and inspiring them to make an impact. The company remains laser-focused on fostering a connected culture, where talent is rewarded through best-in-class learning and development, as well as career-growth opportunities.

“Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, rebels, and dissenters.” – David Ogilvy

When he took the reins at Ogilvy Advertising almost three years ago, Antonis Kocheilas brought a strategist’s flair to the CEO role. He is a big-picture thinker who loves to craft holistic brand strategies that deliver world-class comms, galvanise stakeholders, and ultimately drive business growth and brand impact. With more than two decades’ of experience in the industry, Antonis has delivered outstanding work for clients, which has been celebrated by numerous Effie (Marketing Effectiveness Awards) and Cannes Lions creative awards, including the inaugural Craft Grand Prix.

There’s no doubting the vast impact Antonis has had at Ogilvy, as he has made the most of the team’s creative talent and the company’s global reach to make similar impact for Ogilvy client brands and businesses. He has an interesting insight on how a brand can be sure it’s approaching marketing in the right way.

“In the old world, we had an abundance of available attention amidst a dearth of media,” he says. “This caused brands to chase impressions, looking to build by making themselves visible at every opportunity. But now, the opposite is true. We have an abundance of media, and a scarcity of attention. Brands now cater to an audience that’s beyond being simply receivers of messages, and buyers of brand products and services. The public today is submerged in the experiences that brands create and the content they serve. Brands have become immersive forces in people’s lives.”

“With this relationship shift, marketers must make a major change,” he continues. “They must move from creating marketing in which people are targets, to marketing that people are a part of. Brands used to operate as lighthouses. They emanated a big, bright signal that stretched far and wide, grabbing people’s attention and offering them an aspirational destination. But because of how technology has radically changed the world, and people’s behaviour, brands, and their audiences now have a new relationship. An effective brand today is more like a flashlight. It’s a companion that a person carries with them wherever they go, which helps them define their own journey.

“Successful modern brands are servant leaders, making an impact on people’s lives, or rather – crucially – helping people make an impact in their own lives.”

As a marketing and brand-building thought leader, Antonis agrees that nowadays, effective marketing must go much deeper than just shaping an image. It needs to move from creating an image and mirroring cultural trends to making an impact – on people, on the planet, and on business performance.

This shift that brands must make from image to impact is crucial because of the public’s current view of brands. Ogilvy’s proprietary study with the WARC (World Advertising Research Centre) shows that people believe brands have a role to play in making the world a better place. But at the same time, the sentiment is that if most brands disappeared, the world wouldn’t be much different. This paradox shows beyond any doubt the apathy that brands need to overcome to win a larger share of the future.

Audiences are being more selective in their brand choices, while holding their chosen brands to a higher standard, meaning these organisations can no longer market as they used to.

“Brands must be companions, not destinations,” says Antonis. “They must include, not exclude. Above all else, they must have impact.

“The brands that do will sustain growth in this ever-uncertain future, and they’ll do so by making an impact on people, on the planet, and on their companies’ performance. And that is what Ogilvy is here to do: inspire brands and people to impact the world.”

For business enquiries, contact Ogilvy on their website – www.ogilvy.com