Upfront
Kevin Roberts
by Greg Dixon
Kevin Roberts heads advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi. He is an Englishman. He works in New York. Yet, the man who famously had dinner with PM Jenny Shipley and never discussed politics says New Zealand is home. Roberts, 55, settled here in 1989 to work for Lion Nathan. He joined Saatchis in 1997 and oversees an international team of some 7000 people in 82 countries. He loves travelling – which is just as well – and splits his time between Saatchis’ New York head office and homes in St Tropez and Auckland. In his new book Lovemarks, a blend of autobiography and self-help business guide, he discusses a world where consumers are no longer motivated by brand loyalty, but by “lovemarks” – emotional attachments to products. The Listener spoke to Roberts at his Auckland office.
Why have you written this book? A few years ago, I was worried that we’d be faced with a declining business because brands were turning into commodities and manufacturers were losing their way. I’d just moved to Saatchis and I thought, “Jesus, man, what’s happening?” So I thought, “What comes next?” I figured out what came next: lovemarks. It’s developed massive traction since then and there’s been a lot of transient media [coverage]. But books have some kind of sustainable perpetuity, so let’s write the book.
So, who are the book’s consumers, then? The publishers believe this is a book that crosses over from business into pop culture. It’s not written like a business book, it’s meant to be a book to browse through. I’ve already sold 88,000 in 12 languages in 14 countries. These are the advance orders from business schools, companies and advertising agencies.
Is New Zealand a lovemark? No. It was, but now probably isn’t, because it has lost respect globally. We lost a lot of respect [because of] our lack of global sensitivity. We’ve grown up and become a little bit like a teenager: “We’re very rebellious, so we’re not going to join you in this, we’re going to do this and that.” I spend a lot of time in the US and Europe and they find it very difficult to invest in New Zealand nowadays, very difficult to get a clear sense of being welcomed.
What’s your definition of love exactly? In a marketing sense, it’s to create loyalty beyond reason.
What does that actually mean? Beyond price, value, benefits, attributes, performance, distribution. You have to stay loyal to the idea of something because … because nothing. Because that’s how you feel. Three months ago, I was in Seattle talking to 3000 professors and afterwards I walked past an Adidas concept store. I love Adidas. I didn’t need anything, didn’t want anything. $US880 later I walked out of that store.
But isn’t that consumerism beyond reason because you’re buying stuff you don’t need? Yeah. But I think it’s the exercise of emotional choice. People want to participate in a society and they want to make those choices now based on emotions and I think that is a great thing.
But what if people made political decisions based on emotion? Doesn’t that lead to blood in the streets? No, if you have passion and harmony, that’s when you get into flow. You don’t get blood in the streets from passion and harmony. Those are two beautiful emotions. Two things. I don’t think governments are influencing the world for the better. If you’re going to rely on government in any one country to move the world forward in this time of exclusion and conflict, then you’re a dreamer. The only thing that will move us forward is business, because the role of business is purely to make the world a better place for everyone. Governments are all about looking after their own interests.
But business does the same. Isn’t business about taking care of its own interests and making money? That’s a flawed model. What you’re saying is what is occurring – we’re practising capitalism of exclusion. I’m the professor of sustainable enterprise at Limerick and Waikato universities. I passionately believe that the role of business is to make the world a better place. My belief is that love and inspiration are the things that will change the world. You don’t change the world through management and branding. You change it through inspiring people to be the best they can be against the common purpose of making the world a better place for everyone. Cynics can knock. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet heard a counter-argument from the cynics.
But how do you change the greed-is-good model? I’m the head of a very powerful company, so I have the opportunity to sit down with CEOs. If you have any conversation with any CEO, he will embrace [the principles of] sustainability. Unfortunately, he does not action them. Why? Because Wall Street doesn’t reward them. So we have to convince Wall Street that the value of share price growth is not in quarterly results, it’s in a company that can demonstrate sustainability.
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