Recently appointed as the head of direct, promotional and integrated marketing at agency selection company AAR, Spong will be responsible for developing relationships between clients and agencies, as well as addressing industry issues that affect both sides.
Spong is no stranger to direct agencies or to client-side communications, having worked at Proximity in its BHWG days, McCann Communications and Haygarth Group, where he helped set up its direct marketing division. Most recently, he was a consultant for Royal Mail's Media Centre, working with clients and agencies to ensure best practice in direct marketing.
Spong has a hard act to follow, as he replaces the well-connected Julie Constable, who left AAR to take up a role at rival intermediary service, Agency Insight. He also faces competition from the Haystack Group, led by Suki Thompson. Spong, however, is convinced that there is room, and more, for all three players.
"Neither of the other two services could handle the volume of briefs that we do and Thompson has her eye on the bigger clients, while Agency Insight has more of a consultative base," he says. "We are in a marketplace of choice, which is always a healthy position to be in - it's good to be able to compare one service with another."
Spong is also poised to set the cat among the pigeons with his plans to reassess how agencies are remunerated and to improve client-agency relationships.
"Payment could be based on performance, or a joint score card. In the past, agencies have had the luxury of roaming around client companies, add- ing value to various parts of the business. But there has been no measurement criteria to monitor where and what this value adds up to. Everyone is looking to cut costs, so building trust between clients and agencies will be important," says Spong.
Spong is also keen to find out "who the brave clients are - those prepared to work with an agency to develop what we don't yet know about", referring to Tesco's decision to develop Clubcard as an example.
He is determined to develop the insights he gained at the Mail Media Centre and apply these to his new role. Most recently, he was involved in research looking at consumers' attitudes to direct mail and how they interact with it in their homes. The aim is to set up a benchmark to examine the effect direct mail has on brand awareness. As Spong outlines, the direct marketing discipline is now not about driving response, but more about engaging with consumers.
Spong will also be working closely with Juliet Blackburn, who heads AAR's digital division and concedes that there needs to be a better understanding of digital channels and how they affect direct marketing. He also has strong views on creativity. "I've always been intrigued about where creative ideas come from," says Spong. "I get very frustrated with lazy creatives and an approach where a factory process mentality has overtaken quality."
Peers and former colleagues have little doubt that Spong will make his mark in the new role. Simon Hall, founder of Hall Moore CHI, says that Spong "doesn't get fazed by anything" and that "clients and agencies will both enjoy his reassuring voice". Chris Barraclough, founder and creative partner at agency Barraclough Edwards Chamberlain, says the current agency landscape, where many agencies are choosing the integrated model, presents an interesting challenge.
"Tony has worked at a senior level on the client and agency side and done very well at both, which is rare. Agencies will respond to him and he can relate well to clients," he says.
Above all, rugby enthusiast Spong is passionate about good service, garnered from his early career working at NatWest in marketing and customer service.
"Direct marketing is at a crossroads, but it's an industry that has been able to reinvent itself time and time again," he says. "The next step is for the discipline to become better at capturing preferences and further permission-based marketing, so we can pick the best channels to engage with consumers."
SPONG'S CHALLENGES
- To compete with established players for agency and client briefs
- To introduce new business models for agencies, such as a wider adoption of payment-by-results.