A devotion to craft

There is a rather adorable Urdu expression for things that are ‘close enough’ – ‘unees bees ka faraq’ or rather ‘the difference between 19 and 20’. It tends to act as a cover for any job done that is not complete but will get by because it’s close enough. This approach will be halted in the Pakistani advertising and marketing industry, and craft will be looked at through an eye of perfection until people start saying, “bees, bees.”

A sense of standards

Pakistan as a nation has successfully competed on international standards in many fields – sport, art, film, and even physics. But when it comes to advertising and marketing, it has lagged behind decades. This will change. Pakistan will be a regular winner at Cannes Lions and will reflect a new modern era that is led by higher standards, the ones that inspire work around the world.

Partners, not masters-and-slaves

Agency and client dynamics will be revised from the archaic ‘the agency will do my bidding’ to a more collaborative ‘my agency is my equal partner in my success’. The 80s era of ‘whip the galley’ is far behind us and we will look to the future of how people work together. Clients will know that they are more likely to get better value out of their agency if they treat them as a business solution partner rather than a communications delivery vending machine.

Tech, tick

AI will be exploding all over the world, freeing up creatives to do more thinking and less constructing, which is sure to raise quality all around. Pakistan will invest in tech development, especially in the marketing industry, both in terms of research and craft.

A greater appetite for risk

Fortune favours the brave – and marketeers will step up on the risk-taking. This will lead to more original content, which will resonate at a much better rate with audiences. The phrase ‘what if’ will be applied more so to ‘what if things go well?’

Train the future

The Pakistani marketing industry will invest more in training its youth on how to compete globally. This means sending more young people to award shows, advertising programs, and marketing courses.

Creativity, not media spend, as a solution

Rather than relying on mega-media budgets, the advertising industry will lean on the strength of creativity to deliver a message. The power of shared and earned media will be utilised in Pakistan, rather than that of purchased media. This will also be helped through better material created by content crafters.

Test naturally

Archaic focus groups are perhaps the most artificial environment to test advertising in. These will be overhauled to reflect a more natural setting in which people consume advertising. This will generate more accurate data on what the average consumer engages with. Testing will be used more so to evaluate trends and insights rather than ask the consumer to write the headline.

Finding purpose in purpose

The average brand in Pakistan will focus more on purposeful work, and pivot towards a more sustainable model for the future. The term ‘corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign’ will go extinct as purpose will become part of regular campaigns.

The value of trust

Clients will trust their agencies more, and let the decision-making process be more equitable. The logical rule that if you’re hiring someone for their talent and skill, allow them to practice it, will come into play. Most clients would not trust a pilot to fly the plane they are traveling in. The same will apply to creativity.

This article first appeared in the April print issue of Manifest, part of a broader 'Rest of South Asia' feature.