The new Wavemaker Operating System has been fully operational in South Africa since October 2020.
‘Provocative Planning is the essence of our new positioning, and our new OS is a bespoke, results-driven platform that demonstrates our positioning in practice,’ said Merissa Himraj, Wavemaker South Africa’s Chief Strategy Officer.
‘The platform is designed to offer detailed information on our clients, their consumers and their consumers’ purchase journeys across a multitude of categories,’ she continued. ‘It enables us to offer our clients informed, customised, data-driven and strategic media insights that answer important business questions. It does this not only by dealing with media performance and ROI, but also by providing guidance on media investment weighting and optimal channel selection, and by helping to identify missed revenue opportunities. This ensures we deliver additional revenue opportunities to our clients.’
How it works
Data has always been at the heart of Wavemaker’s approach to media strategy and engagement. Through the OS, however, this data is now driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning and, as a result, is even more detailed and impactful.
Commissioned by Global CEO Toby Jenner and developed by Wavemaker’s technical team in Poland, the final product (the intellectual property of which is wholly owned by Wavemaker) seamlessly pulls together different data points and integrates them with other systems. These include GroupM’s Live Panel, Mindsight’s and Wavemaker-owned Momentum studies, which together provide a unique view of consumers’ purchasing and media consumption behaviour.
The OS can also be integrated with local market data sources, ensuring that outputs have local, in-market relevance. Wavemaker South Africa has supplemented this with tailored dashboarding solutions powered by the OS outputs. The dashboarding solutions give a clear view of client investment and performance, allowing teams to review and optimise campaigns effectively to deliver the best outcomes.
‘This type of information is critical in informing future approaches, and in helping marketing executives justify or amend media investment decisions and actions. The more information you have, the more you can adapt and make meaningful changes,’ Himraj explained. ‘This is particularly useful if you’re responsible for explaining how your company’s marketing budget is being spent, especially given the current climate of accountability we’re operating in.’
