Brett Dennis | Conill

Conill is an award-winning multicultural advertising agency with a key focus on Hispanic markets. The company, a subsidiary of Saatchi & Saatchi, had the honour of being the first Hispanic agency based in the US when it was founded in 1968. Any business that can thrive for nearly five decades in such a competitive industry is no stranger to innovation, and Conill is always looking for ways to optimise its full-service offerings.

Over the years, the organisation's focus has expanded beyond Hispanic audiences and now specialises in advertising services across a range of 'Super Consumers' like Millennials and moms. Groups such as these generate considerable growth for US businesses today, and brands need targeted marketing campaigns to maximise these opportunities. Understanding what drives the behaviour of Super Consumers is increasingly important for Conill's clients, which is one of the reasons the company began searching for a sophisticated data analytics tool in 2011.

Finding the right tool

Brett Dennis is Conill's Chief Growth Officer. It's his job to ensure the company can solve clients' most challenging business problems and identify the most lucrative opportunities to optimise their spending. To facilitate this, Conill uses a branded version of Pointlogic's communications planning tool Commspoint. The platform, Sherlock, covers a range of audiences but is also specifically customised to maximise results for Hispanic consumers.The company currently uses Sherlock for most clients, even those that have their own modelling tools. According to Brett, the software provides a unique, proprietary way for Conill to deliver fresh insights into clients' channel spending activities.

"Brands want a more quantitative way of allocating media investments," he explains. "They're keenly interested in more data and how they can use that data to make different decisions. But we actually like to say that clients don't need more data, they need more insights!"

Optimising the consumer journey

Sherlock has been key in helping Conill's clients gain market share by accurately analysing brands' relationships with consumers. The software also emphasises how companies can use media to strengthen engagement and incorporate new communication channels into existing strategies.Feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive that Conill now provides half-day workshops for clients, which encourage interactive discussions between the agency and brands regarding modelling inputs. Conill's commitment to improving services means the company was also keen to be involved in the development of Pointlogic's new channel planning platform, Commspoint Journey.

"We've really just started to dip our toe into that service," Brett admits. "But the tool lets you see, for your particular brand, what parts of the consumer journey are more important than others." "You can then customise and overlay which media might be most effective at that journey point to help optimise investments. It looks fantastic and we're very excited about using it."

Working with Pointlogic

Conill's partnership with Pointlogic is founded on a shared belief that collaboration is an important part of innovation. Brett says Pointlogic's team is always accessible and offers day-to-day assistance to maximise use of its software. The relationship is also mutually beneficial. Pointlogic's tools help Conill optimise client services, while the agency often provides useful feedback on early versions of new products.

"Pointlogic has a lot of vision, and a desire to continually improve their tools and services," he concludes. "They don't just sit back and be content with the products they have, they're really trying to satisfy marketplace needs."