All posts by : COMMUNICATE by PEMANDU

Malaysia’s Budget 2019 scheduled announcement on 2 November 2018 is widely anticipated, as it will be the country’s first budget to be tabled by the new government.

Much has been and will be debated on the contents of the budget, as the Pakatan Harapan government has made it clear that its priority is on improving its fiscal position. Its mid-term review of the 11^th Malaysia Plan on 18 October 2018 already provided some hints on the government’s fiscal direction, with expectations high for spending cuts and the introduction of new taxes to optimise public finances.

With a period of belt-tightening seemingly on the cards, Transformation Today talked to Malaysian individuals and small business owners* who make up the pulse of the country’s economy, to reveal their wish list for the budget and direction they hope will be set for Malaysia Baharu.

The issue of taxation appeared foremost on the mind of every day Malaysians, with the recent return to the Sales and Services Tax (SST) from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) creating a divided opinion from consumers. While the GST shouldered much of public blame for the cost of living in recent years, the rakyat seems to have found its abolishment has not had the desired impact.

Anne, who works in the legal department of an oil and gas firm and is a mother of twin 9-year old boys, says she did not observe a reduction in prices during the interim ‘tax holiday’ which saw the GST zero rated prior to the re-introduction of the SST.

“The rule of thumb is that once prices in Malaysia go up, they will almost never go back down,” she opines, sharing that both types of taxes made her more prudent with her family’s expenditure. She adds that while she understands austerity measures may be necessary to reduce the country’s debt level, it should instead take the form of prudent government spending as opposed to increasing the tax burden for Malaysians.

The higher consumer prices were also felt by Adib and Imran, both young executives in the private sector who believe businesses are profiteering from the reversion to SST. To this, Imran advises the public to galvanise their mandate by reporting such cases to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.

It is in fact the government’s mandate that Malaysians are eager to remind the ruling administration of as it unveils its maiden annual budget. “I feel that the goverment should refocus its expenditure on the essentials, namely healthcare, education, agriculture and economic infrastructure. For the time being, the government should refrain from undertaking duplicative and non-essential initiatives.

“The primary focus of the government should be to reinvigorate the Malaysian economy, make it a business-friendly climate and encourage foreign direct investments. But more importantly, the government needs to open up new economic sectors and stimulate the creation of new jobs from these new sectors. A new Malaysia should mean a new economy and new jobs,” says Anne.

Luqman, a sales administrator and developer who works for a Malaysian telecommunications company in the US is also concerned on the impact of the economic environment on the job market. As a fresh graduate, he worries that more taxes will affect corporate spending, which may in turn influence their hiring decisions. However, he is cognisant that this may be a short-term pain aimed at improving the country’s prospects in the long-run. “My generation has to figure out a way that is less dependent on government incentives,” he opines.

Luqman’s long-term view provides a peek into the vibrant patriotism witnessed in Malaysia since the 14^th General Elections in May this year. The public has voiced their support for the government to trim its debt level, to the extent of creating the publicly-funded ‘Tabung Harapan’, which will cease collections on 31 December 2018, to contribute to the repayment of government debt.

However, the public appears to have adopted a ‘wait and see’ approach on the government’s performance before committing to further support. Imran notes that while he sees himself as patriotic, he is not prepared to contribute more than required to government coffers until the government reveals more details on its plans for economic development.

Nonetheless, despite the caution on spending displayed by the government thus far, the public remains hopeful that Budget 2019 will still provide some cheer. For Aida, a home baker based in Putrajaya, tax cuts on essential grocery and bakery items are on her budget wish list, as well as more incentives, grants and easier access to financing for small/micro businesses, targeted at youth in particular.

Another small business owner, Fong, who operates an independent bookshop in Petaling Jaya, points out that the government should recognise other priority areas in commerce beyond typical sectors such as property development and investment, such as bookselling, which play a vital role in community development. He also suggests the budget include incentives for booksellers, especially in line with UNESCO’s recent naming of Kuala Lumpur as the World Book Capital for 2020.

As the budget announcement looms, the government can seemingly be assured of the public’s awareness and understanding of the need to reform public finance and stimulate the economy. However, Malaysians have made it clear that above all, they will favour a wise and prudent government to steer the country on its new path.

*Full names have been withheld at the individuals’ request for privacy

Farawahidah Yusof is an Associate at PEMANDU Associates. She’s also a serial marathon runner. Find out how her job as a management consultant has pushed her to pursue Big Fast Results in the running world.

The son of a pisang goreng and cakoi seller who went on to establish his own website management startup, which now manages over 35,000 domains. A former chief operating officer of a chemical company who left a 20-year corporate career upon realising he had virtually sold his soul at the expense of his family life. A couple in an old folks’ home longing to reunite with the son who abandoned them.

These are just some of the real, relatable and sometimes heart-wrenching stories of the Humans of Kuala Lumpur, a digital platform which documents the transformation and diversity of Malaysians through photo stories and videos. Inspired by the Humans of New York photo project on the inhabitants of New York City which has gained a global following, the Kuala Lumpur iteration was initiated by Mushamir Mustafa, a freelance photographer/photojournalist.

Born in Bangladesh to parents working in the foreign service, Mushamir counts Kosovo, Brazil and Namibia as places he called home when growing up, creating a void on his knowledge of his native Malaysia. “I was only around 10 or 11 years old when I first saw KLCC!” Mushamir says of his first recollection of Malaysia during a visit in 2005. The Humans of Kuala Lumpur project became his way of connecting to his home country, which he only returned to settle in as a secondary student in 2009.

In an interview with Transformation Today, Mushamir shares how he started the photo-story project in 2012 during his university days. It was driven firstly by his interest to get to know Malaysia and Malaysians as well as his penchant for striking up conversations with strangers.

It then grew into a passion for Mushamir as he continued to meet interesting people with compelling and inspirational stories.

He also realised that at the time, there was an absence of the recording and preservation of the stories of everyday Malaysians as no media locally covered such stories of people on the ground. As he immersed himself in the project, he found that beyond documenting Malaysian lives, Humans of Kuala Lumpur had the potential to become a platform for social advocacy.

He began to choose causes to advocate, such as homelessness, and sought out relevant people to tell their authentic stories on those subjects. “I realised that we had the power to educate society on particular causes while giving a voice to those who don’t have one,” says Mushamir.

Six years into his venture, Humans of Kuala Lumpur has amassed close to 700 published and unpublished stories. Published stories are shared on its website and social media platforms which have counted 20 million organic/unpaid views. Starting with just Mushamir armed with his camera, the Humans of Kuala Lumpur is now made up of 15 contributing photographers and videographers who actively seek unique Malaysians to profile. Members of the public are also invited to submit their stories to the platform. The project, which remains independently funded by Mushamir himself, reached a milestone this year with the showing of its inaugural exhibition running throughout September 2018 at Carcosa Seri Negara.

In undertaking Humans of Kuala Lumpur, Mushamir has found that the stories told on the platform resonate with audiences due to its relatability. “You could be rich or poor and be of any colour or creed, but when you read the stories, you feel like you’ve been through the same experiences or you can learn something from it,” he says. He has also observed that the platform’s power to educate the public on the issues facing their fellow Malaysians also serves to inspire audiences.

On what’s next for the venture, Mushamir hopes that Humans of Kuala Lumpur, which is also the first ‘Humans of’ instalment in Malaysia and has the largest social media following of over 100,000, will become self-sustaining.

Additionally, while the platform does currently include stories of Malaysians outside of Kuala Lumpur, he aims to increase its coverage further and promote greater inclusiveness.

While Humans of Kuala Lumpur was born simply out of one young man’s curiosity and desire to find the untold stories of a homeland he did not know much of, Mushamir has also discovered the transformative force of his work.“Stories, either those you read, hear from others or even tell yourself, can transform people. I hope that when we write and tell stories, people will see the common humanity in everyone else and be inspired to transform into a better person. We are all stories in the end, so make it a good one.”

Cheska Tatiana Ridzuan, Arlene Teo and Meor Muhammad are just some of the millennials that work at PEMANDU Associates. Watch our latest instalment of BFR Untold as they share their thoughts on being a millenial in a consulting firm.

By Adlina Atikah Amran

The public sector, traditionally seen as inefficient and bureaucratic, has embraced the importance of transformation in its operations.

In recent years, this has seen governments around the world adopting the ‘lab’ methodology as a problem-solving tool to catalyse transformation. In essence, labs are a facilitated environment that encourages robust discussions between various stakeholders to develop solutions for specific issues. This setting allows for innovative ideas to take shape which can yield positive outcomes. These ideas will then lead the team to pursue a process, agenda or programme to implement the idea with accountability, clear determinants of roles, budget and milestones to achieve success.

In Malaysia, thousands of people from various backgrounds came together in a series of labs to develop a socioeconomic agenda to transform Malaysia’s economy and uplift the lives of Malaysians. Utilised to plan, initiate and execute the National Transformation Programme (NTP), the labs were recognised as a ground-breaking approach for the country’s public sector to problem-solve, identify opportunities and implement socioeconomic reform. The labs created a collaborative environment for stakeholders to identify problems, craft solutions, recommend initiatives and create a framework for transformation for its robust implementation. It helped break down silos between agencies and bring input from subject matter experts to critically argue and resolve issues.

Through the labs, initiatives were developed to enable private sector participation in the economy, ensure sustainable public finance and increase the country’s GNI per capita. The programme’s initiatives, co-created by the public and private sector, positively impacted social development in the country, creating over 2.26 million new jobs and contributing to lifting 2.9 million individuals out of poverty as at the end of 2017.

The role of labs as a progressive and proven tool for public sector innovation has been demonstrated its adoption by governments around the world.

In Denmark, the government established Mindlab in 2002 to initially carry out the task of breaking down silos between ministries and engage in service design projects, and later on manage more complex projects such as policy-making, reform and capacity-building. One of the pioneers of labs, Mindlab has inspired the set-up of many similar labs and methodologies.

In the view of Mindlab, the public sector has more indicators for success compared with the private sector: productivity, service, changes in behaviour and democracy. Therefore, Mindlab’s methodology is based on the use of ethnography and design methods such as prototyping and testing to create solutions in collaboration with citizens, businesses and government agencies. The co-creation process leads to the invention of designs which enables problems and opportunities to be reimagined.

Mindlab was initially intended to operate for a few years, but it succeeded in remaining relevant by focusing on current issues and always planning ahead of trends. Its reach across the government is unprecedented and has resulted in a major shift in how organisations think and work in Denmark.

In 2018, Mindlab was evolved and replaced by the Disruption Task Force, a unit set up by the Prime Minister of Denmark, to move Denmark’s public sector transformation to a new phase. This involved digitally reforming Denmark’s civil service, building on Mindlab’s legacy of enabling and encouraging recursive intervention to resolve issues and embedding the culture of innovation within the government.

In South Korea, Seoul’s Mayor Park Won-soon established the Seoul Innovation Bureau (SIB) in 2013 with the objective to transform Seoul into a city of innovation. The idea was brought about to bring radical changes across the government by getting ideas from citizens and working with departments to implement them. This is done with the aim to eliminate excessive bureaucracy. Thus, its key tool has been to engage citizens in getting ideas and sharing resources for city policies through its “Sharing City” initiative.

One of the most significant and popular citizen-led transformation facilitated by SIB is Seoul’s night bus. The idea was sparked by a citizen on Twitter, which was supported by many others. The SIB then used data from people’s phones in the planning of late-night bus routes, guided by the locations of 3 billion phone calls. Currently, the buses run on eight routes between midnight and 5am.

In 2018, the SIB will be launching a living lab to try out solutions for some of the most complex forces shaping the city – rising property prices, youth unemployment, healthcare, the sharing economy and technology. It plans to employ a combination of diverse methods to gather and test ideas via pilot projects, workshops and conferences.

The adoption of the lab methodology globally has shown how labs help governments deep dive into specific subject areas and get their implementation programme right at the start to ensure the success of their transformation agenda. However, whilst the labs are an innovative tool and environment to chart out a true north for any transformation agenda, it is only an initial step of a transformation.

The real work comes after a roadmap with clear deliverables, accountability and deployment of resource has been laid out, and discipline of action is practiced in executing the carefully designed programmes to achieve tangible and measurable outcomes. As demonstrated by global experiences, the implementation of public sector agendas can only succeed with the presence of clear accountability, rigorous monitoring and problem-solving in a recursive manner.

PEMANDU Associates coordinates and facilitates labs and provides assistance in monitoring implementation of public sector transformation and business turnaround. Our lab methodology, part of PEMANDU Associates’ BFR 8-Step Methodology, enables the delivery of solutions through robust analytics and discussions from a myriad of individuals involving the public and private sector, as well as subject matter experts. If you’d like to find out how a lab can be constructed and adapted to your needs, do not hesitate to contact our team of consultants at [email protected].

Our BFR Untold series sets out to uncover what really goes on behind the transformational projects delivered by PEMANDU Associates. This month, we feature Woody Ang, Senior Vice President at PEMANDU Associates, about his experience working on Oman’s Tanfeedh programme.

By Adlina Atikah Amran

“Be on standby to fly out to Nigeria at any time,” read the text sent by my boss, the Managing Director of COMMUNICATE.

We had been tasked with organising an Open Day for the Government of Nigeria following the end of the Nigeria Economic Growth and Recovery Plan labs, providing end-to-end services from content creation for the event’s communication materials to event management.

The moment I received that text message is when the weight of the project pressed on my shoulders. Up until that point, I had already successfully fielded the curveballs from the project and I always knew there was a possibility I would have to participate in some engagement on the ground. Yet I still felt that I was not prepared to fly to Africa. My tummy did a few somersaults and I started having sleepless nights up until the day of my flight.

Amidst all that panic I took a step back and thought to myself – what was I so afraid of? What was it that made me so worried? I doubted that it was the work itself, as it was something I was used to doing and I have a fantastic team to support me.

After much introspection, I admitted to myself that my biggest worry was change. I admitted that I was not ready to adapt to an unfamiliar environment and manage communications for the first foreign clients I had worked with. Ironically, I serve an organisation which champions change and transformation, but there I was, afraid of change.

Try. Do not be afraid to try.

Following my self-diagnosis, I decided that my anxiety-ridden days should not prolong, and I needed to break out of that cocoon and face my reality. I fully embodied the transformation ideology and took this as an opportunity for career and personal elevation. I put my game face on and prepared myself to make that 20-hour journey to Abuja, where the Open Day was being held.

The next few days before my departure were a challenge for the COMMUNICATE team as we worked with stakeholders in two time zones. We would be perched in front of our laptops from 9am to 6pm Malaysia time, and then 9am to 6pm Nigeria time, which is 7 hours behind our local time. Working double the work hours, our days literally never ended.

It was also a race against time as the work involved the production of physical deliverables which require special printing. Our days revolved around cycles of writing, designing, editing and reviewing, up until final approvals.

Finally, the time had come for me to board that flight. My team and I flew in 10 days prior to the event and received a warm welcome from our Nigerian counterparts, which eliminated 70% of the worries I had. Frankly, I felt foolish for worrying so much before my departure. The work was the same…but different in many ways. It required adaptation on our end and clear and concise communications from both parties to make the work, work.

The experience was an eye opener and it taught me to be exceedingly detailed and clear in my instructions and explanations, to never assume and to trust the people I work with. There were, of course, hiccups along the way, some so complex I felt like we would never find a solution. Most of the issues we encountered were expected but there were some which I was absolutely not prepared for. The smallest of them being…the inconvenience of not having access to an A3 printer and a car at 11pm on the night before the event.

Nonetheless, with the combined effort of all parties and despite the complexities we encountered, COMMUNICATE was able to help the Nigerian Government pull off its first Open Day.

So, who followed me back to my country?

I returned from my 10-day trip to Africa, my first foreign work assignment, with a wealth of experience, wisdom and courage to transform. That is what followed me back to my country.

The biggest lesson I learned was that no matter what comes your way, never be afraid and trust your capabilities because if you do not believe in yourself, who would? If you ever need help, do not be afraid to ask and learn from others who are more experienced. Mistakes are inevitable, but that should not hinder you from doing your best. You should always own up to your mistakes and make them right.

Fast forward several months later, and my experience in Nigeria has proven to be invaluable to my career and personal development, plus it makes a great conversation starter!

If you ask me, I would do it all over again.

(True story: I was running around the event venue making sure everything was going to plan when out of the blue, I heard someone speak as I zoomed past him at the main entrance. In a deep and low voice just loud enough for me to hear, he said, “I will follow you back to your country”. What he said gave me chills, but I just laughed it off and for my safety, hung around my team for the rest of the event!)

Nestled in an idyllic suburb of Kuala Lumpur bustles an entrepreneur with an amazing zest for life, hope and personal dreams. An ex-banker by profession, Joe Zainul had a desire he knew his 9-to-5 job would never fulfil. Despite working for five years with a global banking group, he continued to feel a pull towards a thought he once had when travelling in Australia – to headline at the Sydney Opera House.

“I knew when I was all suited up for my banking job upon my return to Malaysia, my desire was distilled from my time in Australia. After spending the early part of my working life in public relations and advertising, I set off for Australia to help my sister with her food truck business in Darwin,” says Joe.

There, he took the opportunity to visit the Sydney Opera House, spurred by a childhood interest in opera. Even though he never got the chance to take music lessons, he was always drawn to operatic singing and admired Luciano Pavarotti. Being at the world-famous performing arts centre awakened a new desire in himself – to sing at the Sydney Opera House.

In the meantime, it was back to reality for him after his stint in Australia. Upon his homecoming, he settled into his life as a banker. However, in time he could no longer deny his longing to pursue a career in opera. Determined to turn his dream into a reality, he set off to the Malaysian Institute of Arts (MIA) to enquire about their classical music programmes.

He found that the art school offered a two-and-a-half-year diploma programme in music, and that he could major in classical voice and minor in classical piano. Realising that he could equip himself with the tools needed to become a singer on one of the world’s biggest stages further fanned the flames of his dream.

However, there was a catch. The MIA required prospective students to have a minimum Grade 5 qualification from ABRSM, the internationally-recognised musical education body from the UK. Yet, Joe was determined not to let his lack of music training deter him. He succeeded in winning over the MIA’s Head of Department and voice teacher with his vocal audition alone, earning a place in its diploma programme.

Thus, he left his banking career behind and spent his days playing catch-up to his new MIA classmates, who were also 10 years younger than him. As he had no foundation in music theory, he would spend hours at a time receiving personal coaching from his instructors to shore up his musical knowledge. Within one year and while pursuing his diploma from MIA, he was able to sit for and pass the Grade 5 ABRSM exam, a qualification which usually takes five years to achieve.

As he was completing his diploma programme, Joe then auditioned for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, one of the UK’s prestigious music and drama schools and concert venues. Starting off with a one-year post-graduate certificate, Joe continued to apply himself to his craft and finished with a Master’s in Music (Vocal Performance) on a scholarship from the Conservatoire.

With his music qualifications under his belt, he found himself frustrated upon his return to Malaysia, however. This was as the classical music scene remains undeveloped and limited to a select group of singers. This inspired him to take matters into his own hands and create his own platform to perform and put his musical training into practice. In early 2017, he opened the doors of biJÖEx, a semi-fine dining restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. In addition to running the restaurant, on weekends Joe can be found belting out popular tunes for his patrons.

With biJÖEx gaining a strong following with the lunch and weekend crowd, 18 months into this venture Joe is already expanding. In August 2018, he launched biJÖEx Café, which will also have a musical spin. He plans to invite buskers to perform at the outlet and help them earn a living, which he also sees as his way of giving back to his community.

But don’t be fooled. Joe remains dedicated to realising his dream of taking the stage at the Sydney Opera House. In fact, he already has plans to audition for as many performances as he can on the regional circuit where he believes there is greater opportunity for opera singers to gain exposure.

“When I took that trip to the Sydney Opera House and told myself I would return to sing there, I was dreaming big. I feel that if your dream does not scare you, it is not big enough. That dream frightens me to this day, but it’s something I’ve told myself I want to do, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

To Joe, his transformation journey probably awaits on the mammoth stage of the Sydney Opera House. Little does he know, however, that his undying passion has already resulted not only in his personal transformation, but more profoundly, that of the aspiring musicians who have found a voice through him. Joe is an example of how a burning desire to transform can overflow to transform the lives of others if we pursue it relentlessly. And looking at his persistence thus far, it doesn’t seem like he plans to quit anytime soon.

In conjunction with the musical theme of this article, we at PEMANDU Associates pay tribute to Aretha Franklin who passed away on 16 August 2018. She was an icon for music and women empowerment who inspired us with her talent and passion.

Reminding us that we could all use a little respect, we leave you with a quote from the Queen of Soul:  “I was asked what recording of mine I’d put in a time capsule, and it was ‘Respect.’ Because people want respect — even small children, even babies. As people, we deserve respect from one another.”

Our BFR Untold series sets out to uncover what really goes on behind the transformational projects delivered by PEMANDU Associates. This month, we chat to Johanna Ho, Vice President at PEMANDU Associates, about her experience working on Tanzania’s BIG RESULTS Now! programme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsjAlQCBg4c

By Leon Jala

In an industry filled with polarising buzzwords, 2018 welcomed a new contender – the ‘cagency’.

The slightly cringe-worthy term describes a new wave of consultancies venturing into the creative space. In an increasingly data-driven landscape, this seems like a natural trajectory for consultancies and agencies. But is it, really?

A glimpse of the industry’s future

A look at Cannes Lion 2018, the festival and awards event for the creative and marketing communications industry, already points to the increasing presence of consultancies actively desiring a share of the proverbial agency pie. Accenture Interactive set the tone in a big way bagging a Gold Lion for its interactive campaign, JFK Unsilenced.

As all good things should be, the idea was simple: give the world the speech that John F. Kennedy was supposed to give before he was assassinated. Illustrate the possible social impact. Its success at Cannes has sent a strong message on the boundless possibilities when creativity and data enabled by technology find synergy.

A creative and a consultant walk into a bar…

If it was really that simple, everyone would be playing the same game. But the reality is that creative and management consulting are often two different creatures – while the currency of the creative is emotion, consulting banks on data. Finding real synergy is not easy. But easy never made for much fun anyway.

And that’s exactly the challenge that PEMANDU Associates has gone head-first into, by setting up its communications subsidiary, COMMUNICATE. Helmed by its Managing Director, Alex Iskandar Liew, the company’s approach to this conundrum has been to build a team of creative-consultant hybrids passionate about storytelling and communicating the right messages to the right target audience through focused platforms.

But the main point here isn’t about hybrids. For Alex, it’s about “breaking down silos or the perception that communication is a last mile of a strategy or an implementation programme.” When we stop putting each other in the traditional boxes where planners only do strategy, suits only manage accounts and creatives only tell everyone else they’re wrong (I know, I was a copywriter), individuals within a creative agency will begin developing a collective sense of ownership for the work.

Thus, just as the ad people of yesteryear realised the magic in bringing an art director and writer into the same room, so too should we be looking to get more people into the bigger rooms of today. And that includes our clients.

Collaboration over order-taking

More creative agencies can benefit from working closer with their clients by involving them more heavily in the process. Not just by taking a brief. Much like their parent company, COMMUNICATE advocates ‘labs’ in their methodology. A lab is an extended workshop involving the client’s stakeholders for a given area of focus, facilitated by the consultancy.

For COMMUNICATE, being able to accurately identify and verify the case for change and opportunities together sets a clear path for the creative work to begin. More importantly, it establishes a clear narrative and illustrates an outcome that the work should deliver.

Many creative agencies pride themselves as branding experts, but ultimately, the brands will know their challenges more intimately. Brands are not just driven by perception or awareness; their performance is also anchored on profit and loss. And brand diagnostics are multi-layered with solutions influenced by all facets of the corporation.

You wouldn’t trust a doctor’s diagnosis without first revealing your own symptoms. It is similar with the clients – they have a need; they need to know that we are listening; they must be assured that we understand before they can take our proposals seriously.

Over-fascination with creative. Under-fascination with outcomes.

More importantly, we need to facilitate the essence of a brief against the desired outcome so that the work actually works. After all, what good is an award-wining creative campaign if it’s homogenous?  What good is a warm and fuzzy piece of piece of advertising, if the brand logo is interchangeable? Brands are unique. Therefore, the messaging too must be unique.

On the topic of awards, it’s great to see the annual Kancil Awards exploring a festival format. This is a step in the right direction to being more inclusive to those outside of the ad world. Agencies were always meant to be partners. Not vendors.

Ultimately, the cagency model is still a model – it isn’t the answer in and of itself. To truly transform the industry landscape, we must begin engaging in ‘business unusual’ – to embrace the ever-transforming process on how a good piece of creative work is delivered. Perhaps, then, as teams find themselves on award show stages amidst roaring applause, it will truly be a collective award for both clients and agencies, regardless of budget.