10/06/97 SAATCHI TAKES THE NET PLUNGE

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SAATCHI TAKES THE NET PLUNGE

Toyota loved what Saatchi & Saatchi did for it last year: Building on their long relationship, the ad agency put the carmaker on the Internet. Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide designed a Toyota Web site in late 1995 and placed traffic-luring banner ads on popular sites such as espn.com. Last year, some 7 million Web surfers visited Toyota.com, and the site overtook Toyota Motor Corp.'s 800 number as its best source of sales leads. Toyota was so happy that it signed up Saatchi for a new Net program this year in concert with a print and TV campaign called Toyota/Everyday.
There was just one twist: Toyota's success forced Saatchi to face the uncomfortable fact that the Net had arrived as a serious ad medium, and the $7 billion agency lacked a game plan for tapping its huge potential. Most of Saatchi's clients--which include 74 of the world's top 100 advertisers--were suddenly demanding a Web component to their marketing campaigns.
INTERDISCIPLINARY. That was the genesis of Darwin Digital, a division of Saatchi created last May to target the Net. Two years ago, online marketing was an afterthought at the agency. Now, says Julie M. Bauer, head of Saatchi's San Francisco office, ''every pitch includes how we will treat the client's business [on] the Internet.'' The 33-person Darwin Digital, carved out of Saatchi's 7,000-person staff, melds the nimbleness and specialization of a boutique Internet ad shop with Saatchi's ability to serve clients worldwide. ''We are the ones who can suggest something completely out there to a client,'' such as linking a corporate site to one listing mother-in-law jokes, says Greg Smith, Darwin's chief of strategic services.
Darwin's independent team cuts across disciplines, with a blend of creative, technical, and account-management talent. Saatchi won't break out Darwin's revenues or client roster, but the group is slated to grow to 40 employees in the coming year. The skunk works is tightly linked to Saatchi: It's housed in the agency's New York headquarters, and its CEO, Coby O'Brien, is a Saatchi vice-president. But Darwin also nurtures a distinct Net culture that discourages hierarchy and demands technical savvy. Even the head of client services is learning to program in HTML, the language of Web pages. The result, says Smith, is a spirit of ''radical pitching'' that fosters risk--and can produce huge rewards.
Take Darwin's Web site for General Mills Inc. Instead of posting a dry list of nutritional facts, Darwin created a children's site called You Rule School that's chock-full of games, educational material--and cereal ads. The site now ranks No.6 among sites most visited by kids, says Shana Hunter, Darwin's director of client services.
Darwin also uses cutting-edge technology. When Bell Atlantic Corp. wanted a novel way to push its high-speed ISDN phone lines, Darwin used Java software to create the latest in banner ads: a mini-Web site that pops up inside the banner. Visitors can read about ISDN, fill out forms to request help, and even play games, all without leaving the site where the banner ad appears.
The agency doesn't shy away from controversy either. To drive repeat traffic to its site for Sauza Tequila, Darwin added a button that links visitors to a different offbeat Web site every day. One quirky link: John's Hair Page, a funny daily commentary about one man's bad hair days. It's a far cry from tequila, but the Sauza site has won loyal fans and a half-dozen awards.
The next step, says CEO O'Brien, is to improve Internet ads. ''Last year, it was all about driving traffic to the Web sites,'' O'Brien says. Now, Webvertisements, like print and TV ads, have to push products or raise brand awareness. Darwin is working up such campaigns for Tide detergent and Time Warner Inc.'s Pathfinder site. ''Internet ads have to take a stand and tell their story right then and there,'' says O'Brien. Saatchi hopes Darwin will drive the next step in that evolution.
By Ellen Neuborne in New York

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