Jason was born in South Africa, but was raised in England where he attended Oxford University and studied English literature and had lofty plans of becoming an academic. But as they say, even the best laid plans go awry - while at Oxford, he attended a presentation by an international ad agency (and lured by the promise of wild parties) he became really interested in joining the industry. In fact he signed-up that night!
Despite this when on holiday in South Africa, Jason realized that he wanted to call Cape Town home. So he joined Ogilvy Cape Town as a graduate trainee. A couple of years later, at the age of 26, he left Ogilvy to start an ATL agency [code]. During his time at [code] he learnt how to pitch, pitch and pitch and to read a balance sheet. However bigger budgets beckoned and a few years later he returned to Ogilvy where he headed up one of their largest accounts (Old Mutual) ran the global account for Castrol and was also responsible for new business development.
This last role, made Jason realize the enormous market opportunity there was for a specialist BTL agency. An agency with a new model of doing business that would eliminate many of the frustrations that impede quality creative work and fast delivery. And so, UTR was born!
UTR is 70% woman owned, 10% black owned, 25% black managed (executive board) and over 50% black staffed.
“The first thing that we decided was that we would be a quiet agency, focussing completely on our clients’ brands, customers and business opportunities. We would waste no energy spin-doctoring (unless it was on clients behalf) and, with not so much as a bleep on the landscape, we would achieve mind-blowing results, which, we figured, would speak for themselves.
This strategy has attracted a portfolio of blue chip clients such as Old Mutual, SYmmETRY, Woolworths, Prudential Portfolio Managers, Sun International’s – GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World, Sea Harvest, Radisson Hotels & Resorts and Wellington’s who all like the idea that every campaign is measurable.
Our second big decision was to leave above the line mass media to the people who still keep the faith. And to focus on our true belief which is … mass media is becoming increasingly less effective. As more channels of communication arrive, more are ignored. Marketing messages need to be active, inside the individual consumers’ corridor of experience and interesting enough to be lifted off the shelf (so to speak). A customer pull rather than a product or service push seemed the sensible way – and it really works!
We’re not a typical advertising agency we have no client service or creative layering and believe in direct access. We are completely accessible. Call anyone in the agency at any time. We only employ senior people and proven talent. A notion of quality time as opposed to time equals quality.
Our success is based on our approach which is unique:
Top quality creative work.
- Measurable results on every campaign.
- A completely transparent and competitive pricing structure.
- An enthusiastic entrepreneurial approach.
- Of course, we owe a debt of gratitude to the enormous leap of faith our founder clients took when awarding us (a new agency) their business. We\'re delighted to say that those clients are still with us – and even more delighted that they have all proven to be ambassadors for this truly unique way of working.
Our first year in business has exceeded all our expectations and we look forward to and are hungry to build on what we have achieved so far” says Ray.
Contact Details:Under the Radar 13 Park Road Cape Town 8001 www.utr.co.za
Issued by:The Parsons Project27 Hornsey Road Mowbray7700Karin Parsons021 686 1293 or 082 465 7755