To overcoming the crises they face, agencies, production companies and individuals must reinvent their approach, changing both the negative perception of their country abroad and its creative product domestically and on foreign shores.

"Imagine your melons travelling along in a lorry. The ride is smooth then, all of a sudden it gets bumpy. For some it's an opportunity, for others a disaster. What sort of a melon are you?"

VegaOlmosPonce's Fernando Vega Olmos sees opportunity in the currrent chaos. His entrepreneurial strategy for not only survive but thrive is "to believe in yourself, take courage and understand that now is the moment to invest in Argentina. Create your own national brand and use your own creativity to make it grow."

But difficult times call for new approaches. Says Carlos Perez at BBDO: "Irony as a means of communication is dead. It has become all about honesty and courage. The risk of a false move in front of the consumer is to expose the brand to the same type of condemnation as the country's leaders. Moments of crisis appear to be absolute, uncontainable and unresolvable but they're not. Faced with crisis you can trust in your luck or you can choose the option of applying intelligence, method and discipline. Bilbao did it, New York did it, now it's Argentina's turn."

finding a voice

Relevance is key, according to Perez, as messages must ring true with the target audience. "The middle classes are not willing to give up those benefits or services that are directly related to their identity," explains Perez. "The other side of the coin has to do with accessibility. In a country that will finish the year with 20 million poor people, many of whom entered this category this year, it's essential that the popular brands succeed in being seen as making an effort, despite everything, to carry on being accessible. Brands determined to not let go of the hand of the people."

This sentiment finds echo in the brand strategy of domestic beer giant Quilmes - "Keep an eagle eye on the consumer," says Quilmes marketing chief Jorge Mastroizzi. "Modify marketing practices to accompany changing needs. But, most of all, find ways for the brand to be seen as accompanying and supporting the consumer especially in difficult moments." Quilmes is particularly proud of "Courage" (directed by Fabian Bielinsky for Young & Rubicam) where the national football team is seen singing the traditional football chant "Vamos, Vamos Argentina" / "Go, Go Argentina," shouting encouragement from the stadium rooftop to a waking Buenos Aires down below. "If problems make us rethink and come up with new inventive solutions, then we welcome the problems."

budgeting for change

At Unilever, it's time for a Darwinian twist: "The one who survives is one who can adapt best," says marketing exec Luis Di Como. His ideal combination of "big ideas plus low budget [achieving] high impact" was achieved by the Unilever Axe campaign Ghosts on the Subway where 600 backlit positives were positioned on walls between stations. When the train reached a certain speed, the passengers saw a film projected outside the subway window.

Low budget work won a Clio for Pablo Del Campo's "Fake" for Nutrasweet. This year his agency, Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, will be focusing on exploiting the regional advantage generated by the new economy and its highly creative profile.

However, CraveroLanis EURO RSCG's Dario Lanis cautions, "It's a great concept that good ideas don't cost money, but the reality is you have to find a coherent balance between the idea and the production value. And yes, many good ideas do cost money."

direct to export

The shrinking, if not dead, local economy has forced local directors to seek partnerships with foreign companies. Peluca's team has succeeded in entering the highly competitive UK arena directing work for Mother, among others. Young talent Francisco Torres has seen his constant flow of work from Spain take him to Madrid where he's signed with Alamo. Likewise Andy Fogwill (Landia) and Javier Blanco (Russo Blanco) are enjoying success in Mexico and the US Hispanic market. The fall of production giant Flehnerfilms has also been blamed on the turgid domestic economy and has shifted the focus of their activity into promoting their directors such as Marcelo Szechtman in foreign markets such as the US, Ecuador, Mexico.

Production services are now being embraced by almost everyone as a way out of the crisis. The area has been dominated by just a handful of experienced producers but it's all about to change.

"Still, the biggest challenge is to change the negative image of Argentina as depicted by the likes of CNN," explains Enrique Bacher of Altana Films. "The laboratories are working, the technical crews and production are working, the same teams as before the crisis. Filming permits are easier to obtain, but most of all Argentina carries on being a great place to film."

"Our experience was a positive one," enthuses Hector Prado of Hispanic agency Zubi Advertising, fresh from a campaign for American Airlines directed by Szechtman. "Great actors, locations and directors, not to mention 30% cheaper than in the US but with US production values."

Anticipating the crisis, Julian Vella of Shoot Argentina made a radical move to Spain to open the Madrid office of Cuatro Cabezas, representing Argentinean directors and offering, in his own words, the "best of both worlds."

Another major move has seen the opening of WoW by one off the most active producers in the field. After 10 years of heading production services at Flehnerfilms, Ariel Piluso is full of enthusiasm about his new Argentina/Chile/Uruguay-based services venture. "Our industry is experiencing an evolutionary crisis and traditional companies will have a much harder time adapting. Getting stuck in old ways and thinking it's all about the cost is fine for some, but what really matters is the ability to move forward and evolve together with new trends. Production services companies play a key part in the success of trans-national communications and a major role in the local community where they help breathe new life into a shocked society."

Latin soIidarity rules as Sergio Alcocer of Texas' Latin Works sums up: "Foreign production in Argentina is also a way for other countries to stimulate the advertising and production industry in Argentina. The region follows what Argentina does, and it's our responsibility not to let it fall down. We'll be there."

Webfiles:
BBDO Argentina> http://www.bbdo.com
Quilmes> http://www.quilmes.com.ar
YR Argentina> http://www.yr.com
Unilever> http://www.unilever.com
CraveroLanis EURO RSCG> http://www.eurorscg.com
JWT Argentina> http://www.jwt.com
Altana Films> http://www.altana.com.ar
Cuatro Cabezas> http://cuatrocabezas.com
Latinworks> http://www.latinworks.com