Can Harlow jolt Nokia out of its comfort zone?

Jo Harlow is no rock star CMO, which may be just as well, given the endangered status of that particular breed at this point  in time. But she is clearly intent on shaking a few things up at Nokia — even if that includes agency relationships that have so far stood the test of time.
As SVP of the company’s global mobile phones marketing, Harlow is widely seen as the driver behind Nokia’s blockbuster decision to finally put its US$320 million global creative business up for pitch, after over a decade with Asian and European incumbents, BatesAsia and Grey, respectively. For Harlow, the move is the latest step in her drive to rethink all aspects of the mobile giant’s marketing operations.
According to one agency source, Harlow’s role at Nokia is to “bring about change”. A 20-year marketing veteran who counts long stints with P&G and Reebok on her resumé, the American’s approach stands out at an organisation that often still has its roots planted firmly in Northern Europe. “But Nokia knows this,” says the source. “It has been quite product-centric for some time, but it’s now becoming more equal among all players in terms of the technology. That’s where Jo comes in.”
Harlow’s restlessness for change becomes a little easier to understand in the context of the 11-plus years she spent at perennial underdog Reebok before joining the dominant Nokia.
“My approach is to provoke us out of our comfort zone,” she explains. “Being the largest company, it’s very easy to be comfortable with a methodology of doing things. It’s very, very important to look outside of our comfort zone in terms of our supplier network.”
This is as much true, furthermore, for the brand’s “supplier network” as it is for the work they produce. Refreshingly, Harlow does not gloss over Nokia’s creative product — pointing out that an over-reliance on traditional media must change if the brand is to engender more loyalty among consumers.
“Our creative could become more emotionally relevant than it currently is and become more entertaining than it is,” says Harlow. “That’s as much about Nokia as our agency partners.”
The decision to review creative stems from a comprehensive McKinsey-inspired review of marketing operations at Nokia’s mobile phones division, which will see a consolidation of resources at Nokia’s UK headquarters. Harlow, who has been at the forefront of the restructuring, believes that “renewal” is the best way to describe the current Nokia mindset, even if the changes do hint at greater centralisation.
“In essence, to the degree we are making changes internally, we need to make changes in our supplier network as well,” she explains. “The agency review will ensure we can (still) do creative development in various markets of the world.”
This last remark points to what is often viewed as Nokia’s key battleground in the foreseeable future — emerging markets. In Asia, of course, BatesAsia handles these assignments with some aplomb, even generating global creative for certain consumer segments. Harlow is clear that emerging markets will continue to retain a pivotal role when it comes to creative development, but remains suitably tight-lipped about how this might be achieved. “There may be multiple emerging markets involved in the development of that creative — it is a very important factor, whether it’s the agency’s own capabilities or access to resources that they are a part of.”
Once the conversation veers onto the topic of agencies, Harlow becomes considerably less garrulous. The review itself, she insists, will determine whether Nokia sticks with the status quo, or opts for a different agency structure. A single agency based in the UK is unlikely, while a holding company solution remains possible.
“We need to review the options that different networks can bring to us based on their operations with brands in the current environment,” she says, adding rather more enigmatically that there are “pluses and minuses of working with really large agencies and working with smaller agencies”.
Amid all the predictions, it seems clear that any conclusions about the pitch will remain speculative. While the RFIs should be out by press time, all options appear to be firmly on the table, as Harlow ponders how best to bring Nokia’s creative in line with its status as a dominant market leader.