Ann Nurock is wearing a red silk stole with Sanskrit lettering on it. Just back from a trip to Rajasthan in India, where she says she “learnt lessons in humility”, she is glowing and ebullient.
“I have realized the people who have the least often give the most…The more you give, the more you get,” says Nurock.
While that is her philosophy, she is equally effusive about “the spirit of abundance” of South Africans. This she found in plenty on her return to South Africa (SA) after a spectacular advertising career abroad.
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Nurock completed a BA degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. She always knew she had a flair for advertising. Starting as a junior account executive, she worked her way up the ranks, and returned to SA to join Grey Advertising.
“They asked me to be Managing Director. I never wanted to be, but told them, if I am, you have to give me the leeway to do what I wanted. We turned around the agency in a matter of three years. Grey SA was number one in the Grey Global network in 2007. It was a real success story. I surrounded myself with stars,” says Nurock.
She was with Grey for 20 years, including a stint as CEO of Grey Canada in Toronto. In 2011, she returned to coastal Cape Town. That’s when she was approached by the UK-based international consultancy Relationship Audits and Management who asked if she could open their office in SA.
“It was a start-up business here and what I realized, what I think I really recognize the most, and I pay tribute to SA for that, is the spirit of abundance. I had been out of the business sector for five years, and when I came back, the way the people welcomed me!”
Since 2012, she has been operating the business out of her home in Cape Town; work also brings her often to Johannesburg. Like any start-up, progress initially was slow. From earning a fat corporate salary and having her own expense account, Nurock suddenly found herself “watching pennies”.
She now works closely with the advertising industry, financial services, law firms, and has now been contracted with a mining company.
“I work really hard but I love it. If you are a consultant, you have to have tenacity and you have got to have patience. You have to have a great product,” says Nurock.
Her product, Relationship Radar, is an online tool that can measure the health of any B2B relationship in less than five minutes through an 11-question survey.
“It’s hugely cost-effective and the output is user-friendly. If somebody asked me what my value proposition is, it’s actionable intelligence.”
Her trends for 2015? Developing ‘the higher order benefit’.
“I think conspicuous consumption is so passe,” says Nurock. “What consumers are really looking for today in brands is something that validates their purchase. They are looking for a meaning in a brand or a company that goes beyond just a product or a service. They are looking for brands that have a higher order benefit, that improves people’s lives and touches them and reflects their dreams and aspirations. A good example would be Coke, which talks about open happiness. Another is Dove, it’s about real beauty. Every brand that has a higher order benefit will have sustainable success.”
Nurock is clearly a proud South African. She says Elon Musk is a great example of both the ‘spirt of abundance’ and one who has found a higher order benefit.
“Elon Musk said ‘putting in long hours for a company is hard, putting in long hours for a cause is easy’,” says Nurock. And have no doubt, the sales will come.