Image by DavidErickson via FlickrI recently asked several of my peers in the advertising world for their views on a few things, one of which revolved around the future of the Ad Agency. Tony Altilia, one of my first bosses in the Agency game back in 1985, (who is now a principal at http://www.maximpartnersinc.com/ in Toronto), replied with this link to a recent article in Fast Company called Mayhem on Madison Avenue. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html?page=0%2C0. To me I think the article is required reading for anyone who is related to the Advertising Agency world in anyway today. Lines like "They're all well aware that coding is now prized over copywriting and that a resume that includes Xbox and Google is more desirable than one featuring stints at BBDO or Grey." should make classic agency people shudder. Currency today is technology and insight to stakeholders and communities. Both of these demand an open mindedness that has not been the hallmark of the traditional advertising agency.
As another one of my former colleagues, Chris Beaumont (Past CEO Grey Japan), said, "perhaps this Brand New World demands a new 'agency' paradigm - where we look at what it is important to be an 'agent for'...". I think Chris has hit the nail on the head and that those firms that figure out what the word "agency" means today will be the winners. The days of Mad Men went decades ago, as did the original definition of "Agency". No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' media companies and marketers. No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' stakeholders and the organization. So the question I ask you is what defines "Agency" today?
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2 comments:
I really enjoy your posts Don. They're often related to the changes in the advertising/marketing ecosystem. Changes which I might not have thought of on my own because I started with digital marketing and have little experience with offline marketing.
I would rarely "value coding over copywriting". Many people that don't build websites don't realize how easy it can be now. The only case in which coding would be more valuable is when building a community site in which you are relying on user-added content. Even then, it's the UX insight that is much more valuable than coding.
As for Google being valuable on a resume, I'll certainly agree with that. Our core pay per click ad manager worked at Baidu before (China's biggest search engine). It's one of the reasons I hired her and it's one of the points I always make in sales emails. She understands Baidu marketing inside and out, which I see as being quite valuable.
Thanks for the feedback Tait. You are smart bringing the Search talent in, especially from China's Baidu, as search really is the starting point now in the consumers purchasing cycle. I believe those that really understand the power of search are miles ahead in the battle to build relevancy into their brand. To me relevancy means your product or brand matters, and what other time is more important to show consumers that your brand matters than when they are the most open to take in new information which is at the search stage. So if your brand is not there when they are searching...then you don't matter.
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