Valley PR Blog

Agency ‘evolution’ or wake up call?

By Angelo Fernando on March 29th, 2007 In Agencies, Marketing

Yesterday’s article in the Republic’s Business Section, Ad World, brings to the surface some huge issues facing what we still, unfortunately call advertising. Even the term advertising agency is almost a misnomer, considering the kind of work some agencies –now called marketing communication agencies– do, and the results that clients demand.

Jos Anshell of Moses Anshell is quoted as saying that to fix the model agencies need to “soften the divisions between services” and invent new divisions puts it mildly. Having covered theis topic for many years, I’ve come across some who wish they could create an un-agency, starting with hiring people who don’t cling to their role-driven jobs, and some who don’t want to rock the boat. Clients, too, know that their work seldom falls into the once-convenient buckets of ‘graphic’ design,’ ‘copy,’ ‘media buying,’ etc. One agency, even calls media planning ‘fusion planning.’ OK, so it’s part of Carat Fusion’s name, but it makes a lot of sense.

I recently reviewed some work from an agency that insisted they were highly cross-functional, but their business cards revealed otherwise –that there were silos where they put creative directors, AE’s and copywriters. Even these titles are terribly obsolete.

In a fragmented and integrated media environment where designers must think like writers, media buyers understand the interactive space and so on, our titles pigeonhole us. One adman who reinvented himself, calls himself ‘Chief Interrupter.’ He’s more famous for challenging agencies with his new marketing mantra, via his blog, podcast, and of course his book that nails the 30-second spot. I’m talking of Joe Jaffe, who started off in the old networked agency framework, but has now built a ‘new marketing’ agency from scratch.

On a related matter, the Nike’s account, held by Weiden+Kennedy for eons is being ‘reviewed’ –code word for ‘the client is unsatisfied.’ Nike is apparently looking for help with interactive and community building expertise. Sounds like a lot of other clients, to me. In the Wall Street Journal article, an agency person is quoted as saying that digital was often an afterthought at W+K. The article was headlined as a ‘digital wake-up call.’

Comments

[...] over at Valley PR Blog writes (via JaffeJuice) that agencies are too siloed, with traditional titles of “copywriter” [...]

Ian’s point is valid. That our roles muct match up to evolving consumer behavior. The lack of creativity’ that he mentions is not because there are inadequate creative minds within the walls of the company, but these minds are not tapped/challenged at the right time.

This problem has been pulling at agencies and advertisers for the entire time that I’ve been involved. 20 years ago, the question was a lot simpler, as in “how do we integrate direct and general advertising.” Then came the first wave of network TV erosion and the rise of promotion marketing. Of course now we have an avalanche of disruption and data to go with a chorus of target audience comment and media participation.

I participated in trying to create “unagencies” from within agency structures, most notablly in 1993 with FCB and again in 1999 with Publicis/Frankel. Some of those unagencies never got out of development. Others thrived for a number of years. Eventually they all became threats to status quo. As harbingers of scary change, they were rationalized or dealt away. Ironically, many died in the name of “focusing on our core competency.” (Which is what? Churning out advertising product that fails to more completely attract and engage its audience?)

My advice to advertisers is to go back to their own roots to seize the opportunity. If I were Nike, I’d handpick the best and the brightest potential “unagency” talents, and start small, funding the effort 100% but keeping the unagency out-of-house. I see the opportunity as similar to when soap opera programming was created. Soaps created new audience relationships that perfectly fit the lifestyle, communications opportunities and product/service/conversational needs of the audience. Advertisers: it is time to do it again for the 21st century.

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