The Media Playbook. Michael Drexler
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already exists within the current holding company structure.
Creative talent, regardless of discipline, can get bored working on the same problems over and over again. Some allowance might have to be made to inject variety. This could mean that some agency people might work with more than one team, while the most senior marketing leadership remains completely dedicated to the single client.
Summing Up: The Integrated Multi-discipline Marketing Agency seems to reflect the natural evolution of where our business is going in an increasingly more complicated environment. We believe this concept most closely fits the future needs of client CMOs who long for integrated solutions and CPOs who want more cost effective solutions. This model also helps agencies who want to find ways to build and maintain loyal client business over a long period of time.
SF 2014
Zelig and the Death of Identity
“What happened to the reflexive response to an agency name?”
Woody Allen’s 1983 movie Zelig told the story of a chameleon man who adopted the identity of anyone who was nearby. As a result he lost his own identity. Today that is known as Multiple Personality Disorder. In any event, in trying to adapt to his environment a person loses himself. I believe our industry is in the midst of a huge identity crisis.
ODing on ID
What happened to the reflexive response to an agency name? Bates = USP, Ogilvy = research based, B&B = marketing, DDB = unbridled creative, Burnett = icons. Sure, there are a handful of shops with fine creative reputations today—but nothing like before. For my money, one of the last really strong agency associations was the media agency Carat in David Verklin’s day. Everyone inside and out considered them “a hip research company practicing media.”
So here we are in the business of giving brands an identity, but we struggle when we try to do it for ourselves.
I once worked at an agency where the founder/creative director was so prolific he could turn out a dozen campaigns for clients in a day. Some were superior. At one point he took it upon himself to redesign the agency’s business cards. That took him six months. Sometimes looking in the mirror and reflecting what you see can be difficult.
Take this test. Below are the names of a mix of twenty holding companies, full-service agencies, creative, media and digital agencies. Each one of these is among the top in their category. See if you can easily assign an identity adjective to each. I know you can with some, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do with more than a few.
In the ’90s we had Goodby, TBWA/Chiat Day, Donny, Irwin, Erwin and Sir Martin. We still have most of them, but where is the next generation that will elevate our business so even those still to come will aspire to our craft?
Agency in a Bag
Don’t we tell candidates for a job to have an elevator speech that clearly distinguishes them from the pack in thirty seconds or less? Are agencies just wearing a bag of omni-identity over their heads in a determined effort not to take a chance on standing for something?
Identity loss happens everywhere today. Sometimes the theft is literal and digital. That can cost you money, time and a lot of aggravation. Sometimes the theft is metaphorical. Call up any utility company and you are guaranteed to get a cheerful robotic voice that assures you that your call is important to them. Then after identifying yourself by phone number or date of birth to a recording, you wait. Eventually a person will come on the line and request your phone number or date of birth once again. I am almost certain that neither will have changed between the two requests. Ah—the slow death of service.
From Midgets Come Giants
As a search consultant we used to be able to understand agencies by size, geography and reputation—a personality. Today there are precious few with a personality. I’m not sure I have an answer for why this is, but I hope that it’s not the step-child of risk-averse holding companies or the stunning array of digital agencies we don’t yet fully understand. Where are the reputations that jump out? Where are the industry leaders that stand out? Where are the giants? Giants can’t hide. Every era had theirs and we need more—NOW!
In the ’60s, Marion Harper’s Interpublic holding company spawned Jack Tinker and Partners. I had the privilege of working there for three years. Aside from Jack it had Creative—Mary Wells, Gene Case and Bob Wilvers. Research was Herta Herzog and Bill Weilbacher. Media was Cliff Botway. Legends, and from a holding company property that was smartly positioned as unusual—an advertising “think tank.”
One of the places to look to for hope is the smaller agencies—creative, media and digital. They tend to be more entrepreneurial and have less to lose. In fact they have everything to gain by trying to stand out, because they are not going to be recognized by size alone.
Of course we have overlooked one thing—THE WORK.
Agencies’ reputations generally come from one of three places:
1 A larger-than-life personality
2 An approach or discipline to the work
3 The work itself
Historically, when all three converged, as with Ogilvy, an enduring brand name is created—BRAND EQUITY.
It’s a victorious circle. The agency’s work creates a reputation that future work must live up to. In sports we call that a dynasty and it scares the hell out of the competition. There is some terrific work out there/ today, but unless you are a student of our trade you will have difficulty connecting certain work with the agency. Honestly now, no peeking—what agency created the duck or the gecko?
So this is a plea to the agencies out there that are beating the drums for new business. You are among the most creative people on the planet. You are in a business that encourages and rewards bigger-than-life. Find and promote your personality. Become giants. We all need you now and so does the future.
SF 2008
The Advertising Agency Business Is Under Siege
“The digital experience of media and creative is almost inextricable.”
It is no surprise that with the emergence of the Internet, programmatic media buying is increasingly commonplace between buyers and sellers. Automation in the advertising industry is on the rise in almost every aspect of the business. Most people have mixed emotions (even Creatives) about its place in advertising. But when it comes to the bottom-line economics of the relationship between advertisers, agencies and media companies it’s an easy decision. Automation usually wins.
The Future of Automation
Many arguments on both sides have persisted in discussing its benefits and drawbacks. The face-to-face conversations and relationships that can be enhanced between vendors and their buyers, they claim, would be mitigated if the process becomes automated. While some inventory is likely to be offset by direct sales (premium inventory), that’s only a pacifying response. Another argument is that many qualitative factors, including creativity and innovation, would be diminished.
It’s also argued that better negotiations occur when buyers and sellers meet to discuss marketplace conditions, client objectives and strategy and “special circumstances.” But, the fact of the matter is that operating efficiency and cost almost always trumps everything else (the rise of procurement