Agency From Scratch

AGENCY

F R O M

SCRATCH

Re-creating theCreative Industry

I N T R O D U C T I O N : C O N F E S S I O N O F A N A D M A N

When it comes to shaping up for the future, companies - and agencies - like to enroll in high-level value-setting and mission-finding quests. But I don‘t believe that values and missions have much power to change human habits. I look at behaviors instead, asking: What do agencies have to DO differently to Survive the Changes happening now and those coming next? And not just survive, but thrive? Most agencies are built towards a single purpose: deliver superior creative. Business reality now demands them to be project and logistics managers above all else - which they‘re still terribly bad at. Not least because they keep denying it for the time being.This program is not about tearing the heart out of a business that is powered by passion and turning it into another ISO certified service industry. My purpose is the opposite: Show ways how we bring our Passions to their most fruitful use in today‘s business ecosystems.

„I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN THEFUTURE OF THE

GENERALIST AGENCY.BUT WE HAVE TO REMIND OURSELVES

THAT WE‘RE FAMILY DOCTORS,NOT BRAIN SURGEONS.“

(PETER FIGGE, TRIBAL DDB)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ADVERTISING?

YOU RUN A SUCCESSFUL AGENCY. WHICH MEANS YOU KEEP ITS HEAD ABOVE THE WATERLINE. NO LITTLE THING IN THESE TIMES. YOU WIN AND LOOSE AND LOOSE AND LOOSE. AND LOOSE AND LOOSE AND LOOSE AND WIN. THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS. THE BUSINESS YOU WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHEN YOU STARTED. FUNKY, GLAMO ROUS AND NOTORIOUS, OOH LA-LA. AND THE EXCITEMENT KEPT YOU RUNNING. UNTIL LATELY. WHEN THAT TALENTED YOUNG STUDENT SAID NO. WITH A PITIFUL SMILE. AND LATER THAT DAY AT THE PARTY. THE BLONDE JUST TURNED HER BACK WHEN YOU SAID YOU‘RE IN ADVERTISING. YES THEY‘RE RIGHT. THE AD BUSINESS ISN‘T WHAT IT USED TO BE. SOMETHING IMPORTANT IS MISSING. THE FEELING. ANY HOPE WE CAN BRING IT BACK?

( (CLIENT AGENCY

STUCK IN A MISERY LOOP

SUPPORT?

AND

COURAGE?

PRESSURE?TIME?

MONEY?

CREATIVE? RESPECT?

SERVICE? TRUST?

THE INTERNET?

PROCUREMENT & CONTROLLING?

MEDIA FRAGMENTATION?

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR?

SHORT-TERM THINKING?

RESEARCH MANIA?

CHANGES TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ... ?

THE INTERNET!

MEDIA FRAGMENTATION!

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR!

SHORT-TERM THINKING!

... OR CHANGES TO BE INSPIRED BY?

PROCUREMENT & CONTROLLING!

RESEARCH MANIA!

IN AN INDUSTRY FUELED BY PASSION

WHERE HAS THE LOVE GONE?

IN AN INDUSTRY FUELED BY PASSION

AND HOW CAN WE FIND IT BACK?

IN AN INDUSTRY FUELED BY PASSION

WHERE HAS THE LOVE GONE?

1. KILL THE RABBIT

Creative used to be a Performing Art. We presented Ideas like the Magician pulls Rabbits from his Hat. We were hiding our Work from the Client‘s Eye until the Last Moment. TA-TAA! And Clients liked to be Surprised in those Days. Life in Advertising had its own Unique Rhythm, paced by the Wavelength between Presentations and by the Amplitude of Applause.

But ...

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOUR PRESENTATION MADE A WAVE?

NOW, MAKE THE CLIENT PART OF THE PROCESS OR LOSE HIM

„MAKE CLIENTS AN INTEGRAL PARTOF EVERY PROJECT TEAM. ENGAGE CLIENTS

IN A VERY INTENSE / INTIMATE

PROBLEM-SOLVING RITUAL.“

(TOM PETERS)

BUY A ROUND TABLENEW HABIT #1:

Kill the Rabbit, Bury the Hat,Burn the Magician‘s Handbook.

Learn to be an Integrator of Teamsacross Companies, Disciplines, Cultures.

Listen, Listen, Listen before you Speakand Learn to Sell by Buying.

Enjoy the Fact that Solution isa Process not a Product.

!2. BLOW THE BIG IDEA TO PIECES

In Advertising, we‘re Obsessed with the BIG IDEA that just keeps going and going and going like a Duracell Bunny. But the Big Idea is a Thing of the 3-TV-Stations-and-2-Magazines-Are-Enough-To-Make-Your-Brand-Famous Past. Times long gone.These Days, Clients keep coming back for more and more and more. In the Competition of the Umpteen Hundred Daily Ad Messages, they‘re always short of Ammo. It‘s not Quantity before Quality. It‘s just Deliver - Deliver - Deliver.

!

THE GOOD OLD PAST

!FOR A LOOOOOONG TIME

THRU UPS

AND DOWNS

1ID

EA

R.A.C.I.‘S &STAKEHOLDERS

CLIENT

CHANNELS &CONTEXTS

MEDIA

IDEASIDEAS

IDEASIDEAS

IDEASIDEAS

SEGMENTS &NETWORKS

TARGET

REAL-TIMEPERFORMANCE

TRACKING

TIMING

SQUEEZE IT, BABY, SQUEEZE IT!(DEMANDS OF THE PRESENT)

24/7 FIREWORKSNEW HABIT #2:

Cut the Idea Generation Cycle fromWeeks to Days, then Hours.

Make EOB your Default Deadline.Produce More, Win More, Earn More,

Sell Cheaper, and be Home Early.Passion is a Monotask: Only One

Brief per Creative at a Time.Forget 100%. Instead, Produce Your

Best 80% Ever. Every Time.Don‘t let ,the Brand‘ be Your Lame

Excuse for Repeating Yourself.

3. SHUT THE CREATIVE POLITBUREAU

Agencies are more thancentralized. Around the

Creative Director, Everybody else is just a Pale Moon. His Word is Command, his Judgement a Guillotine. After all, he is the Centerpiece of our Business Model. The Agency‘s Reputation, Oppor-tunities and Margins largely hinge on his Portfolio. So why are his Moods so erratic, his Leadership Skills so raw? Because Advertising is the only Sport that pulls its Top Scorers from the Field and nails them on the Bench to Coach the Team. Can there be Happiness in Creative Gatekeeping?

GREATCREATIVES

MAKEBAD

MANAGERS

GREATMANAGERS

MAKEBAD

CREATIVES

2 INCONVENIENT TRUTHS

AGENCIES MAIN PRODUCE IS WASTEImages thanks to Franz Billmayer at http://www.bilderlernen.at/marginalia/piktos_abfall_070514.html

Silver Lion 2003 M&M Pitch 2003 BT Campaign 2004 Effie Award 2004

BMW Pitch 2005 Sanyo Campaign 2006 NYF Shortlist 2006 Silver Lion 2003

CREATIVE DEPT WEATHER REPORT

Fr u s t r a t i on:HIGH

Efficiency:LOW

JUNIORS INTO THE FIRENEW HABIT #3:

Put Young Creatives in Front of the Client.Let Them Find Unfiltered Inspiration

in the Original Problem.Allow Your Creative Director to be

a Creative Again.Find a Big Mama to Manage the

Department, not a Hunter.Leave the Creative Gatekeeping to

the Client. He Does it Anyway.

4. LOVE THE PROJECT TREADMILL

Project is a Four-Letter Word. It means: Hand-to-Mouth Action and Hand-to-Mouth Pay. Agencies believe in Strategy and Partnership, based on a perpetual Stream of Briefs and Money. But we find ourselves alone in that Church lately.If we‘re honest, our Business has always come in the Shape of Projects. We call them Campaigns. And We Like it that Way. Now is the Time to Confess - and Enjoy it.

CHANGECHANGECHANGECHANGE

OUT:ACCOUNTS

STABILITY?

CHANGE!

IN:PROJECTS

DON‘T THINK SMALL OF PROJECTS

Image: www.e-architect.co.uk

Projec

ts Bree

d Proj

ects

Trigg

er Pro

jects

Lead

to Pr

ojects

Follo

w

GET SOME SERIOUS PROJECT MANGEMENT SKILLS.LACK OF MARKETING BACKGROUND NOT A DISADVANTAGE.

AND HATS OFF TO THE ANAL-RETENTIVE

MILESTONE FREAK.(TOM PETERS)

BE HAPPY HAMSTERS,WHEEL ON!

NEW HABIT #4:

Hire Project Management Pro‘s. Lack ofMarketing Experience not a Disadvantage.

Beware of Seeking Profitability ,in the Long Run‘.No Problem is Ever Solved without

Uncovering a New One. In every ProjectFind the Seed for its Follow-Up.

5. DON‘T BE SO UNCOOL ABOUT THE MONEY

€

Agencies can either helplessly watch while Clients explore the fathomless Squeezability of good old wobbly Retainer Contracts. Or they can go ahead and exploit the Financial Opportunities of Project Work.Most Agencies are terribly bad Negotiators because they believe their Product is so hard to metre and quantify. But if it can‘t be quantified, it‘s probably not their actual Product in the first Place.Filling the Gap with peripheral Revenue Streams is only a Remedy from the Liquor Store.

!STILL TRYING TO MEASURE THE VALUE OF IDEAS?

OR ARE YOU RUNNING A PRODUCTION FACTORY?

TIME IS NOW THE MONEY(GIVE THE IDEAS AWAY FOR FREE)

NEW HABIT #5:

Erase the Word "Retainer" from Your Vocabulary.Your Business is Selling Time. Time you

Spend on Passionately Solving the Client‘s Problem.Charge Only What Can Be Counted.

Count Only What Can be Charged.Hire Pro‘s to Negotiate With Pro‘s. Agency

Finance Guys Should Be Finance Guys First.Stop Whitewashing Your Bottom Line With

Non-Core Revenues. Close the DTP Sweat-Shop.Stop Double-Charging Your Clients: No Royalties.

6. OH YES, AND THE BRAND

BRAND is the Holy Word of allAdvertisers. The Brand is immaterial, yet valuable and powerful. It is supposed to be the Guiding Principle of Multibillion Investment Decisions; yet reading and handling it should be the privilege of a few Initiated. It is a Killer Argument in Debates and a Master Key in Budget Negotiations.In Agencies, We Believe to be the High Priests of the Cult: Brand Stuarts, Brand Guardians, Brand Champions - Caretakers with a Driver‘s Licence. In Reality, Brand Management is a Multi-Disciplinary Effort with No-One Really in Charge any more.

THE CROWN OF BRAND CHAMPION

IS A FOOL‘S CAP

BRANDS ARE

RESPONSIBILITIES

SYSTEMS OF

DISTRIBUTED

But who‘s in Charge

here?

BRANDS CAN‘T BE BUILT ...(NOT EVEN MANAGED)

I make

it™and I love it

I use

it™and I love it

... THEY GROW(YOU FERTILIZE)

IF BRANDS* ARE LOVEMARKS, ALL LOVERS ARE RIGHT

IstillsecretlyplayLegoatthirtyfive

Zeynep,Turkey

mostinnovativesystemI’veseenBuck,USA

LegosmakeacertainsoundastheyarerakedbackandforthacrossthefloorAnne,USA

whenbuildingbrick

BBQyouknowto

overlaptheblocksto

createstrengthinthe

structure

Sarah,NewZealand

putsparentsandkidswheretheybelong.Onthefloor.TogetherAnne,NZ

Nothinggivesyouthesamefreedom

Alan,Brazil

alotoffunny

hours

Vivatrinacria,Italy

theplayer'sideasarerestrictedduetothebrick'sdesign-butinagoodway

Tanja,Switzerland

* like LEGO

DO THE LABOUR OF LOVE

NEW HABIT #6:

Avoid Brand Discussions. (Futile and Dangerous)Don‘t Try to Find the Brand Truth. (There are Too Many)

Better Draw the "Customer" Argument. (See 1 and 2)Abuse the Brand, Tease her, Squeeze her. (Labour of Love)

Spare Her the Slow Death of "Consistency". (Kills Passion)Found a Brand Lovers Club and Host it.

(Web 2.0 Beats Focus Groups)

NOW WHAT ?!

1. CHECK YOUR HABITS (BE HONEST)

clientcollaboration

ideasideasideas

empoweredfrontline

projectmanagement

power-sellingeveryhour

brandworker(likeall)

presentationmagic

b-i-gidea

c.reatived.irection

accountmanagement

steadyincome

brandchampion(tobe)

IDEA GENERATIONBRIEFING = STICKER NOTEDELIVERED BY CLIENTFACE2F WITH CREATIVE TEAMIDEAS BY SUNDOWN (AS MANY AS P)

IDEA SELECTION & REFINEMNTAGENCY/CLIENT JURYSECOND CREATIVE TEAM TO REWORKBACK TO FIRST TEAM TO FINALIZE

2. THEN RE-DESIGN YOUR HABITS (BE CONCRETE)

3. REFRAIN FROM SLOGANEERING

We‘re the fastest guns for hire

We‘re cheaper AND faster

We‘re faster AND cheaper

Simply ... but

Nothing more than advertising

Advertising, more than ever

why is this so f___ing hard?

------------------------

4. DON‘T TRY TO CHANGE THE WORLD IN A DAY

5.-99. GO OUT AND EXERCISE

THANK YOU FOR READING.THANK YOU EVEN MORE FOR FEEDBACK TO:

[email protected]