Change is coming fast. Not all plans will be equally effective.
Photo by Blake Imeson
My recent crowdsourcing post generated some heated debate and no shortage of conversation. I wasn’t trying to be controversial, just sharing a perspective. But the reaction points out a couple of things. We are in the midst of dramatic change. And not everyone likes it.
Look what’s happening. Crowdsourcing is clearly gaining traction. Not just in the design community, but in areas of film, video and co-creation. It’s just too appealing and easy, both for participants who aspire to create, and for clients looking for alternative sources of content. And there are plenty of companies to accommodate them: Chaordix, Crowdspring, Tongal, Poptent, and Filmaka, to name but a few. So I’m not sure the resistance of a few will stop this movement.
On another front, behind closed doors, newspapers are trying — or at least wishing – that they could create a cartel that agrees to charge for content. Fat chance that will work. Laid off reporters, editors and correspondents will simply create yet another Global Post and continue to re-invent the definition of news all together. These guys need to read Chris Anderson. Even if he’s only half right, even if the quality of free content suffers by comparison to the New York Times, the continued demise of print media as we know it seems inevitable.
And finally, there’s the predictions of the outspoken, but often convincing, Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary is big into the idea of disintermediation. He asks questions like:
“Why do we need outdoor advertising on bus shelters when everyone who walks by them is staring at their iPhone?”
“McDonalds doesn’t make us pay for everything on the menu when we only want a hamburger; why do cable companies?”
“Will we need ESPN once the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB broadcast all their games, retain rights to all their game film, and sell content directly to you?”
Granted there are people who think Gary’s just the modern day version of the used car salesman, but they haven’t spent time with him. If they did, chances are they’d join me in thinking he’s not only one hell of an entrepreneur; he’s a visionary when it comes to what’s possible.
If you’re a marketer, an advertising agency, a digital agency or a content creator in any medium this is what’s coming if it’s not already here:
Consumers who insist on more control and greater participation.
A market that will pay less and less for content and expect more of it to be free.
Technology that will let brands, marketers and content creators cut out the intermediary.
These are incredible changes that will affect us all. We can long for the days of Mad Men. We can complain. We can even argue. But my suggestion is that we do what Crowdspring, Global Post and Gary are doing. Find the opportunities. There are a plenty of them to be had and no shortage of tools and platforms that eliminate most of the costs and all of the barriers to invent, create, and distribute your ideas.
Everything is up for grabs. Whether that spells doom and gloom or unlimited opportunity depends on your plan. Got one?
Comments
To be clear; I'm in no way opposed to the changes that lie ahead. (And it wouldn't matter much if I were.)
My point (in talking about agency/employee loyalty, and the commitment to mutual growth for each) is that in the industry of marketing, there will always be a place for "experts."
What they will be "experts" in, is a very different matter.
The very existence of this blog is proof. You're putting a stake in the ground for yourself and your agency, establishing your credibility as an "expert" in what lies ahead, instead of some other schlep.
It seems your strategy for resisting the threat of crowdsourcing to your agency, is to become an acknowledged expert in crowdsourcing. Smart. And perhaps the best chance at preserving some revenue and differentiation for your agency.
Hopefully when your agency hands a client an invoice for $300,000 instead of $3,000, that expertise will have value.
Meanwhile, in our commitment to grow our employees, it may be time to emphasize different skill sets and different tools of creation. But I still think agencies can earn their keep as "experts." If they're flexible and open and honestly committed to the best interests of the brands they serve.
You know, one of the reasons I love your blog is you actually engage in dialogue with your readers. You're thoughtful and perceptive too. I appreciate your work.
.-= Doug Ericksonu00c2u00b4s last blog ..What Is That? =-.
That's the point, right? Want to know a secret? On many posts I learn more from them than they learn from me. Have met and engaged with some interesting and talented people. Thanks for the kind words.
I agree with Doug. I might disagree vehemently with your take on crowdsourcing, but you've got me coming back to your blog every day to check up on things.
N;
Thanks, too bad there isn't something new here everyday. It's too much work. Plus I have a real job, a couple of kids and 400 daily emails to plow through. And now, having read Brogan's Trust Agents, I learned I'm actually supposed to respond to the damn things. Anyway, thanks for your interest. Subscribe and it will save you showing up all the time. In the meantime, I'll try and be provocative. Or at least interesting.
Great post and discussion. I agree with almost all of it. Where I disagree is about the future value of content. I think it depends on the content. Just because I can watch millions of free videos on YouTube doesn't mean I will pay less to watch a video by Quentin Tarantino. Just because I can see my neighbor's paintings free doesn't make a visit to the Louvre less valuable. To the contrary, the better and more scarce the content by trusted creators, the MORE I will be willing to pay for it in the future. As attention becomes harder and harder to gain, value to those who can grab it increases.
.-= Doug Ericksonu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Sheer Imagination =-.
Doug:
Didn't mean to imply that. In fact, the opposite. Sort of. Though we have a dilemma. As conversations and community proliferate, value of good content will be greater, and necessary to generate attention, engagement, propagation, etc. Point was more that the content creator may no longer need the studio, the movie theater or the network, just as great writers may no longer need the overhead and infrastructure of the newspaper and printing press. The creators have long paid a huge sacrifice for the power of those who could distribute. The value of those intermediaries was two-fold. One, they were the only way to get the message and entertainment out. And they virtually assured money (in the case of books and newspapers, probably not enough) for the creator. Now here's the dilemma: if people are willing to pay less, believing that digital technology entitles them to free, and the publisher/distributor has less money to pay the creator, the intermediary's clout and value will diminish. We are left with a huge challenge. While we can all figure out the distribution part -- over the web -- we still have to pay (or get paid) the writers, artists, directors, who make the good stuff. Ironically as great content becomes a premium, getting paid for it may become harder and harder except in select, blockbuster cases.
Hey,
You just revealed my business plan. Shhh.
If that's your business plan we should talk because we've learned a ton of lessons on what works and what doesn't.
Interested?
tim - lol. disintermediation of creativity is upon us. we have always said a good idea can come from anywhere. if thats true, wouldn't it be smart to pull in as many people as possible, give them the right input and see what comes out? still need the ability to judge great ideas but more of them makes that easier.
edward, agree, no one can do it all. what you need is a small core team that understands brand and business and who are strategic and creative, a network of the best for each discipline, a resource that does nothing but foster and manage the relationships with the bests, and a group of project managers that would give their life to get the project done the right way and in the proper amount of time.
if i was a cmo, that is how i would approach it.
.-= greg woodu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Unsolicited Advice for Kodak Regarding Social Media Strategy =-.
I don't know who Gary is but his ideas are pretty old news, IMO. Imagining a la carte entertainment is obvious, executing it is impressive.
Jen:
You should know who he is since he's making millions executing it and inspiring hundreds if not thousands to do the same. Not yet in the entertainment business but in wine business and in content. You should check him out.
Edward:
I was thinking more along the lines of a hedge fund.
I have made money and lost money in hedge funds. But the fund manager always made out. Good work if you can get it. I'm working on an idea for a hedge agency. More to come.
Hedge fund is an interesting analogy. Creating an open marketplace is the first condition to unlocking creative work and making it easier to source, buy, sell and iterate on.
Tim:
Now you are on to something. Get out of the business and into another. This is the time to do it. For starters, you could become a director of crowdsourcing. There may be a lot of platforms, but I guarantee you that clients don't know how to do it right, i.e. find the crowd, source right people, provide useful input in the correct form, curate the content, and make a good decision. At least not yet.
If you're smart and talented, you rightfully expect to be paid fair market value for that talent and smarts. If fair market value becomes a $1000 for a logo, you get out of that business and into another. Leaving the folks without talent and without smarts to design logos for CP+B. Sounds like a flawed plan, but I doubt Crispin cares much past the buzz it's generating.
In the words of Cool Hand Luke, "Calling it your job don't make it right, boss."
love the post and the comments. a few thoughts on the agency business model... the model has been built upon one key fact: finding and influencing people to buy products is very, very hard to do and a high stakes game. given the incredible amount of advertising noise that bombard consumers, for a brand to break through, connect emotionally and motivate some one to take action requires almost a miracle. when you think about it, this is what we have been selling as agencies. we can do it! why? because we have the best media planners who can get the best demos, the right frequency and the best media integration opportunities, we have the best planners who have a voodoo-like read into the target markets mind, and we have the best creative, people that can bring words and images and video together that can make you cry, laugh, smile, chuckle, get excited and prove your brand while doing it. its all geared up for the home run in the bottom of the 9th. it's also very expensive and there are more wiffs then we would care to admit. yes, there are home runs, and we might even have a few in our reels, but the chances of another one are slim and getting slimmer. my take is that we have to move to a model that is much quicker, much more targeted to specific interests and passions, much cheaper for each bit of creative, and something that is iterative. think for a moment, if instead of doing a broadcast campaign across TV,OOH, and Radio that costs a few million in agency and production and a few million in media buy, you take that $4 million and you create hundreds of micro bits of content that add value to people's day. they of course stay on brand and prove why the company exists but they don't interrupt people or scream at them. some people like the content so much they share it with others. hundreds of singles turn into something very, very big.
in regards to the hive mind. all for it. scares the sh#t out of people when they look at some of the work that people are doing on spec at crowdspring. that said, we do need to educate clients that a strategic underpinning is still required. in order to get great concepts and great work from the hive, you need great input. that doesn't change and that requires expertise.
an example: a large casino has jumped into social media and they realize that they don't have content. the idea of an app is brought up and they want to build one. but, what app? why that app? instead making a whole bunch of assumptions and declaring that this is the app that is best for you, do a rapid discovery project and build a short but insightful brief. then go to the hive mind along with your own teams' mind to create 20 to 30 app ideas and deliver a description of each idea along with a rough flow and a sketch. they can the create all 30 or just one. they ideas can range from a golf game on facebook to a iphone app that allows gamblers to order a drink and have it delivered to their exact location within the casino.
.-= greg woodu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Unsolicited Advice for Kodak Regarding Social Media Strategy =-.
You got it. That's exactly the challenge. Glad I'm not a CMO. Think about this: you need reach, scale, influence, results. Your consumer isn't paying attention, wants and demands more control, yet has higher expectations. So, you have to master: branding, content (across every medium), distribution, commmunity, personal branding, mobilizing your employees, organic search, connection strategy, crowdsourding, reputation management, and figure out where to put and how to allocate resources. No one, no matter how much BS they spray, knows how to do all of that. I'm working on it, but herding cats is easy compared to catching a cheetah.
The longer the other guy has his head in the sand, the more time you have to get a head start up the beach!
I'm hopeful that there's a happy medium between the death-with-the-old-ads knee-jerk mindset of direct sales gurus and the seeming complacency of many in traditional media castles. Everybody has a lot to learn from everybody.
My plan is to learn all I can.
.-= Seth Simondsu00c2u00b4s last blog ..How I Discover & Use Images On My Blog =-.
Seth:
The "get a head start" is actually a good way to look at. In the last couple of weeks I've met a lot of young, under 25 years old entrepreneurs. They embrace all that's new intuitively. What they're able to create, or try and create, is awesome. They are using it all to their advantage. No barriers to entry, technology to help them produce content, community to mobilize their peers. It should be both inspirational and educational to all. Good subject for my next post.
I can't wait for the day cable companies adapt to the changes. Why do we have to pay a premium for 200 channels we, or at least I, will never watch? I have those channels I will gladly pay for, but shouldn't have to waste my money on the others. Like the Hallmark channel. Seriously? I've never watched it, and never will. Thanks a bunch for that gem.
It is astounding to me, the number of agencies and corporations/brands alike that continue this late in the game to keep their heads in the sand because it is too scary to come out. I applaud you for giving them continued and powerful wake-up calls. If only they were listening.
.-= Sue Spaightu00c2u00b4s last blog ..Ease up on the reins, there, Hoss: How letting go can improve corporate culture =-.
I think the problem with yesterday's discussion was not that people are not embracing or excited about the inevitable and the opportunities therein. But rather, that the particular example of CS was uninspired.
Twelpforce is a better example. Currently, Best Buy is using the internal crowd to improve service. It's good to have the employees engaged with the brand first.
Later, the Twelpforce can be a consumer to consumer resource to answer common questions, provide inspiration, push new products. This will be truly revolutionary.
A contest is a contest and kind of lame.
Totally. I've been arguing in most of my previous posts that competitions, while valid and likely to grow in popularity, are a tiny example of what we can do with crowdsourcing. Read John Winsor or Ben Malbon at BBH Labos if you want more good ideas.
Change is coming and it's coming fast. Creatives who don't embrace the various and dynamic ways to engage and interact with the consumer (whether it be social media or crowdsourcing) will quickly find themselves scrambling to catch up. I don't believe there is one plan with which a creative group can use in this new environment but should use the tools (new and traditional media or a blending of the two) available to develop strategies which will work best for the client and engage and retain the consumer.
In this environment, it isn't information that's currency, it's the *processing* of information. In the face of the information firehose, we cannot--as individuals--do everything we need to do with information. We cannot simultaneously generate, collect, interpret, filter, and connect it.
But since those functions are necessary, it's those functions I think we'll end up being willing to pay for.
If I'm someone who likes to interpret ideas, I'll pay someone to filter the "good stuff" for me. That filter I pay will, in turn, be willing to pay a collector to put all the information in one place, in a way the filter can select and prioritize--because the *quality* of the relationship to information is the differentiator.
Chris Anderson has a gift for the obvious (that's a compliment): of COURSE information is free. All any of us has to do is look.
But attention is a finite resource, and we need help figuring out where to focus our attention. As the access to information increases (as it inevitably will) the need--and value--of information processing becomes the source of profitability.
.-= Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear @ Sametz)u00c2u00b4s last blog ..Donu00e2u0080u0099t be a tool =-.
Tamson:
You've hit on another important theme. As the conversation morphs into cacaphony and the number of communities proliferates, we won't simply have competition for attention, but for engagement and participation. And that means that ideas and creativity in the new spaces will have to be remarkable if they're to earn that finite attention.
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