It’s SxSW panel submission time
I just got my SxSWi panel submission in under the wire. Was on vacation so totally forgot. Won’t have any idea whether it has a chance or not until September. But here it is. If you read stuff here regularly, you won’t be too surprised. Following the SxSW submission guidelines there’s the title (limited to eight words; agree mine still needs work); description (1500 characters max, though I’ve fattened it up a little bit for this blog post; who it’s intended for; the five questions it will answer; and why I’m qualified to participate (that was the really hard part.)
Title:
New Models Prove That Ad Agencies Will Survive
The title can’t be more than eight words — Rumors of our death are greatly exaggerated was an alternative — but they want something more specific, hence the reference to “new models.”
Description:
Social media enthusiasts, inbound marketers and digital shops have all declared that the advertising agency as we know it is dead. But is it really? The old agency model may have lost its relevance, but there is a new crop of “agencies” springing up all around us.
Still in their infancy, crowdsourcing agencies are succeeding at sourcing ideas from both the public and free agents.
Digital production companies that combine technology and production now offer strategy and branding in attempt to displace agencies of record.
Social savvy integrated agencies that boast innovation “labs” are experimenting with everything from the creation of their own products to the development of digital eco-systems rather than ad campaigns.
The implications of these new models are significant:
They create new opportunities for brands and marketers as they learn to engage rather than “broadcast.”
They force traditional agencies to adapt more quickly if they are to survive.
They call for a new set of skills and expertise from those who want to work and prosper in the industry.
This panel, comprised of leaders who represent each of the models, along with a leading CMO from a major marketer, will explore the following:
–Why rapidly changing consumer behavior (from spectator to creator, from reader to publisher) demands constant reinvention on the part of agencies
–Creating a culture that embraces change
–Criteria that brands and marketers should use to evaluate the new models
–The skills employees will need in the future if they are to prosper and succeed.
Who it’s intended for:
Ad agency executives, CMOs, marketing executives, ad industry employees will all benefit from this discussion. They’ll come away with ideas, examples of what doesn’t work, and new ways to think about the business they dedicate so much of their life to.
Questions this panel will answer:
- What does the next generation ad agency look like?
- Do I need one agency or multiple specialty shops?
- How is consumer behavior and technology affecting advertising effectiveness?
- What kind of skills will be most valuable to the industry in the future?
- What doesn’t work and how can I avoid making mistakes others have made?
What qualifies me:
Needless to say I wrote something that makes me sound impressive. After all, I am in advertising.
So, what do you think? Any good? Would you attend?
Comments
David:
I am not surprised. We handle JAMRs and have conducted seminars for many of the branch's marketing folks. They all complain about the large agencies failing to integrate, neglecting to embrace new technologies, etc. I suppose the bigger you are and the more set in your ways, the harder it is to change. It's why I personally believe that the mid-size and smaller agencies that are more innovative, digital and willing to try new models will prevail, along with the Victors & Spoils, crowdSprings and others.
All looks good to me, but what about explicitly tackling the idea of the holding company? To my mind, what's "new" in the business is the predominance of public holding companies, with WPP being the biggest. Given the debt load of these companies and their track record for "improving" the agencies they have bought, why should anyone believe that holding companies have the smarts and the bank to create a new model?
Well, we are owned by a holding company, so not sure I want to go there. I'd rather talk about how the traditional model is dead, a new kind of employee is necessary, and whether the V&Ses, EVBs and others will put the old guys out of business or at least find themselves going through total transformation.
I don't think the problem is the holding company per se as the problem. Their structure is bizarre with lots of redundancies. And advertising is a very complicated ecosystem that success for various groups don't align in the right way. And success for any Agency is viewed as billings more than the success they helped clients achieve. And of course you have dysfunctional clients! lol
May I ask what a V&S and EVB is?
Victors & Spoils, new crowdsourcing agency. Evolution Bureau, digital/brand agency in S.F.
Edward, you know I'm a fan of this topic and think it is the core struggle right now among agency execs. Your quick mention of the shift to digital ecosystems is right on. That's where the energy is moving for agency work and how we will need to construct ourselves moving forward -- how do we support an ecosystem creatively? Well, with an equally fluid ecosystem, of course. So excited to hear this discussion. Great choice!
My new saying is this: Stop creating things that have to be built and start building things from stuff that's already created.
Well, that's another hot topic entirely. I'm not remembering who said it recently, but the comment was: innovation will not necessarily come from another new tool, but rather from the creative thinking we apply to the tools. I guess this goes for agency organization as well.
That is a great submission Edward. Anytime someone declares something as fact it is always false, unless proven by math and the laws of physics.
I was going to comment on my views but decided to keep them hush. I am a futurist and love sharing but its a bit lengthy for this blog and don't want to give away my secrets to the world. But very well laid out and presented.
I'm not convinced that many agencies even realize they need to change or have the slightest clue where to being.
In April 2007 I took over the $450M Army Strong campaign with little to no marketing experience. That was actually an advantage, I wasn't trapped by "old school" ways of thinking. In June 2007 I read David Meerman Scott's book and knew what I needed to do to find ways to reduce our budget. I approached the agency and told them to read the book because this was the direction we needed to head. I finally had to tell them "we are getting into social media and here is how you will make money doing it."
Since retiring from the Army I have had the chance to meet with SVPs of Fortune 500 companies and several agencies. I have been asked how I developed a 3 year marketing plan when I didn't know if Facebook and Twitter would still be big in 3 years. It's MEDIA, why isn't there agency helping??
I had an executive at a large agency tell me "our clients prefer to do social media themselves." I asked, "what are you doing to ensure their messaging doesn't adversely affect the messaging you are developing for them?"
Why are agencies advertising for someone to be a SVP of Social Media and requiring 8+ years of experience and adding "knowledge of social media a plus" Really?? Do you care how long a restaurant has been in business or the quality of the food? Why is time more important than experience...they aren't the same thing!
So here is how I position social media to help people stop the insanity of looking at tactics first and thinking that is a strategy. Social media is not new. It existed in our country long before the big agencies. So what is the most successful social media strategy in the United States?? The Declaration of Independence.
The cost of the tools then were cheap much like to tools today. However, they didn't begin the campaign without a strategy or without a focus group (The Continental Congress). The document was intended to address some key items to generate discussions and I think we can all agree it was a successful campaign.
Agencies need to step up and realize that this is NEW media, like the newspaper, radio and television were once new. Become the expert and insure that this is INTEGRATED with all other efforts.
Want to change the agencies?? Determine what they should be doing to help clients and then devise the awards to reinforce that!
As a close...this guy who had no marketing experience directed the creation of two social media campaigns that the agency later received awards for. The slogan Army Strong went from being "a recruiting slogan" to being adopted by the Army, to the point of being printed on uniforms. See the October 12, 2009 Time Magazine cover. Finally, as I retired from the Army our FY10 marketing budget was able to be reduced to approx. $210M and we already had meet 40% of our FY10 recruiting goals.
Agencies are not dead and only the foolish will perish. Most companies have no clue on developing a strategy for social media (otherwise why would they ban its use by their employees rather than giving direction?). Agencies have a chance to step up and provide them this service! Agencies need strategists with new ideas, not people who are stuck in the past.
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