Thought Piece :
By Admin posted on June 25, 2014
The future is bright. The future is distributed.
Three years ago, Scott Belsky CEO of Behance made his prediction. That the agency model of the future was ‘distributed’. Where the internet and globalisation opened up opportunities to bring together better teams, delivering better work, faster and more efficiently.
This year’s predictions from industry leaders, both tail end of last year, and in early 2014, have highlighted the need for speed and agility, from Ian Priest’s recent statements around agility, to Michelle Whelan’s buzz term ‘high-speed ideas’ and Oystercatchers Richard Robinson’s focus on speed to market, it’s all about being able to be smart and nimble. Which takes me back to Scott Belsky. Clients today need agencies that can respond. Faster and more efficiently. Where great ideas can happen, freely and within sensible time frames. The days of lauding over creative concepts for weeks on end is soon to be over.
The consumer landscape is shifting rapidly. The term ‘yesterday’s news’ has never been more salient. It is the reality of today’s communication environment. Consumers need for choice, and change, and flexibility is greater that ever before and that puts a great pressure on established agencies, with established processes and carrying the shackles of networks and owner bodies.
A necessary evil
Within most of these agencies lies a sophisticated working model – though many of them don’t adhere to it – with kick offs, or ignitions, or swats at the beginning of an over-intellectualised process. They move into discovery phases of research, and insight development, strategising and beard stroking. And once this very thorough process is completed, a brief is written, and a few more weeks are taken to concept around it, some long lunches at the pub, lots of paper screwed up, lots of legally unacceptable ideas thrown out. We’ve all been there. It’s rigorous. It’s clever. It’s bulletproof. It is, in fact, because of their model, a necessary evil.
Agencies do this, and sell this to clients, to find the best solutions. Essentially, they need to do it because they are in the business of communication. They work for an agency, not for the client. If they were experts in the client’s field, they could reach the answers to the briefs, with the same power, and same creativity, far quicker.
What’s more they need to do it because the client teams are filled with account handlers from graduates to old timers, with those who have all the experience, spending the least amount of time using that experience. It’s the only way agencies can make money. They calculate their fees based on hours. And the more people they have on their teams, the more hours it takes to deliver. The more ‘green’ the teams are, the longer it takes to deliver, the more rounds of creative are needed, the more learning time is taken. Taken from the clients. And somehow, the clients haven’t noticed. They are oblivious to the fact that the reason the brief is not cracked, is because the teams don’t truly understand their business.
In a world of growing commerciality with a need for speed to market, do we really have the time to spend learning on the job? Do clients really want to spend money to pay people to get up to speed before they can start delivering brilliantly?
The backbone of the industry
Of course there still remains a need for these big agency networks. With their ability to draw the best talent straight out of university, coaching and developing the skills of the future movers and shakers, the future directors and leaders. With their bottomless resources and on-tap experience, their 24/7 mentalities all giving their clients the comfort and security of being under their wing, their leadership, and their brand. Many clients need that security, and seek the lovely, big W1 offices with a big, big brand names above the door. It’s these large agencies that form the backbone to the industry – and ironically it is they who have enabled the changing face of creativity. Indeed, without those well established bastions of the industry, there would be no foundation for the success of today’s new model creative companies.
Shaping the future
There are a proliferation of these new creative businesses popping up here, there and everywhere. More senior creative, strategists and account handlers are leaving behind the big buildings, big brands and big incomes than ever before. All determining that things need to change. Ask the AAR, or the MAA. Both have said that the past 18 months have seen a rising number of smaller shops, creative collectives, off-shoots and start ups, all following the same vision of creating best in class solutions for clients without the politics. Of being able to have a decent life, and delivering great work, without selling your soul to someone, somewhere who really has no idea of what you do, but still has to sign off on every move you make.
So the industry is beginning to change. With an influx of heavyweights moving to consultancy models, working directly with clients, or parachuting into smaller agencies. It’s one solution. But not the most powerful.
The role of technology
Technology has enabled us to work harder. And smarter. And while every working day is now 24/7, and our inboxes start filling on a Sunday night (because they can), and while networks are a way of life, we can – and should – be capitalising on this shift. Skype, hangouts, audioboo, podcasts, webcasts, youtube, pinterest. They are but a few of the ways we can create virtual businesses and have virtual relationships. And all of these tools should be used to maximum effect. But we also need to remember the power of face to face. The extraordinary strength of eyeballing a client across the table as we sell the next biggest campaign for their brand to them. Face to face is key, but tomorrow’s landscape needs to deliver smarter ways of working.
It’s working for us
Here at VP we’ve capitalised on all of these needs and trends. Our Pod model has allowed us to build our business around delivering great work, efficiently and effectively. Drawing on a partnership model, and using a wealth of highly experienced ex big agency players, we construct teams around the needs of each brief. Specifically. We use masters of the category, audience or channel. We use only the best, so the work is delivered faster. We don’t employ juniors, so our solutions are more grounded, they come from a background of understanding and deep knowledge. We offer workspace flexibility, so our overheads are not excessive, and our clients don’t have to pay for resource they don’t use. It’s the smart way to work. The future of the industry.
A word of thanks
And the reason we can make this happen is because of our past, and our collective experience. So we say a big thank you to the networks for giving us the experience, and the self belief, and the strong CVs that have empowered us to make a difference to the industry.
For more information please contact:
Jo Chadwick – Managing Partner