What's Next In Marketing

What's Next With Integrated Teams

Creativity magazine highlights some of the best creative work done in the world. When they show a campaign/ad, they also list the people who worked on executing the concept.

Typically the line up looks like this:

Client: Axe
Agency: BBH, New York
Executive Creative Director: Kevin Roddy
Creative Director: Pelle Sjoenell,
Calle Sjoenell
Art Director: Maja Fernqvist
Writer: Joakim Saul
Head of Broadcast Production: Bruce Wellington
Deputy Head of Broadcast: Dominic Ferro
Senior Producer: Laura Ferguson
Production Company: flodellfilm, Stockholm
Director: Jakob Ström
Producer: Dan Svensson
Director of Photography: Gösta Reiland
Service Production Company: the big picture
Line Producer: Kirsten Bowman
VFX: Milford Film & Animation AB
VFX Supervisor: John Roxenhed
Editor: Marcus Lindqvist
Sound: Ljudligan
Mixer: Fredrik Jonsäter

What it should look like is how Crispin Porter lists whom worked on a campaign:

Client: Burger King
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
CD: Bob Reilly, Bill Wright
ACD/CW: Ryan Kutscher
ICD (interactive cd): Jeff Benjamin
Senior AD: Paul Caiozzo
Director of integrated Production (NOTE: Integrated Production, get it?): David Rolfe
Integrated Senior Producer (Interactive): Harshal Sisodia
Executive Integrated Music Producer: Chris Kyriakos

There's more, but I think the point is made.

Now, do you really think that these folks are any more "integrated" than your staff? Likely not. But by just changing the titles (and potentially the way this teams interacts), is there any wonder why lots of big advertisers want to talk with them?

What's Next: How Brands Use Digital Tools

Saw this article on Adweek.com (which I actually think has done a nice job with their site redesign) about how brands are starting to leverage technology more and more as a part of their campaigns.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/strategy/e3i975331243e08d74cd51f0974835c6bd9

Bob Greenberg, one of my favorite Adweek contributors has actually been writing about this for months. You can see his posts here:

http://www.adweek.com/aw/esearch/searchResult.jsp?keyword=bob+greenberg&x=0&y=0&exposeNavigation=true&kw=&action=Submit&searchInterface=keyword&applicationName=adweek&matchType=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&an=adweek&searchType=ARTICLE_SEARCH

So the Adweek article just feels like a bit of a summary of what has been being said for a long time now. A bit disappointing.

But there was one section that I thought was spot on. It addressed the need for brands to still emotionally connect with consumers.

As anyone who has read this blog knows I believe that technology is changing the game for agencies. But I have also consistently said that you still need a strong brand platform, and that there has to be an emotional connection in order to drive preference and loyalty.

"The more things change, of course, the more they stay the same. Even though the technology driving a campaign may be new or sophisticated, its purpose still comes down to a fundamental of advertising: It has to tap into an emotional need, or risk ending up a fleeting novelty."

Linda Kaplan Thaler, the CEO and Creative Director of The Kaplan Thaler Group, was always focused in on the issue of emotion in campaigns, and I learned a great deal from her about how you can never lose focus on making that connection with consumers.

Benjamin Palmer Of The Barbarian Group Knows What's Next

I love the work of The Barbarian Group and I am a huge fan of Benjamin Palmer's.

I've always been fascinated by the way they work as their model is one that call for a high level of collaboration within the shop, and they use technology to enable everyone to contribute ideas.

This type of "open source" ideation is part of what I am helping to build as part of DaVinci, WPP's new entity that will service all of Dell Computer's MarComm needs.

Ben has written a great piece on how agencies need a "Facebook" like culture to ignite and promote open ideation. It's a great read,

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/community/columns/other-columns/e3i14785206d4d123ec229be7e393223a63

What's Next: The End Of The Advertising Business!!

Another doomsday report about how badly advertising agencies suck. this one from our friends at Forrester.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i55bff7bc1a68eceffaee3b78157de9b9

I read a similar report from Accenture.

Who knew things were this bad?

Well, all of us.

These reports don't have anything new to say. Agencies haven't embraced digital fast enough. Agencies haven't embraced analytics fast enough. The results of the Forrester report are based on answers to questions that were posed to clients.

Clients saying negative things about agencies? It must all be true.

I say bullshit.

We talk about this EVERYDAY where I work and I know that they are doing the same thing at the other major agency companies. We have put in place and are hiring as fast as we can people who get this, and they are helping us drive change as quickly as possible. And you know what, it's working.

Are the clients keeping up? Some yes, and some no.

But I'm a bit tired of constantly hearing how bad we are at what we do. the industry is changing, and rapidly. We get it. And some of us are actually trying to drive that change in ways that will help change the ways that agencies come up with solutions for our clients.

What's Next And Now: Data, Data, Data

Very good article over at Adweek this morning about accelerating the use of data to better target ads and other offers to consumers, and to help maintain a positive relationship with them after the initial contact.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/special-reports/other-reports/e3id1035c8742af5f4e39b521bd10b88118?pn=1\

This is a key issue for agencies, and a strong argument as to why holding companies need to move forward much more quickly in their strategy to re-integrate the direct marketing and media companies from their creative shops.

At my firm, we are working diligently to have our Y&R network work even more closely with our group at Wunderman: clients want to know that all of the data they are accumulating is being put to good use across the board.

Great creative ideas will still win the day when it comes to attracting consumers to your brand. But once you have engaged them, the use of technology and the data available to fuel the different platforms now available will be the key part of growing and maintaining that relationship.