How to succeed in the next decade

Editor's Notes

• #10: How dare we wastethis revolution.
• #11: My phone, backed by pattern recognition software, is theoretically capable of:Identifying each plantDifferentiating each based on my current needs and interests (which ones need special treatment to survive the winer?Customizing my next experience in part based on this one
• #12: How dare we waste this revolution.
• #13: How dare we waste this revolution.
• #14: How dare we wastethis revolution.
• #17: The established agency model was architected in a time when the task of the agency was to push one-way messages en masse through handful of channels. That world has changed irrevocably – a realization that opens a Pandora’s Box of questions as to the form – and the role – of the future agency. What happened? Fundamentally, digital communication. It has changed the way consumers live and brands communicate with them. It has changed the way we think and work. It has changed the expertise required to market and the ability and cost of accessing that expertise. And it has changed the economic landscape of marketing – including the compensation structure.
• #18: There appears to be a movement away from the traditional structure to a more fluid, adaptable structure.
• #19: Everybody is talking about change but before we can parse the problem, much less come up with solutions, it is imperative to have a strong sense of the present state and to identify pertinent trends. It is also essential to identify the building blocks that will create new forms. So what is the state of the industry?
• #20: Advertising is over 100 years old, and agency models have undergone many iterations. In the 50’s client teams included copy, art direction, media and account management by the 90s that expanded to 9 disciplines, overseen by account management. In turn overseeon by VP’s of marketing of each marketing silo (Advertising, ecrm, etc.)And in the last decade we saw the rise of digital agencies and non-agencies. And now, we’re facing another seismic shift based on two core problems: How shall brands interact with customers and the compensation model no longer works. What drives that change? Technology and the demand of clients to change.
• #22: To recalibrate, agencies need to stop thinking in terms of tactics and take a much broader strategic view.“To a hammer everything looks like a nail. If you go to an agency you will get an agency solution, what they are good at.” So, what clients often get is not necessarily an objectively conceived, truly innovative solution, but more likely and unfortunately, a discipline-centric solution that is awkwardly integrated across channels as best as possible. The problem is that for most agencies the financial model doesn’t support thinking outside their skill set, so there is an inherent conflict of interest. The agency must filter all their ideas through the machine they must keep feeding. Would any of your agencies ever recommend re-allocating digital budget to invest in training of call-center reps.
• #23: Is a term coined by Dr. Denis Benison to describe why different departments of a company don’t get along. For clients, agencies with poorly integrated silos offer no advantage over forming a team of separate agencies – a strategy that allows them to chose the best in each field. Holding companies/ RPA/Genex/ M&A integration often fails.Right now, the only way to succeed in that regard is finding sister agencies with complementary, not overlapping service offerings.Holding companies tend to be a collection of silo-like fiefdoms based on individual disciplines – the ad agency, the media department, the direct marketinf division etc. that have all different P&Ls and agendasSomeone sells the network but the companies never figure out how to make it a smooth organism. At my former agency we always talked about our international teams but we didn’t really leverage them effectively – partly because there were cultural nuances that got in the way. Partly because it was C Suite to C Suite making the deal and no one talked to the management team who worked on the business. They had no sense of mission and no desire to work together. And partly because there is the issue of how you are going to share the revenue. Turf wars are a huge issue, and a hindrance to a successful partnership. P&G: Gillette pays a single set fee, established in advance, that covers the full scope of work – big, small, local, global, across all media. BBDO has to divide up the check into all those little pieces. Because Omnicom is a holding company, individual agency in the system has a profit goal they are held to. It stifles cooperation.
• #24: Commission-based. RIPPay for performance is gaining considerable tractionThe other option is to consider profit-sharing: hedge-fund like wherein agencies collect a management fee, and also have a stake in the business that allows them to keep an upside from an increase in performance. There is still a lot of work to do because sales are not only tied to advertising/marketing
• #25: A Fortune 100 President once said: “Every time I walk into that big office in New York, I know I’m paying for it.”After Lehman, CFO’s are running the marketing department; agencies are living on existing contracts, but they know those contracts will be seriously renegotiated soon. Bloat comes in many forms: fancy offices, fancy meals, the Sky box seats, and the amount of people deemed necessary to service the account.
• #27: Many agencies have raised the nurturing of client relationships to an art form. The future of marketing lies in a strong partnership between agency and client – and that partnership will thrive under the care of agency executives with deeply ingrained expertise in keeping their customers happy.Relationships are based on trust
• #28: Nothing replaces the cameraderie, the deep intuition, and for many, the spark of a team that has a long history together
• #29: Culture, Collaboration, Continuity and Communication.Culture breeds excellent work and a happy, dedicated staffCollaboration is an outgrowth of the team realtionship but it is also in many ways the need for many minds to search for a strong solution. Studies show that companies are most innovative when no more than 40% is spent working alone. If your average is 80%, your company is average.Continuity – a team that stays together, with the project and the clientCommunication is a cprollary to the client relationship, but within a team is both the glue that binds and the grease that keeps work moving smoothly.
• #30: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #31: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #32: Everybody is talking about change but before we can parse the problem, much less come up with solutions, it is imperative to have a strong sense of the present state and to identify pertinent trends. It is also essential to identify the building blocks that will create new forms. So what is the state of the industry?
• #33: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #34: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #35: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #36: Can you learn everything you need to learn in a corporate environment?
• #44: Everybody is talking about change but before we can parse the problem, much less come up with solutions, it is imperative to have a strong sense of the present state and to identify pertinent trends. It is also essential to identify the building blocks that will create new forms. So what is the state of the industry?
• #45: We don’t need you to be good at what we were doing yesterday. We need you to be good at making mistakes on what you want to do tomorrow.
• #47: We don’t need you to be good at what we were doing yesterday. We need you to be good at making mistakes on what you want to do tomorrow.
• #48: T-shaped people have two kinds of characteristics, hence the use of the letter T to describe them. The vertical stroke of the “T” is a depth of skill that allows them to controbute to the overall process. The horizontal stroke of the “T” is the disposition for collaboration across disciplines. It is composed of two things. First, empathy. It’s important because it allows people to imagine the problem from another perspective – to stand in somebody ese’s shoes. Second, they tend to get very enthisasistic about other people’s disciplines, to the point that they may actually start to practice them. T- shaped people have both depth and breadth in their skills.
• #50: We don’t need you to be good at what we were doing yesterday. We need you to be good at making mistakes on what you want to do tomorrow.
• #55: We don’t need you to be good at what we were doing yesterday. We need you to be good at making mistakes on what you want to do tomorrow.
• #59: We don’t need you to be good at what we were doing yesterday. We need you to be good at making mistakes on what you want to do tomorrow.
• #60: One of the dangers of the Internet is that you can do short-term stuff all day without producing anything meaningful.