Advertising Agencies: Kiss Your Creative Teams Goodbye

New demands on ad agencies mean old ways are dying and new job opportunities are being created.

Few things in advertising are as sacred as the creative team. Traditionally, this team consisted of a copywriter and an art director. When called upon, they would take the planner's insight and apply precisely the right combination of words and images to produce communication that was disruptive in its media environment, memorable in its delivery, and crystal clear in its meaning. This was done in hopes it would yield bountiful sales for the client (or a creative award for the agency).

I have spent most of my career on the copywriting half of that equation. I loved the work, but I also loved the privileged position my art director and I occupied in the agency. Once sequestered with our creative assignment, our methods were not questioned. Our work process was shrouded in the secrecy of a papal enclave with nervous account executives wringing their hands outside our chambers in anticipation of the time when we would emerge with concepts in hand (or not). Ah, nostalgia. I'm glad I was a copywriter in the '80s and '90s because the position as I knew it is going the way of the stat camera and Letraset.

The reason the creative team no longer works is because the right combination of words and images alone will no longer yield bountiful sales for the client. This is not to say good copy and art direction are unimportant. They have never been more important. Today it takes more than that, a lot more. Ad agencies now have different expectations placed on them. Our campaign solutions must do more than combine words and images to inform, inspire, and motivate. They must deliver business value in new ways that maximize the potential of digital media as well as traditional media.

It's not just print, outdoor, TV, and radio. If it’s digital; it’s also a potential media. Anything from rich media banners to social media assets to mobile apps and games.
Our creative team must not only create material to place in media. The media itself must be incorporated into their concept from the start.

Integration across media must be seamless, but concepts also need to work across platforms and delivery devices.
They must do more than address the target’s primary needs. They must look at tangential needs and find new ways to facilitate them.
Their solutions will not be confined to two of three campaign periods a year but will need to engage consumers and deliver value every day.
In some cases, they may even be called upon to create solutions that fund themselves.
That's a lot to ask of even the best copywriter and art director.

Today I run an ad agency and brand consultancy. About five years ago my partners and I concluded that developments in the digital world (specifically social media, mobile media and the evolution of the Internet) would fundamentally change the advertising industry. So we began the process of adapting to those changes. The first thing we realized was that adapting would not simply be a matter of hiring a web designer and a few geeks. We had to go one step further and change the way we develop solutions for our clients. Processes that worked well for creating campaigns in traditional media were not producing the type of solutions we needed in the information age.

The first casualty of this restructuring was the creative team. I loathed to do it. I thought too many cooks would destroy creativity, but what I found was an exponential increase in creativity. Creativity was no longer confined to our pictures and images. Our campaign concepts began to routinely integrate innovative ideas across the entire marketing mix from media, product development, and distribution to sales, pricing, and PR.

What do our creative teams look like today? It is no longer a duet; its a quintet: copywriter, art director (preferably a digital art director), web designer, and social media architect. More often than not the strategic planner, who used to drop off the brief and leave the creatives alone, is also in the group. As soon as the ideas begin to gel we add our SEO guy to the mix to make sure anything we create is made to be found from the start.

Different people. Different creative process. Great results.

Our best clients today demand creative business ideas as well as creative communication. We are able to provide it. Sacrificing one of advertising’s most hallowed institutions is the price we had to pay. This may be bad news for agency traditionalists, but it's great news for clients and job seekers who are in tune with the changes in the marketing landscape. If you are either of the above, I’d like to hear from you.

10 Secrets to success in the "consultant" business.

AAAH! You’ve made the decision to leave the safety of a steady paycheck and venture into the world of consulting:

1. Treat It Like a Business – Repeat after me: consulting is not a hobby, nor is it a transition step as you look for a new job. It must be your focused, long-term decision. Trust me, if you want to be accepted as a consultant, it is imperative that you treat it as a business from the get-go. Immediately create the line of demarcation between your business life and personal life. Necessities include a separate checking account, business credit cards, and detailed bookkeeping.

2. Create A Network of Trusted Advisors – Building a strong business requires laying a solid foundation. Having a team of experts assisting you at the outset with legal requirements, possible liability issues, overdraft protection, financial guidance, and IT (an expert who makes “mouse calls”), will help you deal with real-world problems as they arise.

3. Charge Appropriately – Most newbie consultants underestimate the amount of time it will take to get the business, get paid for the business, and actually do the business. Do not simply take your former annual salary and divide by the number of hours worked in order to determine your hourly rate. You are selling value that is a culmination of your years of experience and you should be rewarded accordingly. Furthermore, maintain fee integrity: do not lower your fee unless there is an alternate form of compensation.

4. Never Stop Marketing – Even if the foreseeable future is packed to the gills with clients, do not stop your marketing efforts. If you do, you will feel the effects in six to 12 months and will literally have to build momentum all over again. Marketing today prevents famine tomorrow. And, of course, your efforts afford you the opportunity to trade up your client base and focus on the most profitable business.

5. Don’t Print in Bulk – With today’s rich media and constantly changing environment, it makes no sense to print hundreds of brochures, biographies, or even client lists. Instead, spend wisely on business cards, the one printed item critical to first impressions. And even there, limit quantities based on realistic expectations, not lofty dreams. Make sure to load your website with easily printable data. In electronic communication, you can simply attach necessary PDFs or in the case of proposals, custom create and color print only what you need.

6. Always Have a Signed Contract – Although many business deals may be concluded over a handshake, I insist on signed contracts and so should you. A solid contract clearly spells out deliverables and helps to manage expectations so that you can exceed them.

7. Don’t Nickel and Dime Your Clients – Create a policy now for how you will deal with travel expenditures, overnight delivery, messengers, fee-based online research, and other incidentals. I make it a policy to never charge for postage, copying, or other minutiae. These types of bill-backs to your client tend to cause more ill will than you can ever recover. Having a clause in your contract that all expenses over $100.00 will be approved in advance by your client also ensures that there will be no surprises at the end of a billing cycle.

8. Volunteer for One Philanthropic Effort – Pick a group or cause that you are passionate about and donate your expertise to the board. If, for example, you are an accountant, offering to handle the books for a charity is a great way to give in-kind. It also demonstrates your core competency to high level board members. If you can perform your task so brilliantly for free, the organization can easily imagine what you can accomplish when you are actually hired for an assignment!

9. No “Picking Your Brain” Allowed – You’ll get this request often: “Please, can I pick your brain?” The answer is always “No," Your most valuable and limited inventory is your time and intellectual property; giving it away is giving away your profits. You can, however, give away a small, free sample (similar to offering a small taste of Mrs. Fields' cookies, but in order to get the baker’s dozen, a purchase of 12 is required).

10. Be Cautious With Meals – Wining and dining can initially seem like a great idea for establishing a firm relationship. However, it also can be tricky. If you are taking out a client, establish the rules: you can charge for your time, you can expense the meal or you can charge for both. And, there are occasions when your time and meal are your gift to the client as a special thank you. Remember, when networking with colleagues, the last thing you want to do is continue to pay for expensive lunches; the net result might be gaining weight while losing money!

Harry Potter newspapers soon to become a reality

Harry Potter show us the way with his "Daily Prophet" newspaper edition.

It seamed impossible at that time but today with the new iPad it seams more than possible.

It's reality. To prove it WIRED magazine is creating this App that shows the way to this future.

For magazines to ignore it is like keep defending that the world is flat.

What consumers want?

Consumers want marketers to engage, not advertise.

Listen more, react intelligently. Incorporate social media insights into your marketing. Hyundai responded to customer needs by using the Hyundai Think Tank to understand customer needs. Thanks to the Think Tank, Hyundai introduced a gas lock program promising consumers more efficient performance from their cars. And Hyundai sales grew during a recession. Meantime, Razorfish client Mercedes-Benz adapted its brand to stress innovation instead of the Mercedes-Benz heritage.

Target people, not statistics. Focus on consumer behaviors, not demographic data.

So what can marketers do today?

Adapt your approach to new ideas. Watch for, and be ready to adapt to, major groundswell events (like the emergence of Foursquare occurring now).

2. Adapt the roles of your team. Brand managers need to consider the role of brand advocates, or people who share your brand every day on multiple platforms and communities — invaluable sources of customer insight for the brand strategist.

3. Adapt your process. Plan iteratively and frequently. Don’t think of planning as a one-time process. Partner for creativity, not durability. Use predictive metrics in addition to descriptive ones.

4. Adapt your mix of media. Think in terms of owned media for the portable brand and paid media as a brand catalyst.

In summary . . . remember that customers always evolve. Be ready to innovate on their terms as CNN has done. And marketers need to change the pace at which we learn and adapt. We must constantly learn — and quickly.

What makes it a GOOD brand?

Being a genuinely good brand takes more than a widely used product and an ubiquitous global presence. Though there is no precise formula, what the ten good brands on our list have in common is a penchant for imagination, innovation, environmental responsibility and social consciousness.

Their products and services don’t just serve a basic need, but instead help as a tool to improve people’s lives. Several companies have stayed strong, maintaining their positions from last year with continued innovation, while others on the list have jumped into prominence through offering creative solutions and ground breaking new business models.