Making brands more distinctive

Update: this was written in December 2019 – who knew!

Going into 2020 I have a number of recurring themes that I think will dominate the new year. The continued blurring of lines between disciplines, success factors, staff welfare and how what we do has an impact on unsustainable growth.

Blurred lines

When I first started working in marketing in the early 1990s even my inexpert mind could clearly discern between the various disciplines that existed. Ad agencies were at the top of the tree – the big balls and brains that could make a brand and break the competition with a witty headline and powerful image. Research agencies sat loftily in the near distance only approaching when called forward. Design agencies looked after logo design, packaging and print and they wore black turtle neck sweaters. The new ‘Web’ agencies were technical whizz kids who took great pleasure in explaining the difference between the internet and the world wide web to bemused boardrooms whilst charging extortionate fees for having such worthless knowledge (admen soon becoming jealous of the tech kids stealing their cloak). PR was successful because they had a closely guarded list of editors and journalists that only they could send press releases to. And the exhibition, event and production companies delivered exactly that.

All so simple. You would never have a web agency pitching to run a campaign. Or a PR agency creating online content or an event company being the sole representation of a brand or an ad agency presenting their latest algorithm as the future.

So where next – who knows! I see no emerging clarity between disciplines only greater homogenisation. And that worries me as it makes it more difficult for the creative industries to identify the benefit of what they do beyond the competitive cry of whatever you want we’ll do it better, faster or cheaper.

What makes a successful agency?

This makes me think of the recent demise of Brass. Always a stalwart of the northern creative industry. An organisation to look up to and try and emulate the success of, indeed over the past five years we’ve pitched against them successfully at least twice.  Recently it presented a positive face with a number of wins and ongoing recruitment.  I’ve no insight into what went wrong at Brass but they must have been doing something right at some point to have been going so long and for the success they did achieve. So, what keeps an agency going? What does being successful mean? I guess it will be different things for different people. Fundamentally you need to have really good people working in an agency. People with ambition, commitment, desire to do the best work. Alongside this a mixed set of clients that recognise and value the benefit of what agencies do. The whole thing is a bit chicken and egg. If there’s one thing we can do as agencies it’s to constantly educate clients of the value of what we do and how they can be ‘better’ clients.  Better through not expecting free work, better by bringing agencies in at a strategic level, better by recognising that great creative can be a game changer for their business not just an award winner. But first we must value ourselves if we want clients to value us and great people to come and work for us.

 Staff welfare

With the retention of good people being of such importance their welfare is a priority. The last few years have seen a huge growth in wellbeing, mindfulness, and other such potentially superficial money-spinners for the new breed of on-line snake oil salesmen and woman. But there is a serious point. Agencies have always been a bit laissez faire with the wellbeing of its people. Long hours, stressful projects and multiple deadlines have been seen as acceptable as quid pro quo for being allowed to wear a Nirvana t-shirt to a client meeting and having access to lots of ‘fun’ creative projects. All a bit of a lie really and we need to do better to maintain a more balanced approach to work and life. Not sure how, but I know it will be something that needs dealing with.

Over-commercialisation

Caring about yourself and colleagues naturally leads to thinking about our impact in the world. Agencies role in creating more and more growth is central to their role. It is one of the benefits of working with us. Fundamentally we help brands sell more. Rampant consumerism and the subsequent waste is a problem. I wouldn’t be surprised if Extinction Rebellion turned up outside agency doors. If we genuinely care about the people that work for us then their cares about the wider environment need somehow, to also to be taken into account.  How agencies can do the poacher becoming gamekeeper thing is going to be a neat trick. It may be that instead of just helping brand sell more we help them sell better. Food for thought.