I recently read an article in the December/ January issue of Fast Company called Mayhem on Madison Avenue. It was about the imminent extinction of the advertising agency. Maybe I should have been scared by this, but I was not. Fitting Group has never been a traditional agency, so we’re not in danger of un-becoming one.
The main gist of the article was that digital media has changed everything — “it’s incremental, experimental, continually optimized — ‘perpetual beta’ — and never, ever finished.” Personally, I love this. But in truth, exciting as shifting sands may be, one can never relax while standing on a dune.
Therefore, if you are responsible for your company’s marketing, I have some questions for you.
Are you overwhelmed by how rapidly things are changing and how many choices you have to make? Are you still doing things exactly as you did them 5 years ago, just because you’re paralyzed by the uncertainty of how to use digital media? Do you sense that you need a new strategy but aren’t sure where to even begin?
If you’re feeling this way, we want to hear from you. In other words, help us help you. We think we can do this by being an agency that’s nimble, expert and responsive — a team that can help you solve your most pressing branding and marketing problems. But we need to know what those are.
Speak up in the comment box. Or if you’d rather whisper it to us, you can send an email to brandee@fittingroup.com
Either way, we’ll enter your name to win a gift basket assembled by Brandee herself.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you! Contest ends April 1st. (No foolin’!)
Personally, I think the hype about social media being different, experiential, never finished, “perpetual beta…” is hooey. Or rather, the process of smart learning is – at a high level – unchanged.
Every channel, every communication vehicle, every media outlet and interaction capability… each has its own ways and rules. TV had its own ways and rules we CMOs had to learn. Email. Radio. Whatever. Now it’s today’s version of social media – it is a living channel with its own characteristics, feedback loop, expectations, organizational demands – all new to the channel, but not a new way of approach to assessment and action for the good CMO. For the great CMO, everything we do lives in a state of constant learning and improvement – it’s how we work with our CEOs, CFOs and teams every day.
And as with all things new, a CMO will always seek real experts and advisors who understand the organization in which s/he operates, can help build a case for new initiatives, can help shorten the organization’s learning timeframe and get sustainable initiatives up and running. Oh, and help the CMO look and feel smart and confident.
The problem is NOT that ad agencies SHOULD be moving toward extinction. It’s quite the opposite: CMOs need and welcome the help. The issue IMO is that too many analysts and agencies are stalled in the shiny object phase, where social media is new and exciting and OOH! look at that Facebook page, and see how smart I am, etc. etc. – as opposed to truly understanding the client’s brand, objectives, operating environment, organizational/budget limitations, the various stakeholders whose concerns must be addressed… all the factors that make an agency a true partner vs. a hit and run “guru” who has no real interest in the less flashy parts of the world in which the CMO operates.
Agencies who can do that will be in business forever – whether the topic is social media or the next big thing or the next one after that.
Thanks Stephanie – I am grateful for your well thought-out comment and am taking it to heart. It gives us a really good way to reflect on how we’re doing.