As I posted a few weeks ago, we’ve been working on a piece of research (to lead into a book) investigating the views of top marketers on the make up of the ideal agency of the future.
The views and opinions we have now gathered been really interesting and we’re taking many of them onboard as we evolve and adapt as an agency network. And so it was good to hear Daryl Fielding, VP of Marketing at Kraft Foods in Europe speaking on the same subject at the recent Marketing Week Annual event.
From our research and the insights Daryl shared, it is clear that as we all strive towards great ideas the collective dynamics of channel proliferation, digital consumption, globalisation, recession and etc etc etc throw up a host of challenges that clients and agency types are working through today.
To name just a few that come up:
- Is there a lead agency? A good question to start with and if so what is its expertise, experience and remit? And if not, then who is best placed to manage the ‘integration’ process and curates ideas?
- How many people and what kind of people should be given the responsibility for driving out great ideas? We all know it doesn’t work when there are twenty people in the room but if small teams are best how can that be made to work across agencies?
- Is the ‘big idea’ still, too often, born of an old advertising model? Daryl spoke about ‘supercharged TV ideas’ (read Gorilla or Old Spice) versus ideas where advertising becomes the servant of the idea (read Spots and Stripes).
- And fundamentally, do current agency engagement (commercial) models foster the right approach and the best ideas?
So whilst the end goal for most of us remains the same - namely great ideas that create the desired human behaviours and feelings - the way clients and agency partners will get there continues to evolve.
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