Jung von Matt Stockholm, the agency where I work, started out in 2006 and was thus a fully-integrated analogue and digital creative shop from start. Being ’idea neutral’ isn’t really enough these days as clients demand more for less – more creativity and more accountability for less money and less time. Since real compensation levels hasn’t increased in the last decade and the shelf-life of innovative agency ”products” is constantly decreasing, we have been looking inwards.
What if the way we (and most agencies) work, the ”production function” of the agency is what needs to be changed (rather than the product, which is evolving anyway)?
For the last months we have been challenging and rethinking exactly this by asking ourselves:
- Does it really take weeks to formulate a proper strategy and create good ideas?
- Can we create an end-solution that’s even better (more creative and more strategically robust – i.e. quality) in a fraction of the time?
- Can we work in a fashion where planning and creation are iterative processes rather than linear?
- Can we be more dynamic in bringing in specialist competencies?
- Can we challenge the traditional art director + copywriter setup?
We believe that the key to answering these questions lies in the managing of chaos by pragmatically embracing it, not by controlling it. We have been looking at the emergency room and how patients are treated: always through a systematic, multidisciplinary and super-decisive step-by-step process.
It’s not really rocket science, but coping with modern-day communication challengs requires a new set of principles and mindset to what and why we’re actually doing with whom – from start to finish.
We don’t have the full answer yet, but as a first important step we have started organising projects like Creative Taskforces rather than rigid teams, with implications for both internal organisation and client relationships. Keywords: systematic, decisive, nonlinear, multidisciplinary, fast…
Whatcha think?
June 7th, 2010 at 17:44
Loved your post – been wrestling with the same thoughts for a while and lost the battle – so went out on my own.
- Does it really take weeks to formulate a proper strategy and create good ideas?
No, it does not yet agency remuneration models are based on time spent which means that the slower we are the more we earn which makes for an insane business model. Also, most agencies like the comfort of process – it’s understandable – brief, internal, comments, second internal – a crazy waste of time. The best cases I have seen were fast, intense sessions where the parties were those who could contribute not those who has the right titles.
- Can we create an end-solution that’s even better (more creative and more strategically robust – i.e. quality) in a fraction of the time?
Yes we can. Pressure cooker sessions are effective but sometimes is just takes a little reformulation of the problem or the objective – are we trying to crack the right thing? We spend a lot of time developing the creative idea and not so much developing a solution. Looking at things from a different angle can lead to a lot of creative inspiration.
- Can we work in a fashion where planning and creation are iterative processes rather than linear?
Only with the right people in charge and the right mindset of talent. When you hear the creative director say ‘take 10 steps away from the creative’ you know you either have to change the whole organization or just change organizations.
- Can we be more dynamic in bringing in specialist competencies?
Yes please. Smart people have no enemies and no competitors. They can sit at a table for the sole purpose of getting a great idea. Protectionism in agencies is still strong (e.g. ‘who gets the credit on the award”) hence once you meet a wise leader who fearlessly collaborates – hang on to him/her for dear life.
- Can we challenge the traditional art director + copywriter setup?
Throw a planner in there and anyone that has a good grasp of digital strategy
June 7th, 2010 at 18:30
Great answers Joanna. Much appreciated. We are still learning the new game at our agency, and every little input helps.
June 8th, 2010 at 09:25
Hey,
Joanna already mentioned a lot of good points.
The key to all of our questions is culture and people. If you can create the right atmosphere which is not about egos or creative awards but rather servicing clients in the best and most outstanding way (across industries) this will speed up your output and increase your quality.
If you have people regardless from educational and professional background that have commitment, passion and a general knowledge combined with a certain expertise you can move things forward. The only thing that counts is the best idea, nobody should care if it comes from a copywriter & art director team or you IT.
In a people industry like advertising, people and culture are key. If you get this two right the rest will follow. If not you will not make any progress because you will be busy implementing processes, structures and meetings that should help you to get it right but at the end they just make everything slower.
June 8th, 2010 at 09:34
I’m a student at a school in Denmark called the KaosPilots and as my final project at the education I’m working within the planning department of an advertising agency solving a similar task as the one you describe above. My assignment isn’t called Fast Agency, but Fast Planning.
I’ve come to realize that it’s not only about being faster, but also about being smarter (off course one does not exclude the other). I have found that framing the problem as “lack of speed” limits the possible solutions that I come up with.
The founder of my school developed a model which I quite like called the project paradox ( http://www.omakasegroup.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/uffe5-300×205.png ) In the beginning of a project you have a lot of decisions to make and very little knowledge, while at the end of a project you have a ton of knowledge and fewer decisions.
How can you shrink the gap in the beginning and raise your knowledge?
This is where I think “experts” can come in. A planner doesn’t need to know everything, and as more and more information is becoming available I don’t think it’s possible for a planner to know everything. But he/she has to know where to get the information.
“We are becoming less willing to pay for information, but we are becoming more willing to pay for someone to provide context to that information.”
– Adrian Ho, Zeus Jones
As knowledge is becoming commoditized is it possible for the the planner’s role to go from being a knowledge holder to increasingly becoming a knowledge broker?
You mentioned the keywords: systematic, decisive, nonlinear, multidisciplinary, fast…
I would also like to add the word systemic and look outside the agency. Where do the clients fit in? Consumers? Others? How can they be brought more into the process and how can we go from monologue to dialogue and make it an ongoing conversation and as you mention nonlinear.
I look forward to hearing what you come up with and I’ll let you know if/when I find a “brilliant” solution.
Best,
Erik
June 8th, 2010 at 09:54
@Stefan: you are absolutely right. Culture and talents are key. Processes can help, but we shouldn’t forget to keep things simple.
@Erik: Involving clients is a hygiene factor. Yet, many agencies are afraid of letting clients inside the creative process. The trick is of course not to “compromise” on creativity, but rather align and educate the client on WHY they need (relevant) creativity (result = clients that gladly accept far out ideas). The consumer perspective is interesting, the question is how we can go beyond traditional consumer research? Using social media in creative development perhaps?
June 15th, 2010 at 22:31
I think your last point is the most important “Can we challenge the traditional art director + copywriter setup?”.
Isn’t all copywriter + art director always something beyond that? For example it could be a boat nerd + cineast team. Or a gourmet + tech-geek team. The challenge is for the agency to encourage people to go beyond the title of their business cards. And to match competencies with either familiar or really distant briefs/problems. And oh, make sure all creatives are equally good strategists and the rest of your points will solve themselves as well.
My point is that agencies need to demand more from their creatives in order to really succeed. And the agency culture will take care of their well being. Or not.
-
Max
June 21st, 2010 at 01:57
[...] and their agencies are already moving away from this kind of relationship. 2. A blogger at a Swedish agency thinks that speeding up the internal agency process for idea generation may be part of the solution, [...]
August 10th, 2010 at 13:59
One of the most interesting/thought provoking posts I have come across on this site so far.
I recently read about a particular development in one of the Saatchi & Saatchi offices somewhere in South Asia (think it was Singapore or something), in which case a vacancy opened up for Creative Director, which was eventually filled by a Senior Strategic Planner (who has since gone on to inspire the creative team to greater achievements)……what’s the moral of the story – A creative director is not the one who’s most proficient with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya or Corel-14. It’s that individual with sound understanding of the business problem, a WILD imagination and a DISCIPLINED eye, who, more importantly has the wherewithal to enthuse the creatives (copywriters, illustrators, artists etc) and rally them to create inspirational solutions in response to the brief.
Unfortunately, in many instances, not a few Planning folks get entangled into that stereotyped situation of a maze of complex graphs, charts, data and figures, most with questionable or negligible meaning/relevance to effective creative output.
My point is, the entire agency models are fast changing on a global scale, and its the forward-thinking and flexible agencies who’re best-primed to survive and stay relevant.
These days, It’s ZERO-TOLERANCE for bureaucracy!
Tomi Ogunlesi, Strategic Planner, Bates Cosse, an Affiliate of the Bates Worldwide Network, Lagos, Nigeria