Guest post by Adam Ferrier (@adamferrier), Managing Partner, Naked Communications (Sydney). I’ve asked a few people with a different take on things to pen their thoughts about the agency of the future (read Mumbrella’s Tim Burrowes’ thoughts here). Enjoy Adam’s ideas below.

According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, The Agency of the Future will look pretty much like the best agencies around at the moment. So let’s take a few of these and see where the world is heading.

Three of the better agencies in Australia currently are BMF, Three Drunk Monkeys (3DM), and Host. Internationally Crispin Porter is the stand out. So here are 10 things you’ll see in the ‘Agency of the Future’ if it takes the best from the best today:

1. Works bloody hard (3DM and Crispin)
2. Knows its knitting and has a business model that either puts strategic thinking front and centre (Host and BMF) or doesn’t offer it
3. Has a culture of problem solving not ads (all)
4. Creates culture as it builds brands (all)
5. Builds itself into a brand (Crispin)
6. Has nice people, not wankers running the place (all)
7. Doesn’t get caught up with who is and is not a ‘creative’ (?)
8. Knows how to make money (3DM)
9. Gets paid for ideas, not just executions (?)
10. Builds its own properties/brands/media-space and becomes its own client

The days of wondering what the agency model of the future will be are numbered as the market will fragment further, allowing for many various models to exist, all of whom can survive side by side offering different services to clients. However, the single biggest factor that leads to success for the agency of the future – hard work.

If you’d like to read more stuff by Adam, start by reading about his undercover visit to AMI. It’s an excellent read.

Photo courtesy rustyalaska.

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There’s a lot of talk about agencies being broken right now… trying to fight new market conditions with constructs from times past. So I’ve decided to collect some perspectives on it … starting outside agency world, with a man who writes about all the change that’s going on: Tim Burrowes, from Mumbrella.

If you could create an agency right now – what would it be?

Tim Burrowes: This comes with the caveat that I’m a journalist, so the honest answer is that I wouldn’t be egotistical enough to think that I could or should.

But if I were to be a seed investor in a new agency, it would be one that genuinely starts with the strategy and the idea. No execution, just an Ideas Agency. A strategic agency that manages and outsources all execution to the best-for-the job-in-hand. A very small core team, plus an army of freelancers. And that needs to be across all disciplines, media and touchpoints.

It would need a management team of four –

1. A well connected client / new business person with most of a career’s experience with the gravitas to sit at the boardroom table and persuade clients this service is worth paying for. I think I’ll offer the job to Harold Mitchell, or Donald Trump if Harold doesn’t fancy it.

2. A great creative director. Time for Dave Droga to come home.

3. A genius media/ channel planner. I’d probably give Kevin Brown at BBH in London a call about that one.

4. And yes, someone with an understanding of the creative potential of digital – and able to make stuff happen. Time to call in Steve Jobs from his sick leave.

What do you think?
Can a small hit team really succeed? What remuneration model would they work with?

Image courtesy h.koppdelaney.

If you enjoyed the read, please leave a comment. Feel free to follow me on Twitter