The agency of the future – Mumbrella

by Mark Pollard on June 27, 2009 · View Comments

in Agency business

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

Related posts:

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  2. 16 future Twitter superstars to follow
  3. Whose idea is it anyway?
  4. Words that you social media and agency types need to stop killing
  5. Why YouTube doesn’t get more agency money – and what they should do about it

Tagged as: Agency business, Mumbrella, Twitter

  • scotennis
    Mark, Tim, and Adam, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the agency of the future. It was great to get insight into who's doing a great job at the moment and what sort of resources are required to make an agency successful. My point of view is that problem solving comes first, and the measurement of how well the problem is solved is business results. If a clients problem is solved, their business does well, the agency is retained. So the best agencies of the future will be those who can best solve problems.

    Scot
  • Victor Leung
    Like the approach. But sitting on the client side of things, I'd be questionning the ownership of the execution phase which is equally as important as strategy. And in this ideal model with 4 heavyweights, who would manage the day-to-day interaction with the client as well as with the multitude of outsourced freelancers and specialists? @victorleung
  • Mark,

    Will the McCannery be a part of this future?
    If not, where are you off to next?

    Michael
  • clive burcham
    i agree with the 4 keys choices to head up blue sky agency.

    i completely disagree with the emphasis on strategy etc ie:

    http://adcontrarian.blogspot.com/2009/04/im-tired-of-strategists.html

    ..........and emphasize the importance of execution.

    strategy has a role. a much smaller role now more than ever [and i maybe proven wrong in the years to come].

    the focus is on productivity of what 'people' see and learning from those results quickly....! it is no longer about getting it right, it's about getting on with it.

    technology empowers speed, to see results. not a reason to sit around with your hand on it, discussing it for 6 months earning ridiculous fees.

    "EVERY CLIENT" WE HAVE TELLS ME THEY SPEND TOO MUCH TIME "PLANNING" AND NOT ENOUGH TIME DOING!!! THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE 'DOING', WHICH IS WHAT CONSUMERS ENGAGE WITH, IS THEREFORE SACRIFICED.
  • Doug Chapman
    Mark,

    Clearly I have been giving this a lot of thought lately. The role of an agency has always been to "pilot" a clients message to thier consumers. A good pilot communicates, navigates, educates, placates and does all of this with courage and confidence. Sadly most agencies today do not demonstrate any of the above. Most are desperately trying to survive in a radically changed world and are hanging on to beliefs and models of the past that fail to address the challenges of the future. Bravery and confidence are not commonplace.

    Just as clients relied on the ad agencies of the 50's and 60's to understand and exploit the challenges of the "mass market" that came with television, the world has changed again and clients are looking to agencies today for that same guidance in the digital age. We need new thinking, new people, and new ways of doing business if we are to be the "leaders" of the future. I don't see anyone doing it right at the moment. I think that in some ways we need to create an agency more like the agency of the past in order to build one for the future. Connection planning belongs in the agency, not outsourced to media buying shops. Creative and idea generation need to be the inspiration of the agency, not outsourced to digital shops. Business acumen needs to be the mantra of account service, not left to the planners or "media neutral" experts.

    There is a huge burden of responsiblity on agencies today to get it right and help "pilot" our clients through the next decade. Only a few agencies seem to be talking the challenge seriously. Let's hope we get it right before our clients stop taking us seriously.
  • Interesting ... I'd add someone with sound knowledge around data and deep insight collection BUT also the ability to analyse said data and create output that impacts on clients business results.

    In the future, if not right now, this skill will be the one that wins new business, retains current business, and legitimises the fuzzy magic/logic balance of the wider industry.
  • Reminds me of something Jon Wilkins (founder of Naked) once said about 'outsourcing everything but the thinking'. Interesting thought to take it this far...
  • This sounds like a no lose situation for the dream agency concerned....so you come up with the brilliant strategy and platform but as you don't actually get your hands dirty, it's someone else's fault when it all goes tits up!

    It's a serious point, I guess I would say this, but there is a case for someone having complete ownership of a campaign from the chin stroking stage to the boots on the ground stage, so the client knows you have an interest in seeing it through in the way you sold it to them.
  • Sometimes I feel like charging out our strategists by the minute - their advice is so good (over the phone - no just kidding).
  • Camilla Cooke
    I actually think it's bleak. The way agencies make money is on their cheaper staff. So, design, used to be production (not really any longer). The way they've made money more recently is working their people very hard so they pay them for a 5 day week and the really work a 6 day week. Whilst you need to contract out to remain flexible, all you get if you just have ideas people is selling their hours - consultancy fees - not very scalable - not a good capitalist model - quite interesting for the (few) agency people, much more economic for the client, but no more fat cat ceos or high multiple sales. Time to move on....and sell widgets at high margin.
  • Once you have Tim's Fantastic Four management team in place, what you need is a group of creators that collaborate closely.

    A post by Pete Heskett (South-East Asia Planning Director at JWT and former Head of Planning at BBH China) a while back used the PPGROUP in Taiwan as an example. Their approach to HR is very innovative:
    "It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done before, or what you're primary expertise is - everyone at the agency has to be a producer some of the time."
    This means multi-skilled people working across disciplines providing not only efficiencies in processes but tighter thinking and collaboration.

    Full post here at The Planning Lab
  • There are some great thoughts in here. I completely agree that having the right people in an agency is more critical than ever. Whilst this probably sounds like nothing new, the balance of skill sets required to come up with great ideas has without doubt shifted - mostly as a result of the changing landscape (digital, social, & changes in consumer behaviour). Just IMHO but I think there are 12 critical skill sets required to carry a great idea (which includes digital) end to end. Whether this means you need 12 different people or just 3-4 will depend - perhaps on whether Steve Jobs is in the team :)

    Right now, I think a crack team, even a small one with the right people, could in theory start to compete on almost any level. The opportunity is certainly there.

    Personally I believe the really great agencies of the future will have someone at the helm (perhaps a CEO with more digital roots?) who will offer serious vision, support, and understanding which will really empower the types of people that Tim speaks about to do their job. Maybe a changing of the guard at top level in some of the bigger instituations is not too far away?

    @eunmac
  • Mark,
    Interesting I wrote a piece recently on this topic, looking at the elements in an agency (specifically a digital agency) that would be required to survive. You can find that post: http://www.sinotechblog.com.cn/2009/06/the-chinese-digital-agency-of-the-future/

    Fundamentally, I suggest that agencies must adopt technology and measurements to be successful.
  • Pete
    Interesting. Lot's of cool thoughts around the web about what the new biz model for ad folk is. (If there is one). See also WK Platform - http://platform.wk.com/.
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