I've been a little busy lately. Besides 100+ Firefox tabs of things I need to get to, I'm a little out of the loop.
Why not send an audio comment to +1 206 203-3255 and tell me what's on your mind, what's got your interest piqued and what you think the Jaffe Juice community needs to be focused on.
Sapient just released a survey which reveals brand marketers' Top 10 "wish list" for what they expect from the "Agency of the Future".
The top 10 list is as follows (with a fair amount of Jaffe "Tabasco" Juice thrown in for good measure):
Greater knowledge of the digital space. According to the study, more than a third of respondents are not confident their agency has what it takes to cut it in the digital space from a knowledge standpoint. In fact, 45% of respondents have switched agencies (or plan to switch in the next 12 months) for one with greater digital knowledge or have hired an additional digital specialist to handle their interactive campaigns. This clearly becomes an increasingly massive problem because of the gaping void when it comes to talent. Agencies have been unable to hold on to their best and brightest in the digital realm and seem to be biased in favor of "traditional interactive" skills versus what I would call "transformative interactive"
More use of âpull interactions.â See point 1 - community, dialogue and partnership conversations are on the rise, whereas push-based "communications" is relegated to the status quo.
Leverage virtual communities. With 94% of the sample giving the nod to "virtual communities", one only wonders how long it will be before Second Life makes a roaring comeback. As if. But seriously...I'm not sure the word "virtual" needs to be inserted as a community qualifier. In addition, I remain concerned that too many marketers and their agencies are under the delusion of "instant community" (just add money)
Agency executives using the technology they are recommending. 92% of the sample feel that agency employees should be using the very technology (in their "personal social media mix") they recommend. Bravo Bravo Bravo!!! At crayon, we call it "Eye of the Storm". I want to take this one step further though...I think not only should employees be living this "change" imperative, but the agency itself has to be living this change as well. On one hand this hits the firewall issue, but it also has profound cultural, organizational and financial implications i.e. this is not a nice-to-have; this is not window dressing; this should be part of the agency's core focus and key solution set.
Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing. This is a red herring at best and plain bull shit at worst. Chief Digital Officers are token figureheads and even if they are true agents of change, marketers should be looking a lot closer at how these dying breeds are empowered to actually effect change, rather than just talk about it.
Web 2.0 and social media savvy. Isn't this the same point as number 3?
Agencies that understand consumer behavior. 76% of respondents emphasized this aspect and I concur wholeheartedly. At the end of the day, the strategic planning function is going to be key in terms of moving this industry from a bunch of tactical hacks to more deep-seated, integrated approach built on a solid foundation of insights, vision and strategic planning.
Demonstrate strategic thinking. What I just said :) Whilst 77% of the marketers surveyed ranked brain trust at the top of their list, the greater challenge for the business is actually getting paid for IP (not just in terms of free versus fee...but indeed at a market or value-related rate)
Branding and creative capabilities. Um, whatever. Another red herring. Branding that is commensurate with push-based communication is staid, bloated and increasingly relevant. In a conversational world, we need to be more focused on delivering authentic, meaningful and impactful experiences. If you didn't already know my feelings on agencies' definitions and interpretations of creativity, you can read about it here.
Ability to measure success. 65% of the sample ranked analytics at the top of their list, but this topic should not be approached superficially. As long as we continue to approach emerging places and spaces with a short-term, traditional view of "ROI", we'll be perpetuating a vicious cycle, which helps explain many of the shortcomings and challenges association with points 1-9.
Whilst we can certainly attest to the validity of these proof points, there is still a chasm between what people say and what they inevitably do.
Status quo is still the default marketplace behavior for some
marketers, but for the most part, the cluster of marketers who are fed
up with the current way of doing business and are looking for a better way is without question on the rise.
One step closer to a hostile takeover of Mitch Joel's head, I'm happy to announce that we've added Adam Broitman to our growing family of crayons.
Adam joins us from Morpheus Media, where he was Director of Emerging and Creative Strategy as our Director of Strategy and will work closely with myself and fellow baldy, Greg Verdino, to eradicate all tactical hacks from this industry.
If I recall correctly, I met Adam via my podcast, Jaffe Juice. He was a fairly regular commenter (in fact I remember jotting down his name, Adam Roitman, based on what I thought I heard from the voice message) and it was only at Podcamp New York in 2007 that we met face-to-face. Interestingly enough, he moderated a panel, which happened to feature myself and one Greg Verdino (guess that means we'll be hiring Mark Wallace and John Swords soon as well :))
Adam joins a new look crayon of Greg, myself, Jane Quigley, Earl Adams and Gary Krivin
I've been borrowing Adam's anecdote of 10 relationships versus 5,000,000 impressions and using it in all my presentations. It perfectly captures the spirit of conversation versus communication. The least I could do was to hire him to say thanks :)
Andrea Vascellari sends me this Greenpeace video response to Dove's Onslaught (their follow-up to Evolution...and not to be confused with Slob Evolution)
In his post, Andrea notes this as a perfect example of how public reputation can be smashed down in less than 2 minutes (1m27 to be exact)
The video is in response to this piece:
It's a far cry from Slob Evolution, which was a playful and irreverent spoof of the ground-breaking Evolution video, which seemingly ushered in a new era of thoughtful and purpose-based brands that put authenticity, transparency and social responsibility before corporate greed, profits and acquisition.
Until now...
On one hand, this sends out the clearest of messages to faker brands looking to "get in on the conversation" by sending out a stern warning: you gotta walk your talk if you want to join the conversation. Think like an advertiser and attempt to cut corners and you will be found out and duly punished.
Put differently, if you want to commit to community, dialogue and partnership, you need to have your entire house in order first.
Now that said....I would be remiss by dumping on Unilever if I didn't point out this timely update from Greenpeace itself:
UPDATE: Thanks to the staggering public support for our
international Dove campaign in April 2008, Unilever has now agreed to
play their part in saving the Paradise Forests of South East Asia. As
the biggest single buyer of palm oil in the world, Unilever has a
special responsibility to help clean up the industry that's behind so
much forest destruction.
They have agreed to support the call by
Greenpeace for an immediate moratorium on deforestation for palm oil
plantations. They have also agreed to urgently contact other major
companies calling on them to support the moratorium.
This is the
first success in a broader campaign to secure real change on the ground
in South East Asia -- to stop the palm oil industry from destroying the
Paradise Forests. Greenpeace campaigners will work with Unilever for th
next six months (starting May 2008) to bring together a major coalition
of companies to make the moratorium a reality. We will see at the end
of this period how things are progressing and if we need to change our
campaign approach.
The update is both in the information box on the YouTube video post, as well as in the comment thread. It certainly alludes to the fact that Unilever is listening and although being taken to task, is prepared to change or at least take steps in the right direction.
That said, I wonder how many people will notice this "fyi" and in the process, how much brand reputation damage will occur?
to the reincarnated and reinvigorated Jaffe Juice.
What was once a weekly op-ed column is now an unshackled, uncensored and uninhibited dialogue
on the subjects of new marketing, advertising and creativity.
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