Guerrilla thinking

The beginning of the end for advertising industry was best described in the famous video “the last advertising agency on earth”

In the video you found many reasons why the traditional approach of advertising agencies is wrong. 
It’s all true. 

But us Guerrilla thinkers believe that there are some more reasons why advertising agencies as they are can’t make it in a long term.

Here they are.

1) AGENCIES HAVE QUIT BEING CREATIVE AND HAVE BEGUN ADVERTISING

Let’s get rid of this: the point is NOT about advertising.
Advertising agencies are failing because they have stopped being CREATIVE.
They have quit creating and have started making ads.

Most of them carry the name of real innovators in the advertising field. 
Would Leo Burnett and Bill Bernbach live today do you think they would accept to confine their incredible minds in the territory of tv ads, banners or Facebook apps?
Don’t you think they would invent new ways to get people to the store or even new ways for people to buy? 

In someway we think the true heirs of those great mentors are people like Steve Jobs and Marc Zuckerberg. 
Have you ever wondered why Facebook or the iPhone were not invented in a creative agency? Could any of the existing invent and propose to a client anything like this?

What creative agencies must understand is that if you don’t get into the business bringing your FULL creative talent and just sit there and create ads, you are just like any other monkey on the market. And when a monkey dies you might shed a tear, but you go right after at the pet shop and buy a new one to do the design for you.

No. Creative agencies must go back to their roots and create. And get deeply into their clients’ businesses not just to tell them how to sell but also to help them to create and innovate.

And this lead us to point number 2.


2)  AGENCIES RARELY THINK. THEY EXECUTE.

Let’s clear this too: the market has NOT changed. It IS ever-changing.
By the time it takes for you to read this article, some guy from Illinois or Delaware might have just invented the new big trend on the web.

And agencies? They keep brainstorming.
Agencies are too slow in seizing market changes because they are too focused in creating advertising campaigns. But those advertising campaign suffer from a lack of market updates and in the end are boring, repetitive and self assuring.

There is nothing more important than “research and development” within creative agencies. How can you create if you can’t think?

The primary task of creative agencies should be thinking and not photoshopping, time sheeting or meeting reporting.
Sure, you may say that this requires time, and that this time is not paid. 

But you are wrong.
It is paid.
It is paid in culture, in heritage, in satisfaction of your employees.

And It will be rewarded by real success.
And with success clients will follow.

3) AGENCIES DON’T HAVE ANY AMBITION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

If the primary task of creative agencies is that of thinking, their primary goal should be that of making a difference, conquering an identity, pave the way to people’s hearts and minds. Be awesome!

As long as agencies managers keep on lowering their expectations and focus only on revenues not a single agency will ever distinguish itself from the rest.
Sure making money is important. But that can’t be the main agency goal.

Sadly, these days 99% of the agencies pursue money instead of creativity.
Agencies are run by business school guys who very often have no idea of what is creative thinking.
They think in numbers.
How did this happen? How could we cease all of this power in the hands of money makers completely forgetting the pleasure and passion of our work?

These questions lead us to the following and last point.

4) AGENCIES ARE TOO BIG AND HAVE TOO MUCH COSTS

If you have been working for some time in the advertising industry you are most likely to be familiar with huge buildings, corporate cell phones and cars and more fringe benefits. For decades advertising professionals have  been rewarded for their job in many different ways. It was a time when money flew out of the cow in a never-ending stream and being an “agency man” was cool.

But then it all changed and creative industry began to lose its charm. The dam of events prevented more money-milk to stream to the offices and advertising managers started to understand they needed to cut some “useless” costs.

But even if big advertising agencies try to lower their payroll, that it is not SO easy to be done and could not be an option.

You might wind up having a team that’s unprepared to carry the weight of more work on its shoulder and/or be even more unable to innovate.

The more you cut because you focus on making money, the less money you happen to make because you don’t have enough people to handle even simple delivery. In other words, agencies are now in a catch 22.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Creativity no longer lives in advertising agencies. At least not in all of them.

The bigger the worst.
More people = more costs and more anxiety to pay people salaries and subsequent need to cut and wind up not to be competitive anymore.

Please agency managers make a choice.

Decide for quality. 
Decide to take the steering wheel of your agency and lead it to the seven seas.
Get the people working for you to be proud of what they do. Demand the best and only the best from them. Don’t stop until you are absolutely sure that you’ve gone far beyond the extra mile.

Don’t just do what your clients ask or say.
Remember that they know how to make chicken but you know those who eat them and, most important,  you think.

If you don’t, please start thinking, looking, watching, learning.
It’s the only way you have to survive not only in the market, but in life.