The Problem With Ad Agencies

This morning’s AdAge features an article written by Marc Brownstein (a regular AdAge Small Agency journal reporter and president of small shop The Brownstein Group) titled, “Small Agencies Seek Good Help – How Do We Get The Kids Back?” Oh boy… where to begin with this one. Let’s start with what Marc describes as the real problem with retaining top talent:

“-good people are losing their passion for the business because the business has changed. Recently, a writer left our agency after many years because she lost her love for advertising. That pretty much summed up what’s going on. -In addition, agencies are trying to figure out where the world is heading. So we’re integrating — sometimes successfully, sometimes not.”

Alright. Marc’s got a bit of a point here, but he’s got a bit of his head buried in the quick sand of advertising, too. The industry has certainly changed since the good ol’ days of ad men and a martini at noon. Even Ray Charles (God bless his bluesy soul) could see that the convergence of PR, marketing and advertising, as well as new platforms (mobile, internet, gaming)–not to mention the slow slide of TV effectiveness– have altered the dynamics of the business. Yes, yes…, but these factors should make the industry more exciting, not less. There are more opportunities for creative talent to shine in this faster-paced, ever morphing industry. And that bit about integration? Dude. Come on… don’t you have a big-wig strategic thinker and a talented HR director who could pull the digital into the traditional within a few steps? This isn’t rocket science.

As a small agency, there is simply no excuse for not being able to mesh digital experts, cultural spies and traditional ad folk into a healthy stream of creative output. May we suggest taking a look at the way Apple manages its creatives, with technicians, sales people and legions of marketers? It can be done. It might just be time for the industry to (gasp!) steal a clue from another industry and apply, apply, apply.

Brownstein’s final conclusion (after pointing fingers at clients, too) is that -

“So what do we do? As my dad, Berny (who is our founder and CEO), says: “We have to bring fun back to the business.”

Ooooh… Good idea. Brownstein never spells out how he’s going to do that or how he’s going search out new talent, so we’re going to kick off a discussion with three ideas. Feel free to chime in. Anyone? Anyone?

1. Go get what you need.
Creative talent is not always going to be found at the head hunter’s. Talent is everywhere – in independent magazines, on YouTube, at small press publishers and even in your local coffee shop. We suggest creating a maverick talent recruiter to get onto the streets and get the goods. Stop waiting for the resume from Stanford. Go get what you need.

2. Stop trying to employ all creatives in-house outright.
A real creative wants the freedom to pursue his/her art and make cash-o-la. Anyone ever heard of a freelance contract? A tip for Brownstein specifically who lives in Philadelphia – go check out Space 1026 – one of the best indie galleries in Philadelphia. Hang out. See if you can get some of the artists to submit some work. As Suze Orman would say, they’re all broke and fabulous and more than happy to pitch in on a job that’s going to help them pay their rent.

3. Stop being afraid of what seems like a renegade idea.
Agencies (big and small) are known to kill a great idea simply because it seems beyond their own barely-there knowledge of actual real culture (that’s the thing that’s happening while agencies are naval-gazing at Cannes). Just by allowing your creatives to speak up and pitch without poo-pooing them will make a big difference in their happiness level. Take a risk. Pitch a bold idea along with a safe one. Who knows? That oh-so-out-of-the-box idea might just land you your next big client.