Change the world?

The 'advertising' world perhaps? The old theories and the agency flab definitely. Get doing it absofriggingloutley! This is well worth watching if you can make the time. It has a nice mix of hatred for 'BDAs' (George Parker of Adscam), idealistic thinking about marketers being the saviour of the world (Steve Stainaker of Hub Culture), a perspective from an agency that really does do things differently (Johnny Vulkan of Anomaly) and a touch of 'cut through the crap' realism (Russell Davies of OIA).



First of all I don't believe that marketers could or should be contemplating changing the world. By all means go and work for a charity or a pressure group. Use your skills for something different with a higher purpose, but don't forget what clients pay us for if you work in an agency. I do believe every business should be socially responsible, but unless it's relevant and a central part of the brand, then we shouldn't be doing it just because it's fashionable, or because it allows us to feel better at dinner parties. I'd hate to see every agency and brand from soap to cars being cause related and purpose driven. As Russell says: 'leave changing the world up to revolutionaries and governments'.

Unless it's authentic, which is easier said than done, just concentrate on doing things better. I've said it before, it's not about 'BDAs' vs digital agencies it is just about tearing up the rule book and doing the right things, not just 'differently'. And despite the often gloomy outlook there are a lot of cracking agencies and people doing just that.

The second point from this is about cutting out the rubbish and deconstructing what it is we actually do. There isn't a Holy Grail that will make our lives simpler as much as we would like one. It will vary from agency to agency and discipline to discipline. We shouldn't be so hell bent on pigeon holing the industry. Terms such as advertising, marketing and brands have become meaningless. They are just used to generalise what we do so we don't really have to explain it, or god forbid go into more detail and risk being exposed as money grabbing charlatans. If you want to read a great book on how strange concepts and beliefs supplant rational thinking over time, then this is a great place to start.

I personally really love Anomaly's ethos. I can't for the life of me work out how they get clients to work within their fee structure, but they do, so fair play to them. But being in the business business just makes sense. It sums it up perfectly to me. Anomaly feels like independent, fluid, problem solvers that actually create stuff that's useful for businesses. I know it sounds quite vague, but that is the point, it is free to do what is right. I think it's the clearest way of describing the kind of agency that clients will find more and more attractive.