Five Ways Your Ad Agency Will Work In 2011

On the morning of November 17 I got a brief that asked me to write a post titled "Five Ways Your Ad Agency Will Work In 2011" for the Karsh\Hagan blog. And that afternoon, I saw this in Fast Company:

Over the past few years, because of a combination of Internet disintermediation, recession, and corporate blindness, the [advertising] assembly line has been obliterated -- economically, organizationally, and culturally. In the ad business, the relatively good life of 2007 is as remote as the whiskey highs of 1962.

Ouch.

I wasn't surprised by Fast Company's doom and gloom. The article was just a retread of all the Big Scary Death of Advertising stories we've been reading for a few years now. But being boring doesn't make you wrong. The world of 2011 looks nothing like the one in which many of us learned our craft.

In a 2008 interview I did with Scott Goodson on FutureLab, I said the greatest challenge for the marcomm industry was this:

Defining for new clients how we will approach their business problems.

I still think that's true. But while the pitch process remains a bit of a jumble, the agency business model has changed. In 2011, your ad agency will be faster and more innovative than ever before. Here are five reasons why.

1. Collaboration: Today, culture is made with mash-ups. It's about Kid Cudi mixing Christian Bale with LCD Soundsystem. About ideas that build on each other. That's how agencies will be working in 2011. Small teams of people coming together to add fresh thinking to existing work.

2. Content: Social media is great. But brands shouldn't jump into other folks' conversations uninvited. They should start by creating content worthy of conversation. And then listen, engage and refine.
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3. Play: Ty Montague. Kevin Roddy. Alex Bogusky. Those are three of the biggest names in advertising and in 2010 they all quit their fabulous network jobs to explore the great unknown. Experimentation, play and the freedom to fail. Those are the seeds of creativity and the path to the biggest ideas.

4. Flexibility: To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. And to an agency with a bunch of specialists with billable hours to fill, every problem looks like it requires the attention of a bunch of specialists with billable hours to fill. To combat this agencies will hire people who have flexible skill sets and similar visions.

5. Platforms: There are fun individual executions. There are powerful integrated campaigns. And then there are flexible, infinite platforms. For instance, Karsh\Hagan's 100 Honest Answers campaign for American Crew has run its course. But the Ask American Crew platform we built underneath it will always be there if they want to use it again. Your agency should be thinking about the long, long run.

If the brief I'd gotten had asked for a sixth opportunity, I would add happiness to this list, and define it as "a blissful childlike state resulting from the act of creation." Because I think ad agencies are much less tied to the 30-second spot than the media would have you believe. There is so much cool stuff yet to be made. And as long as we're making it, we'll be so, so happy. Suck on that, Fast Company.

[Ed. - This post was written by Karsh\Hagan's Matt Ingwalson and cross-posted on his blog and Karsh Connect. It's also posted on The Denver Egotist.]

Scott Goodson and Gareth Kay to judge 2008 Denver 50

A few days after the 2007 Denver 50, I got a call from Kevin Roddy's assistant. She wanted to confirm that I was still on for drinks with Kevin that night.

In Manhattan.

The clicking sound she heard was me jumping to my laptop to see if it was possible to get an immediate flight from Denver to LaGuardia. It wasn't, and I reluctantly informed her that she'd gotten me confused with someone else.

Ninety-eight percent of the people in America don't understand why that story is funny. For the two percent that do, I have news.

Scott Goodson and Gareth Kay have given an early thumbs-up to the idea of judging the 2008 Denver 50.

Scott Goodson is the founder and CEO of StrawberryFrog. He's only judging The Denver 50 and D&AD this year. His blog is scott goodson's writings. He was profiled in USA Today. And here's a link to all of Agency Spy's articles about StrawberryFrog.

Gareth Kay is the head of planning at Modernista!. His blog is brand new. He's joined the Denver 50 Facebook group. And here's a link to all of Agency Spy's articles about Modernista!.

We're chasing two more judges whose names will make ad geeks get all wobbly.

The 2008 deadline will be in August, so we're still a good six months out. But it looks like the Denver 50 will again have a judging panel that'd make the One Club jealous.

TD50 2008 judges I'd like to see: Gareth Kay

The Denver 50 2007 judging panel was maybe the greatest ever assembled for a local show. Mike Lescarbeau, Mike Byrne, Rob Rasmussen and Kevin Roddy. I defy you to name four more influential creatives in America. I'd love to keep the bar high for 2008. One person I'd like to see is Modernista! planner Gareth Kay. This presentation from his Slideshare page explains why:

| View | Upload your own

Gamekillers premieres tonight on MTV

Why am I blogging this? Maybe because Bartle Bogle Hegarty executive creative director Kevin Roddy judged The Denver 50. Which makes us BFF.

But there's another reason Gamekillers is worth talking about. It's an example of a big idea - the sort of idea that TD50 was designed to reward. It's more than just a three-spot campaign. It's an intricate web of sites and print and now a TV show that has inspired wikipedia entries and blog postings and buzz all over. Gamekillers is a good example of where advertising is in the year 2007. Oh, and it looks funny as hell, too.

The Denver 50: How to enter your idea

These instructions also live on newdenveradclub.com. But let's get it out there.


About the Denver 50

The Denver 50 isn't about backslapping and gladhanding and plastic pieces of hardware that you can display on your agency shelf. Because advertising in the year 2007 isn't about those things.

Advertising is about ideas. And ideas are bigger than individual executions. Bigger than individuals.

The Denver 50 is America's first idea-centric award show. You submit your idea, and as many executions as you need to illustrate it. Our judges will pick the best 50 ideas. Then we'll put out a book that shows the world just how good this market can be.

Our judges include the very best creative directors from the world's very best agencies.

1. Mike Byrne, CD and partner at Anomaly/NY
2. Kevin Roddy, ECD at BBH/NY
3. Robert Rasmussen, ECD at R/GA
4. Jason Zada, ECD and founder at EVB
5. Mike Lescarbeau, President and CCO at CarmichaelLynch


How do I enter The Denver 50?

1. Write a 50 to 150-word description of your idea in a Word document.

2. Decide which execution or executions best represent your idea. You could choose a single piece. Or up to 10 executions in an integrated campaign.

3. Optimize the executions you want to submit with your idea according to the specs below.

4. Put all the executions in a single folder with your Word document.

5. Title the folder with the name of your agency and a number. (For instance, the second entry from Thomas Taber + Drazen would be tiltled "TTD2.")

6. Repeat this process for as many ideas as you want to submit to the Denver 50.

7. Burn all your folders to CD-ROM or DVD.

8. Each submission is $100. Make checks payable to the New Denver Ad Club for the appropriate amount.

9. Deliver your disc (or discs) and check to Matt Ingwalson at Karsh\Hagan, 2399 Blake, Denver, CO 80205 or to Ted Morse at Thomas Taber & Drazen, 1610 15th Street, Denver, CO 80202. Submissions must arrive by August 28.


The Rules

Let's keep this simple, shall we?

1. Entries must be submitted by 6:00 pm on August 28, 2007.

2. $100 per entry. Each entry can include one to 10 pieces that represent the idea.

3. The idea must have been created in Colorado.

4. The idea must have debuted publicly between 1/1/06 and 8/28/07. That's 20 whole months worth of work you can submit.

5. Both NDAC members and non-members are eligible.

6. You cannot submit any piece more than once. For instance, do not submit a print ad campaign and then also submit each ad in that campaign separately.


How do I size my files?

Option 1 - Compose a two-minute (or less) slideshow or video about your idea. You can include photos, videos, a voiceover, or whatever you want along with the elements of your idea. This is how they do the Titanium Lions at Cannes. For examples, see canneslionslive.com/titanium.

Option 2 - Follow the instructions below.

1. Print ad, editorial layout, outdoor, logo, poster or other printed piece: Convert your file into a .jpg or .gif. Make it fit within 900x600 pixel space. The total file size must not exceed 1Mb.

2. Video, animation or commercial: Create a 320x240 .flv file. Compress the video at 400Kbps and the audio at 96Kbps. If you'd like to submit a .mov, make sure it is 320x240 and no larger than 4Mb.

3. Website or microsite: Your site must be hosted somewhere for it to be judged. Submit a link to the site. If you choose, you can also submit a screencapture of your idea to demonstrate a key detail, following the requirements for a print ad or poster.

4. Web banners or rich media: Send us your .swf, .gif, .flv or whatever your deliverable was, no larger than 4Mb. If you feel it must be seen in context, you can submit a screencapture.

5. Event, signage, packaging, 3-D piece, environmental or guerrilla activity: Take a photo and then follow the requirements for a print/poster idea. Or take a movie and follow the requirements for a video/spot.

6. Radio spot or audio track: Submit an .mp3. File size must not exceed 2Mb.

7. Something else: Write an explanation in a Word doc and add it to your folder. Be as clear as possible. Include a photo if you like. If this isn't working for you, post a question on this thread.