24 Feb
Posted by: RKT in: Working with Agencies
The second in the series, Turning points: growing a great agency brand.
You know the drill: media commissions, people wearing all black and funky glasses, “creatives” vs “account people,” all the typical stereotypes that you think of when you think about advertising agencies doesn’t have to exist. Hell, an ad agency doesn’t even have to exclusively produce ADS. It doesn’t have to hire ad “people.”
In Hoopla, we learn that Chuck and Alex were freelancers who had no idea how an agency was supposed to operate. That ignorance proved to be bliss as they went on to hire other “mutts,” – others who lacked agency experience. “Experience matters only to the degree that the future is going to be like the past,” Porter says. “From day one, our hiring priorities were brains, talent and passion. Everything else you can teach.” In keeping with that philosophy, CP+B ended up hiring people who had no previous experience and no background related to advertising at all. Think: former surfers.
What’s your agency do to be un-agency-like?
3 Responses
Gary Hess
26|Feb|2009 1I once had a flourishing career recruiting for digital ad agencies in London until the perils of immigration sent me back to Columbus. A friend of mine had some insight on this matter that I thought you might find interesting…
The world’s built like this, millions of members clubs of all shapes and sizes; you have a nationality, you went to a certain school, you belong to a race, a family, member of a gym perhaps?
Industries are no different, however it strikes me as a little counterproductive when trying to address a problem such as a skills shortage. Looking at the constant improvements: the diversity being shown in both the method and finished product on digital projects, it seems logical that we should consider candidates from a broad spectrum of backgrounds to continue bringing fresh ideas to the table.
In the same way agencies berate clients for pursuing the safe option, agencies will often do just that when it comes to bringing in a fresh perspective. I’m not advocating a return to the days before the bubble burst when agencies were recruiting irrelevant skill sets to run interactive accounts; our sector has matured, but that doesn’t not mean that we should become set in our ways.
The problem needs to be approached from both sides. Not only should agencies be thinking laterally when it comes to looking for the ideas people, but in turn those with the ambition need to think hard about what they have to offer, and how. After all, everybody has ideas and everybody has something to offer, those who succeed will be those who are willing to show it.
Rebecca
27|Feb|2009 2Thanks for the comment, Gary! I especially agree with the analogy to agencies berating clients for picking the safe option. It’s totally hypocritical. I’ve always admired the people in the business who didn’t study it in college. In advertising, you have to be a student of life. One of my favorites is Jon Steel - he was a geography major and has gone on to become one of the most renowned planners around and an accomplished author. If you haven’t read his books, you should pick them up. Also, one of my favorite people at our agency, Tim, started out studying physics. And he’s a brilliant strategist now.
Everyone has ideas - you’re right. We’re all consumers. We’re all exposed to marketing and advertising every day. Another favorite example of this is the Nissan design center that built a prototype they were all very proud of. They were standing around patting themselves on the back when an administrative assistant walked by and said, “it’s ugly.” It wasn’t until then that they considered the consumer and went back and changed the design.
Anyways, thanks for the comment and the follow on Twitter!
Gary Hess
01|Mar|2009 3No worries Rebecca! This has always been a subject that frustrated me both as a recruiter and a candidate. I do hope agencies start to open their doors but given the state of our current economy it seems agencies have resorted to what is comfortable. When I returned in July of last year, I struggled to get attention from agencies and ended up in the newspaper industry. Coming from a digital background, this has been a shock to the system but fingers crossed clients will open their pocketbooks and normal business will resume! Thanks for the book recommendations…I will give them a look but unfortunately I’m battling our new cable system installed last week!
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