Things are Changing

For agencies these days, it’s all about digital, and it’s all about business. Any Creatives in the conference must have been muttering, “Where are the ads?” as speaker after speaker focused on the need for agencies to engage customers online. It’s not that the great creative idea doesn’t matter, but it is now inextricable within the online media capabilities. As Tom Martin of Converse Digital stated, “The industry needs people who speak advertising like a native yet are fluent in digital.” Social Media was front and centre; not in a buzz word way, but in successful examples that are grounding some new marketing principles. Eric Ryan, the founder of Method, had a great perspective on this: “Every brand in social media should have a social message.” And Michael McSunas recognized the spread of expertise that is evolving in social media marketing when he questioned, “Do young people understand how to market through social media? Or do they just understand how to use the platform?”

Agencies are now about the business. Literally. Eric Ryan had seven years of experience in advertising with high-end consumer brands before deciding he should apply his marketing excellence to his own brand, and started the incredibly successful Method home care products. Kenny Tomlin, founder and CEO of Rockfish (the winner of Ad Age 2009 Agency of the Year), has a goal of 50% of agency revenues coming from branded companies they create, marketing technology they licence to clients, and joint business ventures. This model of agencies marketing their own companies and systems really shows a client that the agency knows how to make business happen. We were particularly excited to see this model succeeding, as Hot Tomali has been developing its own products for years with the HotCMS content management system, our retail training platform, and our business partnership with Cientis in creating a physicians community for electronic medical records systems evaluation.

Things are Staying the Same

Agencies have always had a role in advancing their clients’ marketing knowledge. Not since Mad Men times, though, has this been so important with the shifts to digital marketing. As Tom Martin stated, “A small agency is there to guide clients through this new digital age.” And what hasn’t changed is the desire of agencies to play a bigger role in the strategy layer of marketing: “Too much tactics and we all turn into machines.”

Most significantly, the biggest thing not to change was agencies’ desire to do great work for their clients. It was an enriching experience to be in a room where job #1 is to help clients connect better with their customers. Through every speaker, and every discussion thread, this objective was obvious.

And in the end, it seems none of us could come up with a better moniker than “small agency” as Ad Age has defined it. “Independent”, “Nimble”, “Way Better”, were bandied about as replacement for “Small”, but we left with the creative challenge of branding ourselves. Regardless, I think we all agree with the conference lunch sponsor when they stated:

“Where is it written that brilliant ideas only come from big places? That’s right. Nowhere. And we know it. … We know that really great thinking can happen anywhere people have brains to think with. And since that’s just as likely to be your shop as it is any other, why shouldn’t you have the same shot at online success?”

I’ll raise a New Orleans Hurricane drink to that.

Learning to ride a bike is one of the most valuable skills a child can learn, helping them master the art of balance, a skill crucial to so many other physical activities and sports. Not to mention there is just something plain magical about riding a bike, what with the wind in your hair, and your green conscience in the clear and all. Traditionally, children learn to ride a bike with training wheels, or at least they did when I was a kid. Now, things have changed, and before you go and get all nostalgic on me, let me tell you, they have changed for the better. A little over ten years ago Rolf and Beate Mertens came up with a novel idea that challenged the way children learned to ride bicycles and the very technology that we (adults) learned with: The Training Wheel.

Rolf and Beate were the creators of the first “like-a-bike”, which has since become a childhood staple for 2 to 5 year olds. It is a simple concept really — a bike without pedals or cranks that relies on two wheels and two feet to keep it upright. It ain’t rocket science, but I bet you wish you’d thought of it. This just goes to show that there’s always a better way to do something, and a lot of the time the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” mentality can actually hold back progress, that a simple idea with some sweet design can do a whole lotta good. Now companies like UK-based Kiddimotto have taken the Mertens designs to the next level with a neat little range of kiddie motorbikes.

The Kiddimoto range comes in four styles, each based on a motorbike classic. From the “Scooter”, inspired by the mod scooter of the 60s, and the “Chopper”, a nod to future Easy Riders, to the Super Bike, based on real race bikes and the Srambler, a more traditional bike shape.

All this talk of bikes makes me want to go for a ride…and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Peace.

Patrick

One of our newest clients, Michael Walsh of Kaizen Consulting, is a motivational speaker, facilitator, coach and business consultant that helps businesses achieve growth and profitability through a series of advanced business models and structures. We recently created a DVD for one of his presentations, “Tapping your potential without getting tapped out” and I felt like I should have been the one paying him for the privilege of being there. He is an excellent speaker and he brings the necessary energy and enthusiasm to keep his audience involved and having fun.

Kaizen (pronounced ‘ky-zen’) is a Japanese word meaning incremental, continuous growth and improvement. The approach applies to business the same way that you would learn anything in life. For example, if you were to read a one-page article where Tiger Woods told you the way to play perfect golf would you then be able to pick up a golf club and hit the ball 400 yards? Probably not. The Kaizen approach however would be to practice your balance for a while until that’s comfortable. Then you might work on your swing. Then your grip. This approach continues on and on indefinitely, and even though you aren’t necessarily going to win the Masters anytime soon, you will be improving, constantly and incrementally.

Michael and I have been discussing many ways to build his brand. We’re working on some strategies where we’ll help him embrace some new web 2.0 technologies to get his name out there and build his following. I’ll post more about that later.

Part of our arrangement is that I have now enrolled in Kaizen’s Business Builder program, an intensive four month program with two 1.5 hour group training modules weekly, in order to learn new perspectives, skills and tools to grow our agency. In addition Michael will act as a 1-on-1 mentor to work with me directly. I think this is a fantastic arrangement as not only do I get access to new tools for our company, but also I’m simultaneously immersing myself in our client’s business, which is always the best way to achieve results when marketing a product. Learning what our clients do from the inside out has always been one of my favourite aspects of the marketing industry. Whether it’s been flying into a desolate resort location by helicopter to experience one of Queen Charlotte’s luxury resorts or walking the factory of an industrial production facility, I’m constantly learning new things and expanding my general knowledge, which is great.

We had our first Business Builder module last night and there are 14 people in our group plus our facilitator. We all met by conference call and it seems that we were pretty much spread out across North America. We had people from Denver, Boston, Vancouver, etc.

After the introductions we learned a bit more about the Kaizen philosophy and then got into some exercises to discuss product, customer value and differentiation. I could elaborate more, but then I’d be giving away trade secrets, which I’m sure Michael wouldn’t approve of. I’ll be sure to post regularly and let everyone if I have a personal break through. (It’s funny because it feels like I’m going back to school for the first time in 10 years.)

I’ll end this post with the Kaizen philosophy summarized by our facilitator:

Bad is better than nothing.
Good is better than bad.
Perfect is the enemy of good.

Designers, engineers, students and professors, architects, and social entrepreneurs from all over the globe are devising cost-effective ways to increase access to food and water, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation for those who most need them.

One of the coolest thing I think is the $100 laptop – “One Laptop per Child” that is built from free and open-source software, uses Linux.

“The majority of the world’s designers focus all their efforts on developing products and services exclusively for the richest 10% of the world’s customers. Nothing less than a revolution in design is needed to reach the other 90%.”
—Dr. Paul Polak, International Development Enterprises

If I had time, I’d post links to all of the products talked about in the article – or the exhibition – so you can read more about each of the products – maybe this weekend…??