AGENCIES MUST ADAPT OR DIE

Craig Harries

Head of Planning

July 2011

The process we use to develop advertising has been the same for over 50 years

1. Highly trained researchers and planners unearth consumer attitudes and motivations 2. Planners create a

brand strategy that is founded on a unique attribute or brand personality

4. Creatives then bring this to life to engage a passive audience 3. Consumers are used as a

sounding board, but are rarely trusted to contribute creatively

So why change?

Conventional ‘inside out’ approach has limitations

1. Knowledge is edited and selectively passed on – things can get lost

2. Ads are written by people with no connection to the people they’re trying to influence

3. Advertising is broadcast by nature; impersonal and inefficient

“By the end of this decade, power and influence will shift largely to those people with the best reputations and trust networks, from people with money and nominal power.

Everyone gets a chance to participate in large or small ways, giving a voice to the silent majority”

Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, April 2010

The uncomfortable truth

Remember this?

And this?

What’s the better way?

We need to get CLOSER to our consumers and let them be an integral part of the brand

If we want them to truly love our brands, we need to let them help create them

“People support that which they create”

Dr. Nick Georgiades, Birkbeck College

CO-CREATION

Using workshops and social media as a means of giving consumers a voice

RecruitRecruit consumers to participate in communities and engage them over weeks or months, rather than one-off interventions

ExploreThe process of exploring their relationship with the category and brands creates insights and creative ideas

CreateCreative teams have creative springboards to explore

ValidateConsumer communities then validate and build

Constantly recycle, rework

and rebuild ideas

Co-creating with the consumer from start to finish

The real question is: how will the role of experts change?

The age of the lonely guru is over

We need experts that are more:- Intuitive- Responsive- Observant- Collaborative- Open-minded

(And know how to harness the power of many)

So why do we need agencies?

Co-creation is a buzzword, but it’s not a fad

A far shorter planning window

Spot and pounce on opportunities as they arise

Demands client and agency embrace change

Which is challenging... and liberating

Being closer to the consumer means you can speed things up

This requires a totally new approach

PulsarTM

Econometric Modelling

PulsarTM

PulsarTM

The Crowd

Your Crowd

I%’ers

PulsarTM

- Proprietary tool to monitor social media

Switches the focus from the business to the consumer

There are many benefits of this approach

Speed

Advocacy

Increased chances of commercial success

Clarity

We can use Collaborative creativity to:

1. Generate consumer insights

2. Develop an existing brand idea

3. Establish fan bases for brands amongst key groups

4. Develop an effective social media strategy

5. Help develop new products and services

6. Establish the brand idea throughout the business and turn it into an organising idea that defines and drives the actions of the business

Applications

BIGCREATIVE

IDEAS

BIGSOCIALIDEAS

This will lead to different kinds of ideas

An idea with Social Currency

That people want to play with, share and develop, so that it endures long after the media

budget runs out

It’s about giving your consumers a greater say in the solution – not putting your brand in the hands of novices

Making consumers feel part of the brand – and really listening to them

Ensuring that the values and equity of your brand is brought to life in a way that is highly relevant to consumers

Does this mean marketers and agencies are losing control?

Break with the past

Create a new model where consumers take a stake in the brands they love

At Farm we are taking this thinking further, and have become a founding member of a collection of organisations, academics and individuals who believe in doing things ‘with’ people rather than ‘at’ people

Drawing up a new contract between brands and consumers

AGENCIES MUST ADAPT OR DIE

Craig Harries

Head of Planning

July 2011