are startup agencies like Creature shaping the advertising world and is it for the better?

a startup?

Creature

BBH

shaping the industry?

“The past decade has seen a sea change in how "startup" is perceived. Once almost synonymous with risk, it's now associated with

entrepreneurship and nimble operations. Whereas it was previously unthinkable for large global brands to partner with anything but a

large global agency, even the world's biggest marketers, such as Unilever, are increasingly hooking up with small agencies.” 1

"Giant agencies are wobbling like drunkards… the rest of you should be sharpening your knives" 2

known success of the creators

MOTHER

IKEA COCA COLA

MATCH.COM MONEY SUPERMARKET

STELLA ARTOIS PG TIPS BECKS

TALK TO FRANK AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

FOX BISCUITS CANCER RESEARCH UK

POT NOODLE BOOTS

POWERADE PIMMS

Fig 1. Still from moneysupermarket.com TV advert (MotherLDN)

Fig 2. Still from Stella Artois TV advert (MotherLDN)

quality of previous work

Fig 3. Creature Showreel

"At Mother, we learnt a disrespect for traditional agency structures, roles and work. This is something

we hope to continue.”- Ed Warren 3

is creature any better?

“There’s been an award-winning short film, a theatre production of Eugene O’Neill’s play ‘The Hairy Ape’ and

the launch of their own honey brand, Amazing Stuff, produced from bees kept on their London office roof.” 4

!

the top people want to be involved

“the founders will actually work on your business. Trust me, if you’re an unusually big account for a

small agency, the founders will be all over it.” 5

everyone’s there for a reason

“So this fear of depth, or bench strength, or whatever, is unfounded in my opinion. Small agencies can easily put together the same kind of team for your account” 6

more cognitive

“Rather than try and fracture the agency into these type of discreet disciplines, we have clear

responsibility but open permission," says Warren. So it’s clear what your role is but you've got permission

to do anything. We have just two departments - thinkers and doers.” 7

no departments

“Over and over, you hear shocking comments from large-agency people like "we have internal politics" and "our creative team doesn't talk to our account team."” 8

multi-functional

“Success of small agencies depends on the ability to leverage flexibility and develop fresh ideas. Each team member must be an expert at his or her job and develop additional skills, depending upon the project. An account person may expand into social strategy, an art director may create information architecture, a tech lead may assist with content strategy” 9

outsourcing proves to be cheaper

“Producers, studio people, traffic people, etc. Production values are still valued at smaller agencies, but they don’t have to staff

the entire production process in-house, they can outsource some or all of it. That means lower overhead, overall, but more

importantly it means a new kind of objectivity.” 10 

w+k

Fig 4. Honda ‘Hate Something’ Print (W+K)

Fig 5. Nike ‘Write The Future’ Print (W+K)

why are they different

“Of course, some large agencies are great. I'm enamored with Wieden and Kennedy's work, and W+K has created a great culture that promotes the concept of failing quickly. Big agencies do have a competitive

advantage for many situations. “ 11

w+k london, 1998

Fig 6. Wieden + Kennedy London Showreel

however

recent acquisitions

“Creature lands £10m Carling ad task ahead of cider launch” 12

“Carling is one of those iconic brands that you dream of working on when you get into advertising, so it’s

fair to say we’re pretty excited.” 13 !

Fig 7. Carling ‘Trick Shot’ TV Advert (Creature)

to summarise

presentation overview

!Question; Are startup agencies like Creature shaping the advertising world and is it for the better? !Background (Not included in outline); !Firstly, what is meant by a startup agency? Small and recent; basically. Opposite to traditional agencies in that they are made up of a much smaller workforce, usually the creators have already been in the industry and choose to create their own agency. Other times an agency will create a smaller office in a different country, which is independent and finds it’s own clients as well as building its own reputation up. !A great example of this is Creature, with an existing office in Seattle, in 2010 they expanded over to the UK, opening a small office which to date only has around 25 employees, compare that to BBH, a traditionally large agency with offices worldwide which has nearly 1,000 employees. !Introduction; !Smaller startup agencies are shaping the advertising world and are stealing the spotlight, but why? Taking Creature as an example it has a few factors. Not only the previous success of the people at the top of the agency, but the mechanics of the agency all contribute to what some may argue as the best way to work in the industry but why is this better than more traditional agencies and what is causing this impact? !

Argument; !Slide 1; Known success of the creators; They’ve been involved in industry in some form or another, generally at a larger agency. As well as this it is commonplace for a lot of changing and moving within the industry however starting your own agency, or a new office for an existing agency obviously comes with risk so it’s usually the more senior creatives who make the leap. Compared to bigger agencies that have been formed off the backs of investment and business ventures. !Slide 2; Quality of previous work; Coming from successful backgrounds means the agency will have good credentials coming to their new venture, boasting amazing Showreels full of well known adverts, this also has the potential to bring clients across with them, almost stealing them from their previous agency. !Slide 3; Why Creature? Bringing creatives and along with them some accounts is standard but what makes Creature any different? The Creatives that started the London office of Creature, Ben Middleton, Ed Warren and Stuart Outhwaite, were Creative Directors at Mother, one of the most highly acclaimed agencies in London of late. Producing memorable work and bringing their own ethos’ and working habits from their previous agencies. !!Slide 4; Warren said: "At Mother, we learnt a disrespect for traditional agency structures, roles and work. This is something we hope to continue." http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1052976/ !!Slide 5; Showreel http://vimeo.com/43930806 !

Slide 6; The top people want to be involved At traditional agencies there’s a set routine of how things work, the brief gets set by planners which gets handed to the creative who then present to the creative director who then puts the work to the client, however at smaller agencies the process is more The main creative backing behind the agency will get involved in the clients needs, in the problems and the solving of them !Slide 7; Everyone’s there for a reason The people who are in the agency are there for a reason; they’re obviously good as only a select few are in the agency. Everyone adds their own unique element and everyone brings something to the table on every brief !Slide 8; More Cognitive Smaller agencies have a more family oriented vibe and you’ll know everyone, becoming more of a unit than individuals in one place, you’ll bounce off each other more and there is a sense of community, in larger agencies you may not even know someone in your own department, let alone another !Slide 9; No Departments The workspaces, generally, will be more open plan and everyone will contribute to all aspects of a project, presentations will usually involve the entire agency rather than just the creative directors and the creative team behind the work, giving feedback from all points of view and bringing better ways of problem solving about. !Slide 10; Multi-functional People’s skills will overlap and everyone is involved, meaning that you can get input from others in every field, sometimes from unexpected sources. Also everyone’s knowledge base will increase and you grow as a unit rather than just individuals.

Slide 11; Outsourcing is cheaper Production costs are often high and when agencies have departments within their agency the cost is generally fixed due to the wages of those employed working however if you’re a small agency, outsourcing gives you the opportunity to work with those who you may know previously or get a cheaper deal without compromising on quality. Also the increasing use of digital work and social media means that sometimes these departments may go unused on certain projects which is wasting money !!!Slide 12; Personal Also with smaller agencies the people who work there build a relationship through the client, often inviting the client to their agency to sort through plans !Slide 13; W+K Some would argue that Wieden have the aesthetics of a smaller agency yet on a larger scale. !Slide 14; Why are they different? Their principles are similar to that of smaller agencies, encouraging departments like planning to work with the creative department, where as in more traditional agencies sometimes departments don’t interact any more than the business requires. Bridging the gap between newer and traditional, trying to take the best of both worlds. !Slide 15; W+K LDN 1998, not very old but still built a reputation for itself using W+K’s principles and has made good work consistently

Slide 16; Showreel http://vimeo.com/26911451 !Slide 17; Acquisitions However the explosion of Creature and smaller agencies has still stolen the spotlight and gained some huge accounts such as Carling and Adidas within the past year.

Conclusion !Whilst traditional agencies have usually dominated the advertising world, with the development of digital work and more expansion into social media, more maneuverability and flexibility is needed by an agency. This is why smaller agencies are proving to be very successful and the places people want to work. There’s no doubt that these start ups have changed the way agencies do business and they’ve opened up more work for independent design studios as well. Though this small community-led way of working will not be for everyone as it does suit individual tastes however most would argue that agencies pulling in these kinds of accounts with such huge influential creative backing it must be doing something right. !

references

Footnotes; 1) Small Shops Get Creative in Luring Talent From Bigger Agencies, AdAge < http://adage.com/article/agency-news/dan-wieden-s-advice-small-agencies-learn-fail/243329/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) 2) How Dan Wieden Learned To Fail, AdAge < http://adage.com/article/agency-news/dan-wieden-s-advice-small-agencies-learn-fail/243329/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) 3) Creature Expands in London with senior Mother creatives, Campaign < http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1052976/ > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) 4) Creature Of London’s founders reveal their creative approach to agency life, Campaign < http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1161542/creature-londons-founders-reveal-creative-approach-agency-life/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) 5) When It Comes To Advertising Agencies, Small Can Be Big, Forbes < http://www.forbes.com/sites/willburns/2013/06/21/when-it-comes-to-advertising-agencies-small-can-be-big/ > (Accessed 07 Nov 2013) 6) Forbes Website 7) Campaign Website 8) Small Agencies Crush Big Ones, AdAge < http://adage.com/abstract?article_id=238476 > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) 9) AdAge Website 10) Forbes Website 11) AdAge Website 12) Creature lands 10m Carling Ad Task, Brand Republic < http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1171770/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) 13) Welcome to Creature < http://www.welcometocreature.com/blog/tag/creature-of-london > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013)

Account of Sources; Websites; !Campaign < http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1052976/ > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) AdAge < http://adage.com/article/agency-news/dan-wieden-s-advice-small-agencies-learn-fail/243329/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) AdAge < http://adage.com/article/agency-news/small-shops-creative-poach-talent-bigger/233857/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) AdAge < http://adage.com/article/small-agency-awards/mondelez-s-debra-giampoli-landing-a-big-client/243330/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) AdAge < http://adage.com/article/small-agency-diary/a-small-agency-win-big-accounts-a-partner/241623/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) AdAge < http://adage.com/abstract?article_id=238476 > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) MySocialFace < http://mysocialface.com/the-big-advertising-agencies-are-failing-their-clients/ > (Accessed 06 Nov 2013) Vimeo < http://vimeo.com/creatureoflondon/videos > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Wallblog < http://wallblog.co.uk/2013/08/09/lean-mean-fighting-machine-can-we-do-well-by-doing-good/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) WKLondon < http://wklondon.typepad.com/welcome_to_optimism/2013/01/what-is-it-that-makes-wieden-kennedy-so-different-so-appealing.html > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) Brand Republic < http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1171770/ > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) Brand Republic < http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/1176793/ > (Accessed 05 Nov 2013) Welcome to Creature < http://www.welcometocreature.com/blog/tag/creature-of-london > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Campaign < http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1161542/creature-londons-founders-reveal-creative-approach-agency-life/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Campaign < http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/login/1175083/ > (Accessed 03 Nov 2013) Clickz < http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2102243/digital-requires-remodeling-relic-agency-model > (Accessed 05 Nov 2013) Forbes < http://www.forbes.com/sites/willburns/2013/06/21/when-it-comes-to-advertising-agencies-small-can-be-big/ > (Accessed 07 Nov 2013) Inspires Me < http://www.inspiresme.co.uk/starting-a-business/starting-a-%E2%80%A6/starting-an-advertising-agency/ > (Accessed 06 Nov 2013) Marketing Donut < http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/advertising/choosing-an-advertising-agency > (Accessed 05 Nov 2013) More About Advertising < http://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2012/01/adidas-springs-another-agency-surprise-by-hiring-creature-in-london-to-handle-european-shoe-launch/ > (Accessed 10 Nov 2013) Wieden+Kennedy < http://www.wk.com/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Creature < http://www.welcometocreature.com/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) LeanMeanFightingMachine < http://www.leanmeanfightingmachine.co.uk/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Wieden+Kennedy London < http://wklondon.com/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) Vimeo Creature Showreel < http://vimeo.com/43930806 > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013) !Vimeo W+KLDN Showreel < http://vimeo.com/26911451 > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013)!Mother London < http://www.motherlondon.com/ > (Accessed 01 Nov 2013)!

Books; !Kocialski, C., Startup from the Ground Up: Practical Insights for Transforming an Idea Into a Business, Createspace, 2010 !Wilcox, A., Startup Savvy: Strategies for Optimizing Small Business Survival and Success, PublishAmerica, 2011. !!!!Picture Credits; Fig 1; Still from moneysupermarket.com TV Advert < http://www.motherlondon.com/ul//assets/MoneySupermarket-Helmet-bump-0.jpg?width=540&height=360&crop=auto > (Accessed 05 Nov 2013) Fig 2; Still from Stella Artois TV Advert < http://www.motherlondon.com/ul//assets/QuestMain-0.JPG?width=540&height=360&crop=auto > (Accessed 08 Nov 2013) Fig 3; Creature Showreel < http://vimeo.com/43930806 > (Accessed 01 2013) Fig 4; Honda Grrr Print Advert < http://wklondon.com/work_uploads/Honda/Grrr/Honda-Grrr-Print-700.jpg > (Accessed 02 Nov 2013) Fig 5; Wayne Rooney Nike Print Advert < http://adsoftheworld.com/sites/default/files/images/2_WC_Rooney.jpg > (Accessed 07 Nov 2013) Fig 6; W+K London Showreel < http://vimeo.com/26911451 > (Accessed 04 Nov 2013) Fig 7; Caring ‘Trick Shot’ Video < http://vimeo.com/68053779 > (Accessed 06 Nov 2013)