How Advertising Agencies need to reinvent themselves

I fail to see why advertising agencies can't see the obvious.

It's time to evolve.

The evolutionary path is staring them in the face. But they seem to be in denial.

The HOW they should reinvent themselves is actually quite easy to answer.

It's as classic as Theodore Levitt's old chestnut. "Are you in the railways business or the transportation business?"

They seem to refuse to admit that they should be in the business of growing brands, not just advertising.

I guess the HOW will happen as soon as those still in advertising realize WHY they need to re-invent themselves.

Here's a quick summary:

1. The industry can't afford to pay for good entry-level talent.
2. The talent they do attract is leaving in droves. To other industries, not to other advertising agencies.
3. Advertising agencies are now no longer treated as partners in their client's business. They are treated as suppliers. They are at the bottom end of the marketing chain.
4. They no longer have the CEO's ear. At best, a brand manager hands them crumbs. While deciding how much of the rest of the bread needs to go to The Media Agency, The Digital Agency, The Event Agency, The PR Agency, The Activation Agency...
5. And a Purchase Manager works out their financial terms. Which is a lot, lot lower than the 15% of media spend that they used to get.

Let's face it. Advertising is as necessary as a keyboard. But if that keyboard does not integrate with the rest of the business, it is as obsolete as a typewriter.

By the way, that keyboard is still very necessary. Otherwise, you don't have a way to articulate your brand.

Just that that keyboard can now also be used to design Product, Packaging, Pricing, Placement, Purchase experience, Prosumer policy, and Profit policy.

Not just write TV scripts. And Print Ads. Or create Social Media Posts.

Just evaluate these two statements.

• Every client wants to know how to create great advertising
• Every client wants to know how to create great brands.

Which service do you think clients will pay more of a premium for?

Doctor, heal thyself.

To a coal miner, every challenge in the generation of power has just one solution. Produce more coal.

To those who are still in the advertising business, every business challenge is solved by a TV Commercial or at best a YouTube Video. And that mindset grew ever since advertising agencies saw the awards in the TV category as a bit more glamorous than winning in the "Print Ad, Single" category.

The world no longer puts a premium on advertising as its all-encompassing business solution. The consumer is the world's strongest medium. Some of the world's most admired brands spend very little of their resources on advertising. Some world-famous brands use no advertising at all.

Clients do put a premium on understanding the consumer and meeting their needs with ideas that win over their consumers' hearts.

Just that those ideas could be product ideas, packaging ideas, pricing ideas, purchase experience ideas....ideas so exciting that the consumer becomes the medium.

Ideas that use the same process that once created good advertising ideas. A strong consumer insight translated into a contagious idea that the consumer loves to tell others about.

It's a skill that erstwhile advertising agencies have much much better than business consultants. The business consultants are far too left-brained in their approach.

Saying "But we have no expertise in Product Design" etc. is hardly an argument. How many advertising agencies know how to shoot a TV Commercial?

So let's get to the HOW.

Start by answering these five questions.

1. What is the obvious emotional truth on which your agency is based?

2. Therefore, what business are you really in?

3. Therefore, at whom is your brand aimed?

4. If so, what are the personality traits your brand should have that will attract this target mindset?

5. What is the organizing idea, that captures the essence of your brand, that users will want to champion?

Every agency worth its salt knows how to answer these questions.

Otherwise, they would not have been able to write good campaign briefs.

Just that the definition of a campaign has evolved from 3 Press ads, 1 TVC, a radio jingle, and an outdoor adaptation. It has even moved on from Website, Social Media Posts, Ambient Media, and Programmatic Media as the job list. Why, even paid, owned, and earned media is out-of-date.

Here's proof that these questions are really quite easy to answer and result in completely re-inventing the agency.

Shashank Nigam* answered the first question very insightfully. He now runs the world's largest airline branding consultancy. https://simpliflying.com/.

It is officially headquartered in Singapore but operates 24/7 across the world with a very small team. Listen to how happy their clients are with them.

Sameer Desai* re-invented Seagull in Pune by answering those five common-sense questions. They invented for themselves a consumer and client co-creation process that the agency facilitates called Wings4Profit. They now no longer have to pitch for business and clients pay them for what most agencies still give away for free: strategy on how to grow brands.

Amiya Chaudhuri* evolved a Kolkata-based agency from AdUnique into BrandUnique. They are committed to their process of EYEDEA MANAGEMENT. They use a brand consulting model they call R.E.T.I.N.A. that is committed to helping clients reach their consumers' hearts through their eyes. I am, though, still trying to convince them that "eyedea management" can be offered internationally, not just to clients in Kolkata.

Tanmay Patel* is open to offering his services internationally though unfolding.co.in is based in Raipur. His design thinking agency uses an unusual brand of storytelling that is inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

His unique brand planning process involves a Kalpavriksha and a Galpavriksha.

*Full disclosure. All of them are Univbrands clients.

I was once asked by a wag: "Sumit, how many possible brands of brand consultancies can there be?"

My reply came spontaneously: "As many as possible brands of soaps".

You see, everybody needs to have a bath if he or she is to be accepted by society.

Just like every business needs to have a brand if that business is to be sustainable in the long run.

So, what business are you really in?