Procter & Gamble recently revealed that it is creating a specialized agency to handle its Ariel, Gain and Tide brands. Impressively, the new shop will consist of teams from Publicis, WPP and Omnicom, working together as one agency.
The move is seen as an attempt to address Pritchard's demands from early 2018, according to which creatives should control three-quarters of an agency's resources.
Former WPP chief Martin Sorrell quickly admitted that Pritchard's bold comments signal a turning point at which agencies would have to become: "more agile, less bureaucratic, less layered, principles-based, in the sense of being guided by the principles of creativity."
Despite the best intentions, Sorrell estimated that 50% of what WPP agencies currently do is "creative," and the goal is to raise that figure to 75%.
The core problem of creativity
The arguments that the industry must become far less bureaucratic, less layered and more creative seem like common sense and fairly obvious to anyone working in advertising, PR or marketing.
In short: the problem is not a lack of creative talent in the advertising industry. There is plenty of fantastic creative work. The problem is that it simply is not being harnessed properly.
Making use of the talent we already have requires more sophisticated technological solutions that open up consumer knowledge and streamline the functional processes that would previously have hindered creativity in an agency.
Video as a challenge
The biggest challenge for agencies that want to be more creative is video. The number of views keeps growing year after year. Recently, eMarketer estimated that in 2018 nearly 2.38 billion people will watch streaming or downloaded digital video content at least once a month.
Video consumption is happening across more channels and screens - at the same time - than ever before. On eMarketer, more than 80% of TV viewers actively use the internet on a second device. As a result, as many as 84% of marketers in 2018 will invest more in mobile video marketing.
Marketers are required to spend far more time, resources and investment to produce high-quality videos for different formats than when creating static display ads. For example, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat have different video formats - not to mention that their users cover different audience segments and have very different viewing habits.
YouTube viewers watch videos in a way similar to television, whereas on Facebook they are often watched without sound. Snapchat also recently introduced a vertical format, which poses an additional challenge for video producers who now have to quickly crop landscape footage.
Audience originality
Video campaigns are becoming increasingly visible to a global audience, which in itself presents agencies with a new set of localization obstacles.
In practice, agencies need to apply better processes to track video assets across multiple platforms. They also need to give teams around the world the ability to quickly and easily access and edit content. Clients need technology that makes approvals easy and seamless, rather than tedious and obstructive to the creative process.
Automating these format changes and ensuring that client/agency communication is possible in a fast, clear and streamlined way means that creative teams can do what pays off for them: create compelling, interesting and engaging video content.
Technology can turn things around
More productive creativity, better results and more satisfied clients - that is the highest goal of any agency. And the way to achieve it is not simply to "hire more creatives" or to combine talent from multiple locations. The imperative is to implement innovation-focused technological solutions designed to make the best possible use of the creativity you already have.
Concepts from the article
PR — Public Relations. Activities that build an organization's reputation and relationships with its environment: the media, customers, employees, partners and communities. PR includes communications, media relations, crisis management, events and brand narrative.
Why it matters: It builds what no advertisement can buy: credibility in someone else's voice. An editorial publication and a well-managed crisis weigh more than a campaign — because it is a third party speaking, not the brand about itself.
When it is used: Continuously: media relations, press releases, interviews, events; especially in a crisis and during changes at a company.
What happens if it is omitted: Without media relationships, a company speaks only through paid channels, and in a crisis it is left without spokespeople and without trust.
