Interesting article on BBH Labs that presents a few views from an event at Social media week in NYC, that for me is summed up by this idea. “As creative businesses continue to experiment with new models of creative collaboration, and explore different approaches to maintaining a creative arsenal comprising the highest quality individuals and partners, it is inevitable that which was once almost wholly contained within an agency will become, to some extent, located outside the formal confines of that business.”
Given this idea, the article goes on to pose 2 questions
“1. CULTURE: If the culture of an organization is one of the key elements of differentiation between one agency and another, when does the definition of an agency blur to the point of intangibility?
2. INCENTIVES: What kinds of models are right for incentivizing the crowd? If the model of the future is going to involve fluid boundaries between ‘working for’ and ‘working with’, what does that mean for how people are incentivized?”
Obviously, I’m believer in the main idea. In fact Andy and I believed it so strongly we set up WEIR+WONG to provide access to a pool of the best digital talent. My main interest is to work with the best and most tried and trusted people, regardless of the communication medium, technology, or platform. The pace of change – especially with digital technology – has reached such a fast pace that not even the largest and most high-tech digital agencies can truly keep up with skills to offer the most value to their clients. They simply can’t hire fast enough to stay ahead of the curve. Freelancers and specialists are the way ahead, or at least one of the paths. A few agencies have realised this and have staffed up their creative teams with great technologists who can add to the creative process through rapid and light prototyping and the provision of a wide range of technology solutions early on. They then leave the heavy lifting of implementation to the right production company.
In answer to the first question about loss of cultural identity, I don’t believe that agencies have a monopoly on culture or ever have. Cultures change as people come and go. Agency life is a transient, sometimes nomadic way of making a living for many agency folk. I believe there is another culture that underpins all agencies, and this is driven by a few great people who exemplify this culture through a combination of original thinking, subtle repurposing of old ideas, proactive collaboration, professionalism, a passion for learning and a genuine joy of creating great work regardless of their skillset.
In answer to the second question, to be in the presence of someone who embodies all these cultural traits is what will incentivise those seeking to work in this model regardless of who they work for. Agencies have shown me what this cultural DNA can look like at its very best, but they don’t own this, they simply seek to replicate what can be found in those fleeting moments of greatness. More permeable cultures can only improve the frequency of those fleeting moments, which is good for everyone!
Busy Little Bees
Well – it’s been nearly 5 months of WEIR+WONG and we’ve barely had time to take a breather! We’ve been doing some great work for these great clients (and some clients we can’t mention!) and having a lot of fun on the way. Onwards…
