One of the biggest discussions in the ad world is what the future ad agency will look like.
Will it be media agnostic or specialize in an area, will the creative partnership survive, will it be small & nimble or large & loud? More importantly, will the agency rollercoaster of hiring and firing with each client remain the norm? I think one thing is for sure, as time goes on agencies more and more will make stuff.
Since the inception of the ad agency it had been our culture to not just spread messages but to make things, starting with the creation of the magazine. Agencies more and more are being hailed for their originality when introducing their product lines such as BBH’s line of quick prepare food, Rockfish’s Silver Joe’s & Tidy Tweet and Mother New York’s Target bags and rock concerts.
It’s not just a fad of “look what we can do.” It’s a tangible way to generate extra revenue for the agency and hold onto valuable creatives by absorbing the blow from the loss of a client. I also believe that as agencies are able to take daring steps with their own product lines in the marketplace, they’ll have the chance to directly compete with the big name brands.
The question than becomes, in the future, will we simply shrink away when we lose a new business pitch or simply create a product to directly compete with that brand.
