Advertising. We’re a business that loves to label things. After all, we built an entire industry around “New & Improved.”
This week Ad Age erupted over a blog post debating why digital agencies don’t get it at the depth traditional agencies do. 83 comments, and counting, over who owns strategy or who has the big ideas.
Who can blame agencies? In a crowded marketplace, they’re all just trying to differentiate themselves. But in my experience, clients are less concerned with what you call yourself than how you solve their problem.
I recently conducted an agency review for a client where the three finalists labeled themselves quite differently from each other. We had a digital shop, a design firm, and a more traditional agency. Having a different label wouldn’t have gotten these agencies into the pitch anymore than wearing the right pants.
Each agency brought a unique approach to the client’s problems, and each agency was chosen to be there because of their work, how they presented their capabilities, their grasp of the problem and their shared vision and objectives with the client.
Either an agency gets it or they don’t. They’re either qualified or they’re not. Digital, traditional, purple, clairvoyant—the label doesn’t matter.
At the end of the pitch, we didn’t call them anything but partner.
About the BtoBblogger – David Wiggs is founder of Hitch, an agency search consultancy based on the west coast. David earned his B.A in History in Virginia—which makes him a real geek in the advertising world. In the mid 90s he got a break in advertising, which changed his life.
A passionate musician, David is among the few rock drummers who know the entire Rush catalog, note by note. Well, almost. David’s writing can be read here and on his blog Hitch: Connecting Marketing Innovators, but he’d much rather be jamming than writing bios or blog posts.
