The Agency Lab: Edge vs relevance

Comments

[Elia Morling]

Good breakdown of reality. I like it!

[oskar]

As you know, it´s not about idea driven vs. channel driven. Ideas pushed into channels or a framed and narrow channel solitions can never compeat with customer driven concepts. Yes, you´re right they dont know shit. But they dont know that. So, we just have to aproach bold (and/or nice) with some respect weather they deserve it or not.

[Leon]

The end product should always a concept that's customer-driven. The different philosophies of arriving there differ however. An idea-driven agency will deliver concept based on ideas. A channel specialist will deliver channel-formatted ideas. With various new digital opportunities, the old saying "it's the idea that matters" no longer applies, because the web allows you to create totally new types of interactions and behaviors. The Whopper sacrifice is a good example of a bottom-up solution that requires good knowledge of technological possibilities, rather than adaptation of a top-down-idea. Being an expert on this AND an expert on classic media such as film AND direct is very tough.

[Elia Morling]

If you look at it harshly there are not that many Generalist Agencies, as they too favor TV and Print as channels. Not only because they know it, but because it gives greater prizes. So as long as the Generalist Agency says they offer solutions for all channels, but internally are biased towards traditional, then they are in fact a Specialist Agency in Generalist Agency clothing.

[Leon]

Prizes is one thing, but I think a bigger obstacle is the media planning that hardly takes place in the ad agency, but in media agencies. Their business model strongly favors traditional media, not innovative digital solutions. Us at Jung von Matt are really trying to be a true generalist idea agency, but it's no easy – it requires constant education of all personell, not least production and project managers, a general shift of risk perception, and you have shift your whole recruitment policy (hard to teach old dogs web 2.0).