Personal issues aside, Don Draper is the personification of the idealized creative.
He would make a horrible engineer.
Traditional Creative Agencies can't design buildings.
If they did? I doubt many of them would be able to stand on their own. They'd probably look fantastic though (for the 30 seconds it was designed to stand up).
It's this precise mindset that is causing the collapse of an industry. Put simply? The fundamental problems with the current mode of thinking that exists within the traditional agency world are:
- You can't interrupt.
- Campaigns are no longer finite.
- Customers want more than just an idea.
- Function and Metrics>Aesthetics.
All of these realities didn't exist ten years ago. The rules have changed (and it's been fast) but most large businesses have been slow to adopt. Thus most traditional advertising agencies haven't put an impetus on this type of thinking.
Agencies pride themselves on being able to be on the bleeding edge of marketing changes and innovation. However, the importance of certain roles and components within the agency have shifted.
The user experience is now the single most important aspect of any marketing effort.
Why? Marketing needs to drive sales. It's the single reason for its entire existence. (This is contrary to the misguided belief that our sole mission in life is to make as much cool stuff as possible, which is only about 25% of it.)
Advertising is merely the leading edge of most engagement. There is a far deeper level of marketing built into UE elements.
Too much noise exists in the world for businesses to expect that customers can find them on their own merits. It isn't enough to just be cool. You need to provide utility, be findable AND be cool.
Digital design has moved in a direction to accommodate this shift. The most in demand designers are those that create a dynamic experience with an understanding of how and why they are doing so. All the functionality questions are addressed and the focus is on the experience not the design.
Now it's time for the rest of the advertising world to follow digital's lead on this one:
Start building real integrated campaigns. True, honest to God integrated efforts. Not just some lip service that is spouted to clients in the hopes that they'll gobble it up and not flinch when you under-deliver.
You'll find it's a lot easier to work through functional UE elements then to have to shoe-horn function into aesthetic creative concepts.
Think. It's what we get paid for.
Photo Credit: scriptingnews
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tagged as conversion design, creative direction, creative idea, creative marketing, death of the agency, designing for conversion, function trumps design, functionality design, integrated marketing, traditional agency fail
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, it seems a little contradictory to push integration as the entire crux of marketing but disregard that companies in extremely competitive spaces live and die by their positioning and brand experience. If you recommend that a travel portal (expedia, travelocity, etc.) or auto insurance company (Geico, Progressive, etc.) can win volume by simply integrating their marketing channels they will laugh square in your face. Writing off 'good ideas' in advertising is as ludicrous as Seth Godin saying that marketers are evil.
Actually Don Draper is EXACTLY who should be running your creative department. Clients are sick of half-assed, finite concepts, or executions. They want BIG IDEAS. That's what Don Draper is all about. He has specialists who can draw, direct the photo shoot, write the subtitles, proof, etc. In this day and age Don would have engineers and designers who are the best at what they do pushing pixels and PHP while he focuses on the big picture. Today's marketing requires someone who not only thinks in terms of 30 second spots, but also online user trends. Don Draper is about concepts that speak to the human heart, mind and soul. Those concepts can be executed anywhere by the right combination of specialists, i.e. PR execs, community managers, widget developers, designers, art directors, etc.
So, if you're talking about traditional agencies with a 60s mindset, I agree, we see them fail or outsource all the time. If you're talking about Don Draper, the personification of the creative director, you're right, he would make a terrible engineer, but he'd kick out the best MESSAGE and outsource the engineering to Sterling, Cooper, Draper's India office.
As for whether or not a traditional agency would build a great building: no that would be an architect, the most famous of whom said “Form Follows Function”. Even Frank Lloyd Wright understood that form and function are intrinsically intimate. The actual quote is: “Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”. Metrics aren't the campaign, the engagement, or the goal, they are merely the tools at measuring your success or failure in order to learn from both.
This is from an agency perspective only… and it assumes that the market isn't saturated.
When functionality and business process is established to a science? This stuff doesn't matter as much. Travel and Insurance companies don't market on anything other then price. You go with the lowest quote period.
This obviously doesn't work in every single scenario. Hell it probably doesn't work in a bunch of 'em. But it's damn important to recognize the shift taking place.
However, when the language and thinking isn't there? It becomes a huge issue.
I love good advertising. I just don't think you should build your functionality around that.
Yes, I too can sell bullshit until the cows come home.
You need to be on the ground in this world. You can't be an armchair general merely thinking of ideas that aren't practical.
Great, you sold your clients on a pitch of nonsense and unicorns. What then?
Ideas are easy. Idea Execution is where the work is.
Yes, I too can sell bullshit until the cows come home.
So ideas are just bullshit? Hmm, I'm sure Nike would love to hear that the idea “Just Do It” is bullshit, after building a billion dollar company around it.
You need to be on the ground in this world. You can't be an armchair general merely thinking of ideas that aren't practical.
Who said anything about ungrounded ideas? We're not talking about crazy tactics like projecting your logo on the moon, we're talking about concepts built on human behavior, social trends, emotional connections. Creative ideas come from living life and understanding human needs. That is far more valuable than just building a pretty web site, no matter how well it functions.
Great, you sold your clients on a pitch of nonsense and unicorns. What then?
Personally I've never sold a client nonsense and unicorns, teddy bears maybe. What then? Execution of course. Creative ideas and stellar execution are not mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact they need each other to be successful. The best idea in the world, if poorly executed will fail, conversely the best execution of a crap idea will also fail.
Ideas are easy. Idea Execution is where the work is.
I think it's great that you've found a niche: execution. Some of us prefer to work both on the ideas side as well as the execution side, or, if we're only capable of conceptualizing and need assistance with the execution of a specific tactic, we hire someone who specializes in that form of execution. An example: I don't program, or at least I haven't since the late 90s. When I'm developing a BIG IDEA and looking at how it will be executed, I will handle the web design and pass the development off to an affordable super star. I'll also hire a DOP and studio to shoot the video, and find just the right printer to handle the direct mail. That frees me up to edit the video, start building up the social media presence, designing the Facebook app and mobile site.
Hmm.. so your position is that ideas are bullshit, full of nonsense and unicorns and that it's all about idea execution. So if ideas are bullshit and your work is to execute bullshit, that sounds like a fun career.
Now, I never said that execution isn't important, on the contrary, it's very important. But the phrase “idea execution” begins with… (drum roll please) IDEA!
Your assertion is that
Creative ideas and stellar execution are not mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact they need each other to be successful. The best idea in the world, if poorly executed will fail, conversely the best execution of a crap idea will also fail.
This is my basic point.
SO, I'm with you a bit more now.
I think this is an important post because it's more of a call to action to agencies; as Stuart Foster sees it, that are dropping the ball. I've been known to take things a bit too literally in my old age.
But your message is really one of balance, not an all out massacre of Creative departments the world over.
BTW, good post.
Bingo
I totally agree with most of this (even though Don Draper is my personal advertising hero because he's the ideal creative). However, I think you're off when you say that making as much cool stuff as possible is only about 25% of it. If the user experience is indeed the most important aspect now, and I agree that it is, than making cool stuff is very much important. Now maybe our definition of “cool stuff” is different, but in my mind you can't create a great user experience without making cool stuff for the user to interact with.
I totally agree with most of this (even though Don Draper is my personal advertising hero because he's the ideal creative). However, I think you're off when you say that making as much cool stuff as possible is only about 25% of it. If the user experience is indeed the most important aspect now, and I agree that it is, than making cool stuff is very much important. Now maybe our definition of “cool stuff” is different, but in my mind you can't create a great user experience without making cool stuff for the user to interact with.
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