It bothered me when our partners, vendors, resources, management, leaders, teams and almost everyone else involved in agency business indicated that agencies have lost the plot. It bothered me because I worked for best global full service agencies most of my life so far, trying to stand tall doing everything and anything to re-invent and stay up to date. For 80% of my 16+ years work, I know, our professional camaraderie kept on firefighting, kept on ignoring critics whosoever. I know the spirit continues even though I no longer work directly at agencies. How does it feel when you hear that ‘Agencies are always complaining. They never provide real solutions!”?? It remains a pain point but in some corner of your mind you know there’s some truth in it.
Clients and Agencies are two different creatures even though it looks they are made for each other. In rapidly changing media landscape, clients are becoming more and more polished. Their consumer interface is getting highly empowered with freedom to reach, freedom to sharp target, freedom to adapt, freedom to be specialist and freedom to go extra mile. Increasingly, brand’s exclusive exposures with consumers are becoming as mobile, flexible and wide-spread as consumers themselves.
Agencies are gigantic traffics. Each vehicle has a need to go in different directions and be benefited by best routes but alas! the vehicles simply can’t make even a move! They are stuck!
A case in point could be about conditions of clients in Travel, Tourism and New-Age Outdoor or Adventure brand industries. Just a case about any expert aspiring to remain ahead of the pack, always as an enabler of genius, unique, life-time experiences. I’m a consumer in this arena. Hard-core consumer. Probably someone who is as avid as depths of water and heights of mountains. Life’s true potential remains unforeseen without exploring unknown, without exploring far and wide. Outdoor travel and sports industry’s true potential can only be unfurled with paths far and wide. This can be enabled only by an expert who has done it all and doesn’t seem to rest in a long time hence. Unfortunately, thinking about current agency setup to be successful support system is like hoping to see days that may never come. Or at least hoping to see an agency suddenly climbing skill mountains or making system sky-dives from remotest places on earth. Long way, long hope.
Afterwords:
When the winds are changing, breath the changed air. It fills lungs with energy that enables fastest flights. Bonus? Zero encounter with headwinds. Zero resistance. Zero drag.
When you get a choice to sit it out and dance, I hope you dance!
Epilogue:
Glide with specialists who can make your ride smoothest in given time. If you expect to arrive at true destination in a 5-year journey, taking a year to find great travel companion and a support system may prove to be a lifetime move enough to thank for.
