What Separates the Best From the Rest: What Makes Great Agencies Great

1. What Separates the Best From the Rest: What Makes Great Agencies Great Presented by Tim Williams ignition consulting group www.ignitiongroup.com What Separates the Best from the Rest What Makes Great Agencies Great

2. “In the last decade, the best 10 percent of companies captured more than 85 percent of the market value created in the world.” Chris Zook & James Allen

3. “There are perhaps as few as 40 or 50 agencies in the United States that can actually manufacture a good campaign, and possibly 10 that do it consistently.”

4. “Market share has nothing to do with profitability.” Herb Kelliher Founder of Southwest Airlines

5. Savings through “economies of scale” = .025% Source: Study by Professors Alvin Silk And Ernst Berndt, as published in Admap, September 2005

6. Effect Cause

7. Lagging Indicators Leading Indicators

8. ①  Total gross income ②  Profit as a percent of gross income ③  Salaries as a percent of gross income ④  Income per employee LAGGING LEADING What type of success indicator?

9. LAGGING LEADING ①  Assignments accompanied by good creative briefs ②  Clearly defined expectations and scope of work ③  Good orientation program for new associates ④  Regular recognition and feedback ⑤  Work environment that balances privacy with collaboration ⑥  Leveraging technology for better collaboration What type of success indicator?

10. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 1. They are purpose maximizers, not just profit maximizers.

11. The market The competition The numbers The client OUTSIDE INSIDE

12. “The 50 fastest growing brands in America have one important thing in common: they have all committed themselves to an ideal that transcends making money.”

13. “Average companies give their people something to work on. The most successful organizations give their people something to work toward.”

14. 7 to 1 Purpose-driven companies outperform traditional companies by up to

15. “Every person should feel that he or she is contributing to something that will actually make a genuine and positive difference in the lives of customers and colleagues.” Gary Hamel London School of Economics Author, “Leading the Revolution”

16. THE BIG IDEA THE BIG IDEAL

17. “Our purpose is to create and perpetuate Lovemarks in order to connect, transform, and empower the people in the 82 countries we operate in. We will demonstrate that to be sustainable in the new century, enterprises need to take on an emotional dimension.” Kevin Roberts CEO

18. To create and own ideas and products that allow us to share in our clients’ success.

19. To be a catalyst for changing popular culture.

20. “Profit isn’t the purpose of a business, but rather a test of its validity.” Peter Drucker

21. BHAG

22. So how good do you want to be? Pretty good. Good. Very good. The best in your region. The best in the world.Source: Paul Arden, “It’s Not How Good You Are,It’s How Good You Want To Be.”

23. Why do creative professionals work? Richard Florida Author, “Rise of the Creative Class” 10. Location and community 9. Organizational culture 8. Exciting job content 7. Stimulating colleagues and bosses 6. Peer recognition 5. Professional development 4. Money 3. Stable work environment 2. Flexibility 1. Challenge and responsibility

24. “A big problem with working at ad agencies is that management is too often unwilling to stand up for their own people if it means taking on the client.” 74% agree Study of advertising professionals by Euro RSCG

25. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 2. They draw lines in the sand.

26. The things we will never do The things we will always do

27. Principles = Rules of Engagement

28. The best ideas emerge when the whole organizational ecosystem has room to experiment. Ideas should not be favored based on who creates them.

29. § Charge for outcomes instead of time. § Put some skin in the game. § Focus on building a catalog of intellectual property. § Allow individual employees to keep some ownership of great ideas.

30. BMD Bruce Mau Design AN INCOMPLETE MANIFESTRO FOR GROWTH Make mistakes faster. Don’t enter award competitions. Avoid software. Don’t clean your desk.

31. Strong principles create a culture of self-governance

32. “A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you money.” Bill Bernbach

33. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 3. They stand for something instead of trying to stand for everything.

34. While 80% of executives feel their offering is highly differentiated, only 8% of their customers actually agree with them. THE CONFIRMATION BIAS James Allen, Closing the Delivery Gap (Boston: Bain & Company)

35. “The common failing among agencies seeking new business is their inability or unwillingness to name what they stand for.” Agency search consultancy

36. Local Generalist National Specialist

37. ①  Full service ②  Integrated ③  Wide range of experience ④  Strategic ⑤  Team approach ⑥  Creative thinking ⑦  Senior people ⑧  Marketing partner ⑨  Awards ⑩  Results TOP 10 THINGS AGENCIES SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES

38. Most common topics in agency self-promotion materials Most common topics clients say they are least interested in x  Staff size x  Billings x  Years in business x  Number of offices x  Departments and disciplines x  Agency growth history x  Staff size x  Billings x  Years in business x  Number of offices x  Departments and disciplines x  Agency growth history

39. Minimize the areas in which you are a commodity. Maximize the areas in which you can be a brand.

40. Not a capabilities presentation, but a point of view presentation.

41. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 4. They optimize their work at the front end to get better work at the back end.

42. “There’s never enough time to do it right the first time, but there’s always enough time to do it over.” Anonymous Copywriter

43. A rush job is done so fast the client perceives it as less valuable A rush job often leads to needing freelancers (money the agency doesn’t earn) A rush job doesn’t allow time for the agency to propose better ideas A rush job leads to agency error A rush job causes rework because of lack of complete information

44. Information and insights provided Productive work that gets done Source: Steve McConnel: Software Project Survival Guide Information and insights provided Productive work that gets done Time

45. ✚  Clarifying client expectations ✚  Clearly defining scope of work ✚  Collecting more complete information ✚  Writing more complete briefs ✚  Giving better briefings ✚  Breaking out work in phases ✚  Previewing the direction with the client ✚  Avoiding false starts The best agencies do the best job on the front-end process

46. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 5. They spend their ideation time on ideas, not execution.

47. “The Schenck Manifesto” Advertising Columnist Ernie Schenck Communication Arts 8. Art directors will not be permitted to use Photoshop until an actual concept has been determined. 25. Copywriters shall glue their laptops shut for a period of one month during which they will reacquaint themselves with a pad of paper and a No. 2 pencil.

48. .vs

49. WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST 6. They have redefined the meaning of “work.”

50. WORK = PEOPLE AT DESKS?