Don’t you sometimes get the feeling you’re getting old?
No, seriously.
Today I had this sudden realization that time rushed by so quickly
That I kinda forgot that I’m not the new kid in town anymore
But the one with the 12 year steadily build up resume in advertising
How the hell did that happen?
And I just couldn’t help but start wondering
Was moving ahead also moving forward?
Why has everybody become so seriously lately?
Did I actually get things done?
But fortunately (before I could go off into a have-I-been-of any-use-at-all rant)
I kind of got a stroke of wisdom
And narcissist as I am, I am going to share this wisdom with you
Or maybe I should call it generous instead of narcissistic
(as being mild to myself has indeed been one of my life’s insights)
Ready?
It doesn’t matter if you getting old as long as you’re not getting old!
Deep huh?
What I am trying to say is that aging isn’t so much the problem
It is getting stuck into old, comfortable structures and beliefs that is
Rebellious and ambitious as we all start off
We kind of start relaxing ourselves into relying on our experience after a few years
Seen this, done that, handling it
But although it’s stress free and gives us a pleasant feeling of seniority
It’s in fact our biggest danger.
‘Cause we tend to start taking things for granted
We tend to accept what once annoyed the living daylights out of us
We tend to kind of settle into the comfort zone
We tend to compromise
Oh yes we do shift about a bit, now and than
But do we really, really look at things in a revolutionary way?
In a way that would create a shock needed to finally put things in real motion?
I sure didn’t, so as from that moment I declared war to contemplation
Started in what I had been so utterly busy with the last 12 years
Working in an advertising agency
‘Cause although we all shifted about during the last decade
From advertising specialists to full-service communication partners
From online departments within the ad agency, to creating specialized online companies
From brand activation, to brand engagement, to whatever
But seriously!
Did we ever ever have the guts to also look at the structure of an agency?
The fundaments advertising has been built on for years and years?
Did we ever have the guts to say the way we worked for years doesn’t work anymore?
Questioned the process we tend to follow and the people who are involved?
Don’t think so!
So I want to put a bold statement forward
I want, as of today, stop using creative teams
In fact I want to kill the function of art director completely
It makes perfect sense actually
‘Cause if we know that with the digital revolution
The consumer decision process has radically changed by his trust on word of mouth
And in the media mix as we know it, the consumer has become the most important medium
Isn’t it about time we realize that public relations has become one of the most crucial elements of our job?
In fact that the output of the advertising agency should not be judged by a big 360 idea but on the news items it sparks?
And as having the consumer start talking about us forces us
To solve far more difficult problems than communication problems alone
Isn’t it about time we admit that finding a smart idea instead of a creative idea should be our core business?
And we really should start questioning the use of the creative team?
Especially the ones who are still in the mode of finding a big (communication) idea
And translating it into different media
They are simply not equipped to handle the fact you need to create engaging stories
That you need to understand the technology that can drive these stories
That you need to integrate mechanisms that makes your idea worth sharing and worth talking about
That the medium isn’t the starting point, but the storytelling about the special things you do, is
That simply doesn’t ask for a creative team or art director
It asks for multidisciplinary, hybrid team suited for the problem at hand
And a hell of a copywriter to get the idea across
And well: an interaction designer or designer can actually very tangibly show us what it has to look like
I do realize my take on multidisciplinary, hybrid teams
Also requires a change in the agency processes
Oh, I can’t wait!
If you just start killing of the creative teams and art directors as standard elements in the process
I will tell you all about they way I feel a process should be directed
As long as we agree that it al derives from finally a fundamental change in advertising:
Our output should not be a creative communication idea, but a smart conversation idea
And with that the creative team as we know it has no use at all anymore
They got old...
