Credit to @brooklynbag for the awesome photo
The flagship event of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Transformation 2016, is finally here. We had the privilege of joining top agencies in beautiful Miami, and what we’re heard was challenging, disruptive, and exciting.
#SayNoToSpec
“The #advertising industry gave away $400+ Million in free knowledge, strategy & creative.” Bill Koenigsberg @horizonceo #4AsTransformation
— Scott McAfee (@ScottTMcAfee) March 22, 2016
“Say No To Spec” is a video that opened Tuesday’s festivities. Why is it that the advertising industry has accepted the standard of giving away work for free? Estimates say that the industry gave away $400 million in intellectual property last year, and over 4 million hours of real work. #SayNoToSpec!
Eliminating Inefficiencies and Redundancies
Inefficiencies and redundancies? We know a thing or two about that– our whole mission is to change the way media is bought and sold, and eliminating inefficiencies is a central focus of everything we do.
The currency of business is speed – @wnd #4AsTransformation pic.twitter.com/YVl3jUGnFc
— Nathalie Tadena (@nftadena) March 22, 2016
Wendy Clark at DDB nailed it here. The currency of business is speed, and the advertising industry is no exception.
VICE Takes Center Stage
Fun times@nytimes trying to be new media@VICE trying to be old media
how the world go round#4AsTransformation pic.twitter.com/YKldda4Lr1
— Tal Chalozin (@chalozin) March 22, 2016
VICE is enjoying amazing growth, including launching 12 networks around the world. That means working more closely with advertisers. Shane Smith, co-founder of VICE, challenged agencies to stop being scared to work with the company. In his words, “everyone talks about disruption, until you do it and they hate you.”
Talent and Diversity
Talent acquisition and retention is a major pain point among agencies right now. The general consensus is that it’s a morale problem.
Why So Many People Leave Advertising https://t.co/ODZGkyETXg Prediction: next exodus: burned-out 30+y/os who work 24/7 #4AsTransformation
— rebeccasullivan (@rebeccasullivan) March 22, 2016
Advertising has always been a shining beacon or creative expression for fresh, young talent, and it still is. The issue that’s arising is retention, especially among millennials.
Perceived progress is important to millennials. Unfortunately, many of them perceive a clear line between the underlings doing the grunt work, and the creatives and dreamers one floor above them.
These employees are talented and understand the concept of paying their dues. But, when they can’t see a path ahead of them, they get restless. According to Marie-Claire Barker, millennials want more than just free food and happy hour, they want experience and fulfillment.
Speaking of restless…
DDB’s Wendy Clark at #4AsTransformation: Industry must ‘stay restless’ on gender discussion. pic.twitter.com/qLV6kWKY8D https://t.co/YXf2x36Lbo
— Kyle Lukan (@KyleLukan) March 23, 2016
Diversity was a huge topic at Transformation this year. The industry is suffering a dearth of gender, race, religion and age diversity, and people are taking notice. Moreover, it’s affecting work. The Latino population has $1.5 trillion in spending power, but is largely ignored, partially because it’s not understood. Diversity isn’t just a requirement for political correctness, it’s a business advantage.
Just Go For It
“Just go for it, you will get fired anyway someday” @GSP #4AsTransformation
— Doron Wesly (@sabredutch) March 22, 2016
The (hilarious) sentiment here is that either by a company or by time, everybody will be fired eventually. So create like there’s no tomorrow!
Tips for creativity take a different route to work each day AsTransformation @GSP pic.twitter.com/loxRJh7Jrm
— Paul Rossi (@economistrossi) March 22, 2016
Your comfort zone is killing you. Not just on a macro-level– creativity stems from training your brain to think outside of its normal routine. An agency’s clients, audiences, and talent deserve great creative, and now is the time to deliver that.
