The Agency Of The Future

What makes the “agency of the future?” It’s a phrase that I see all the time when looking at PR, marketing, communication, branding and advertising agencies. It’s a phrase that suggests the particular agency is “forward thinking,” “innovative” and “built for the new millennium.” (their words, not mine)

But what does a truly “futuristic” agency look like? For some, it’s what their physical space looks like. For others it’s in the cutting edge creative they have done. Even others resort to new language and technology to hammer that idea home. But I think while all of these are parts of the agency of the future, I think the one that will prevail will be the one built upon disruption, regardless of the tools used to carry that disruption out.

No matter what specific part of the marketing industry we find ourselves working in, we all provide, at the very basic level, thinking. If you analyze it, all the other “stuff” can and will end up being done by machines, so really, what we do is THINK about how to achieve client objectives. Everything else can probably be automated; piecing together ads, sending out press releases, compiling brand strategy documents and even writing blog posts. Yes, some will argue that this is a long way off, and that to change the way we do business won’t yield the same results as before, etc. But if you disagree, ask a cab driver about UBER sometime. 

Disruption will change the way we all do business.

Now that we realize that our thinking is the one thing that can’t be automated, we’re 50% of the way to disrupting our entire respective industries.

So, does the agency of the future have a large staff to write social media posts, or do you have A.I. enabled content developed that is tweaked by human hands? Do you have data pouring in from the entire country to determine the social pulse of the nation, and technology to decide what will resonate any particular moment you post? I’m not saying I have the answers, but it’s something to think about, especially in how we look at ourselves internally.

I think that the agency of the future will do 5 specific things now:

1. See who is expendable: It’s not a question of who to fire, let’s clear that up. But more of a question of how many human hours are going against something that clearly is archaic. How do we streamline with technology and free that person up to think.

2. Find out what clients really want and need: Simple, we do this all the time, right? Maybe not. How many products and services are developed internally (in every industry), then sold to customers. It can be a simple process - just live with the client for a bit, and develop from there. Maybe they don’t want PR at all, they just think they need it. Maybe your agency pivots into one that provides “impression management?” Once again, I’m no expert, but something to think about.

3. Revisit what was essential 10 years ago (a question for the old folks): AOL Keywords, scannable magazine ads and DVD distribution? Take a throwback trip, then look at what you think is essential today: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Mobile Apps? Think about how THOSE will be disrupted and plan for the next.

4. Adhere to “We’re an agency of writers, artists, musicians and poets.”: If you talk with people who are actually these things, you could get a good insight into some new perspectives on where the future can go. Here’s a hypothetical from 1998: Agency asks artists about selling art. Artists say selling art is hard without a showing. Agency realizes building websites is the future. Artists ask if it’s easy to update. Agency says “Yes, if you pay us to do it.” Artists decides to build company called “Wordpress” to do it themselves. Now this is totally untrue, but you get the idea.

5. Set up a lab: So you have an idea of how your agency of the future will work in 10 years? Build a test-bed to see if it might. For example, if you have a real-estate client and you think homes might be sold remotely from a virtual reality headset, build a real world example and try it our on one particular house. See what happens. Think, build, test!

Actions equal outcomes, so the faster we start thinking about disrupting ourselves, the better position we’ll be in when that time comes.