Media agencies must change or die
Path 51’s Simon Larcey delves into the financial industry’s past to discover what its failures can tell us about the future of automation in adland. What he discovers is crystal clear: adapt or die.
While they say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, the proliferation of automation in agency land seems like uncharted territory. Surely we can’t look to the past for an indication of what to expect from robots taking our jobs?
Perhaps this is a new development in the media industry, but automation is old hat in the financial sector.
With professional services firms investing in advertising and media companies, and predictions of media being traded like the financial markets, I decided to talk to an old mate when I was recently in London about the impact technology and automated trading had on the financial markets.
Step 1. Make the same Darwinian statement that has been made about agencies/publishers/TV networks/the corner grocery store, etc. a million times before to grab attention – Check
Step 2. Quote book on finance to appear intelligent – Check
Step 3. Put some puffery around it and type out self-promotional piece masquerading as wisdom – Check
Step 4. Persuade trade marketing site to publish piece on a slow news day – Check
Step 5. Supply photograph leaning on brick wall, because, you know – Check
Step 6. Read very first comment and feel a bit sad knowing I’ll never get that time back – Check
Bang on Winsto.
In a recent chat to an HR person at a big 4 accountancy firm, same thing is happening: the arrival of AI-driven programs to audit companies. Clients have twigged that the cost for a big 4 firm to audit them has dropped significantly so they’re asking for fee reductions. The arrival of blockchain also scares the hell out of the finance sector in terms of challenging existing business models. The best guide to how to cope with this might be Clayton Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma: launch an independent offshoot to disrupt the industry, don’t try and do it from within a “traditional” media agency.
>>>”launch an independent offshoot to disrupt the industry, don’t try and do it from within a “traditional” media agency.”
so true and surprises me none of the agencies are doing this. better to disrupt yourself than be disrupted surely …
They do actually, that’s how holding companies come about and oversee dozens and dozens of smaller agencies. A business need is identified, and a new agency or speciality division is either created from within or acquired into the umbrella, and its product is on-sold to the client via the original relationship owner, which is typically the lead media or creative agency.
Please name one (non-government) industry that is not being disrupted in some way, and does not need to change to survive.
Slow news day.
I can get my creative real cheap from India. Still costs the same to place it through a media agency to get the 10% client rebate that going direct doesn’t get. Bye bye.
Chuck Darwin that is naive thinking … maybe 20 years ago it was the case, not now.