Why every agency boss needs to hear how Goodby got its groove back
In the last three years I’ve probably sat through dozens, if not a couple of hundred, industry-related presentations. Just a handful stick with me.
One of them was given by Howard Sogard, vice chairman of San Fransisco agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners at the iMedia conference in 2007.
Whenever I visit a traditional ad agency and ask about their digital capabilities, I secretly measure their answer against the case study Sogard presented.
He told a simple story – how Goodby had been on top of the industry for a long time, but then faded and stopped winning awards.
Rather than continue to watch younger funkier agencies come past, they entirely re-engineered the agency, putting digital at the heart of it. They really did it, rather than talk about it. A lot of people left, but in the process they got back on top. Last year they were both the Cannes Lions and One Show’s digital agency of the year and named Adweek’s agency of the decade.
I know that others who were in the room still remember the presentation too.
Frankly, I’m yet to find an Australian agency that has made a move as decisive or as brave. Some have gone a way down that path, but none can claim to have gone that far. (My sense is that Publicis Mojo may be the first to properly make the leap.)
Of course, Goodby is behind CommBank’s series of ads featuring the wacky US agency and smart Aussie marketing team. I’ve never liked the ads, but I have to concede that they’ve been effective and the evidence suggests that the repositioning carried the bank through the turbulent economic times that followed.
But Goodby’s US story is the interesting thing.
Which is why I’ll be going to the Account Planning Group session in Sydney on Wednesday night. It features Goodby Silverstein MD Derek Robson talking about “How Goodby got its groove back”. You can find more details on the APG Facebook page. Robson – previously at the brilliant BBH in London – is worth hearing in his own right because of his planning credentials. But combined with the Goodby story, it’s going to be compelling stuff.
If there was one presentation every agency boss in Sydney should be watching, it’s this one. I reckon the first agency to really do what Goodby did will be the one to dominate what is currently something of a mediocre local landscape.
At the time of posting, I gather there are still some places available. Not for much longer, I suspect.
Tim Burrowes
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Hopefully someone will video and post?
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yes, video and post please.
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Ditto.
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