Marketing bigwigs globally have been favouring small, closely-knit agencies for their personal attention for sometime now
Watch Kenny Tomlin – his eyes fixed on a huge flat-screen monitor - in his mousy office housed in an equally nondescript business centre in Wal-Mart’s home town Arkansas and you may at first refuse to believe that he’s the CEO of an agency that is betting on bringing in $7.8 million as revenues for 2009. But Tomlin intends to do exactly that with his three-year-old digital agency, Rockfish. Tomlin’s start-up has stacked some big brands into its purse, including Wal-Mart, P&G, Tyson Foods and Hershey’s. During a year when many big agencies were choking on the recession storm that swept America, Tomlin’s lean and unique business model has kept Rockfish Interactive afloat and growing. So why have biggies like Wal-Mart (which usually works with large agencies like Martin Agency and R/GA), chosen Rockfish to conceive and implement their online marketing initiative? Suraya Bliss, Sr. Director for Communications at Wal-Mart Stores gave the answer to Adage in a recent interview. “They helped us address tough issues, and haven’t lost sight of creativity in the process,” says Bliss, adding that Rockfish helped Wal-Mart with “challenges on the back end as well.”
Bliss is not the only marketer harboring such radical sentiments. While the trend has only now begun catching on in India, big marketers in the US have been favouring small, closely-knit agencies that give them personal attention for sometime now. The fact that they also come 15-20% cheaper than the fancy agencies – with large overheads and swank offices – on Madison Avenue is just an added benefit tipping the scales for recession-hit marketers. And that (recession) is another cause and effect syndrome that is prompting a new craze for agency entrepreneurship in American ad-land. Prompted by layoffs, job insecurities or simply personal dissatisfaction at big agencies, these outfits mostly specialise in digital or social media.
But exceptions like P.J. Pereira and Andrew O’Dell are creating waves too. Both of them quit high-flying executive jobs with big agencies and launched their namesake multidisciplinary agency in San Francisco last year. In an interview, the pair told WSJ: “The problem with most existing ad agencies is that they either have a traditional focus or a digital orientation — and either way, marketers aren’t as well-served as they could be.” They pride themselves on their USP of hiring employees with unusual backgrounds rather than advertising experience, including a wine expert, a music producer, a shark wrestler and a Hollywood screenwriter – some of whom have already delivered award-winning works during the agency’s 18 months. Pereira’s strategy: To think outside the box, one must have people who’ve lived in different boxes! And it works because Pereira has a small team that functions in a casual ambience. Point is, global marketers are increasingly getting convinced by the logic of ‘small is big on delivery’ - Pereira O’Dell has already landed hi-flying clients like toymaker Lego, Pony and the University of Phoenix. The agency’s “strong growth, significant client wins and outstanding creative work” has already landed it the title of ‘Small Agency of the Year’ in AdAge’s first such awards.
Agency consultant Michael Gass believes that there has been a paradigm shift in the manner that small agencies acquire business. Breaking popular perception, he argues that now 80% decision makers find their agency and not the other way round. And if pull is hotter than push in ad-land now, then ‘delivery’ is bound to have more weight than candy floss dressings and plush office decors. Going by recent accolades, awards and new business wins, the small guys are certainly ‘pulling’ in the crowd with their cost effective deliveries, and above all, involved solutions for client problems.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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Watch Kenny Tomlin – his eyes fixed on a huge flat-screen monitor - in his mousy office housed in an equally nondescript business centre in Wal-Mart’s home town Arkansas and you may at first refuse to believe that he’s the CEO of an agency that is betting on bringing in $7.8 million as revenues for 2009. But Tomlin intends to do exactly that with his three-year-old digital agency, Rockfish. Tomlin’s start-up has stacked some big brands into its purse, including Wal-Mart, P&G, Tyson Foods and Hershey’s. During a year when many big agencies were choking on the recession storm that swept America, Tomlin’s lean and unique business model has kept Rockfish Interactive afloat and growing. So why have biggies like Wal-Mart (which usually works with large agencies like Martin Agency and R/GA), chosen Rockfish to conceive and implement their online marketing initiative? Suraya Bliss, Sr. Director for Communications at Wal-Mart Stores gave the answer to Adage in a recent interview. “They helped us address tough issues, and haven’t lost sight of creativity in the process,” says Bliss, adding that Rockfish helped Wal-Mart with “challenges on the back end as well.”
Bliss is not the only marketer harboring such radical sentiments. While the trend has only now begun catching on in India, big marketers in the US have been favouring small, closely-knit agencies that give them personal attention for sometime now. The fact that they also come 15-20% cheaper than the fancy agencies – with large overheads and swank offices – on Madison Avenue is just an added benefit tipping the scales for recession-hit marketers. And that (recession) is another cause and effect syndrome that is prompting a new craze for agency entrepreneurship in American ad-land. Prompted by layoffs, job insecurities or simply personal dissatisfaction at big agencies, these outfits mostly specialise in digital or social media.
But exceptions like P.J. Pereira and Andrew O’Dell are creating waves too. Both of them quit high-flying executive jobs with big agencies and launched their namesake multidisciplinary agency in San Francisco last year. In an interview, the pair told WSJ: “The problem with most existing ad agencies is that they either have a traditional focus or a digital orientation — and either way, marketers aren’t as well-served as they could be.” They pride themselves on their USP of hiring employees with unusual backgrounds rather than advertising experience, including a wine expert, a music producer, a shark wrestler and a Hollywood screenwriter – some of whom have already delivered award-winning works during the agency’s 18 months. Pereira’s strategy: To think outside the box, one must have people who’ve lived in different boxes! And it works because Pereira has a small team that functions in a casual ambience. Point is, global marketers are increasingly getting convinced by the logic of ‘small is big on delivery’ - Pereira O’Dell has already landed hi-flying clients like toymaker Lego, Pony and the University of Phoenix. The agency’s “strong growth, significant client wins and outstanding creative work” has already landed it the title of ‘Small Agency of the Year’ in AdAge’s first such awards.
Agency consultant Michael Gass believes that there has been a paradigm shift in the manner that small agencies acquire business. Breaking popular perception, he argues that now 80% decision makers find their agency and not the other way round. And if pull is hotter than push in ad-land now, then ‘delivery’ is bound to have more weight than candy floss dressings and plush office decors. Going by recent accolades, awards and new business wins, the small guys are certainly ‘pulling’ in the crowd with their cost effective deliveries, and above all, involved solutions for client problems.
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy
Prof Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM on MF HUSAIN
IIPM Related Links
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
