Presented by Tim Williams
ignition consulting group
www.ignitiongroup.com
What Separates the
Best from the Rest
What Makes Great Agencies Great

“In the last decade, the best 10
percent of companies captured more
than 85 percent of the market value
created in the world.”
Chris Zook & James Allen

“There are perhaps as few as 40 or
50 agencies in the United States that
can actually manufacture a good
campaign, and possibly 10 that do it
consistently.”

“Market share has nothing
to do with profitability.”
Herb Kelliher
Founder of Southwest Airlines

Savings through “economies of scale”
= .025%
Source: Study by Professors Alvin Silk And Ernst Berndt, as published in Admap, September 2005

Effect
Cause

Lagging Indicators
Leading Indicators

① Total gross income
② Profit as a percent of gross income
③ Salaries as a percent of gross income
④ Income per employee
LAGGING LEADING
What type of success indicator?

LAGGING LEADING
① Assignments accompanied by good creative briefs
② Clearly defined expectations and scope of work
③ Good orientation program for new associates
④ Regular recognition and feedback
⑤ Work environment that balances privacy with
collaboration
⑥ Leveraging technology for better collaboration
What type of success indicator?

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
1.
They are purpose
maximizers, not just profit
maximizers.

The market
The competition
The numbers
The client
OUTSIDE INSIDE

“The 50 fastest growing
brands in America have one
important thing in common:
they have all committed
themselves to an ideal that
transcends making money.”

“Average companies give their people
something to work on. The most
successful organizations give their
people something to work toward.”

7 to 1
Purpose-driven companies
outperform traditional
companies by up to

“Every person should feel that he or
she is contributing to something
that will actually make a genuine
and positive difference in the lives
of customers and colleagues.”
Gary Hamel
London School of Economics
Author, “Leading the Revolution”

THE BIG IDEA
THE BIG IDEAL

“Our purpose is to create and perpetuate
Lovemarks in order to connect, transform,
and empower the people in the 82 countries
we operate in.
We will demonstrate that to be sustainable in
the new century, enterprises need to take on
an emotional dimension.”
Kevin Roberts
CEO

To create and own ideas and products
that allow us to share in our clients’ success.

To be a catalyst
for changing
popular culture.

“Profit isn’t the purpose of a
business, but rather a test of
its validity.”
Peter Drucker

BHAG

So how good do you want to be?
Pretty good.
Good.
Very good.
The best in your region.
The best in the
world.Source: Paul Arden, “It’s Not How Good You Are,It’s How Good You Want To Be.”

Why do creative professionals work?
Richard Florida
Author, “Rise of the Creative Class”
10. Location and community
9. Organizational culture
8. Exciting job content
7. Stimulating colleagues and bosses
6. Peer recognition
5. Professional development
4. Money
3. Stable work environment
2. Flexibility
1. Challenge and responsibility

“A big problem with working at ad
agencies is that management is too often
unwilling to stand up for their own
people if it means taking on the client.”
74% agree
Study of advertising professionals by Euro RSCG

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
2.
They draw lines in the sand.

The things we
will never do
The things we
will always do

Principles = Rules of Engagement

The best ideas emerge when the whole
organizational ecosystem has room to
experiment.
Ideas should not be favored based on
who creates them.

§ Charge for outcomes instead of time.
§ Put some skin in the game.
§ Focus on building a catalog of intellectual
property.
§ Allow individual employees to keep some
ownership of great ideas.

BMD
Bruce Mau Design
AN INCOMPLETE MANIFESTRO FOR GROWTH
Make mistakes faster.
Don’t enter award competitions.
Avoid software.
Don’t clean your desk.

Strong principles create a culture of self-governance

“A principle isn’t a
principle until it costs
you money.”
Bill Bernbach

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
3.
They stand for something
instead of trying to
stand for everything.

While 80% of executives feel their
offering is highly differentiated,
only 8% of their customers actually
agree with them.
THE CONFIRMATION BIAS
James Allen, Closing the Delivery Gap (Boston: Bain & Company)

“The common failing among
agencies seeking new business
is their inability or unwillingness
to name what they stand for.”
Agency search consultancy

Local Generalist National Specialist

① Full service
② Integrated
③ Wide range of experience
④ Strategic
⑤ Team approach
⑥ Creative thinking
⑦ Senior people
⑧ Marketing partner
⑨ Awards
⑩ Results
TOP 10 THINGS AGENCIES SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES

Most common topics in agency
self-promotion materials
Most common topics clients say
they are least interested in
x Staff size
x Billings
x Years in business
x Number of offices
x Departments and
disciplines
x Agency growth history
x Staff size
x Billings
x Years in business
x Number of offices
x Departments and
disciplines
x Agency growth history

Minimize the areas in which
you are a commodity.
Maximize the areas in which
you can be a brand.

Not a capabilities presentation,
but a point of view presentation.

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
4.
They optimize their work
at the front end to get better
work at the back end.

“There’s never enough time to do
it right the first time, but there’s
always enough time to do it
over.”
Anonymous Copywriter

A rush job is done so fast the client perceives it as less valuable
A rush job often leads to needing freelancers (money the agency
doesn’t earn)
A rush job doesn’t allow time for the agency to propose better ideas
A rush job leads to agency error
A rush job causes rework because of lack of complete information

Information and
insights provided
Productive work
that gets done
Source: Steve McConnel: Software Project Survival Guide
Information and
insights provided
Productive work
that gets done
Time

✚ Clarifying client expectations
✚ Clearly defining scope of work
✚ Collecting more complete information
✚ Writing more complete briefs
✚ Giving better briefings
✚ Breaking out work in phases
✚ Previewing the direction with the client
✚ Avoiding false starts
The best agencies do the best job
on the front-end process

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
5.
They spend their ideation
time on ideas, not execution.

“The Schenck Manifesto”
Advertising Columnist Ernie Schenck
Communication Arts
8. Art directors will not be permitted to use Photoshop
until an actual concept has been determined.
25. Copywriters shall glue their laptops shut for a period
of one month during which they will reacquaint
themselves with a pad of paper and a No. 2 pencil.

.vs

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
6.
They have redefined the
meaning of “work.”

WORK = PEOPLE AT DESKS?

Everybody has a job and
every job has a body.
Each position has a
contract that describes
desired outcomes.
Compensation and
advancement are
determined by outcomes
met, not hours worked.

BIG BRAINS
small machine

BIG BRAINS
small machine

BIG BRAINS
small machine

BIG BRAINS
small machine

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
7.
They have made digital
a competency instead of
a department.

“Our goal is to
be unrecognizable
12 months from now.”
Quoted in Adweek, January 2006

“Digital can no longer be someone else’s responsibility;
it must be all of ours. We ask you to become a part of
the future of our organization – a future where our
consumers are already living, where everything we do
will inherently be digital, and where there will be no
differentiation between the ideas we create and the
means that power them.
It’s time to abandon outdated notions around digital
and whose job it is; time to jettison the idea of a
walled-off digital department. Digital must be infused
into everything that we do across our companies.”

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
8.
They just keep coming
back with better work.

Compromise?

“The greatest enemy of brilliant work is the loss of
perspective. As work undergoes changes and
revisions, it can be transformed beyond recognition.
Be honest with yourself. Is this still great work? If
not, make your best appeal and then throw it away.”

“Just keep coming back
with better work.”
Lee Clow
TBWA/Chiat/Day

“We don’t believe the process of
creating advertising has to be
painful. We have absolutely no
desire to come to work and spend
the day arguing with our clients.
What we do have is an ability to
work very hard until everybody is
satisfied. This is our belief. This is
the way we work.”

WIN-WIN OR NO DEAL
Both parties have to be
satisfied with the work.

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
9.
They cast people in roles
that make the most of
their strengths.

Percent of Americans who feel miscast in their job?
85%

Where there are peaks,
there are valleys.
People with outstanding strengths
have outstanding weaknesses.

WHAT SEPARATES THE BEST FROM THE REST
10.
They walk their talk.

“Without execution,
there is no strategy.”

Agency
Initiatives
Lack of Time
Lack of
Resources
Lack of
KnowledgeLack of Desire
Lack of
Accountability
Why do agencies
often fail to work
on their own
brands?

Most professionals are too busy working
on yesterday’s problems instead of
optimizing tomorrow’s opportunities.
STARVE THE PROBLEMS,
FEED THE OPPORUNITIES.
Peter Drucker

How do you do it?
(Do you want to do it?)
How long will it take?
(How much do you want to do it?)
How much will it cost?
(What’s it worth to you?)
How do you get these other people to do it?
(Do you want to do it?)
How have others done it?
(Are you up to the challenge of doing it yourself?)

“There is always time to do things that
really matter. If we don’t have time to do
something, it’s a sign that it doesn’t
matter.
“If we love going fast, then we need to
ask what we are postponing. If we claim
that going fast isn’t our choice, but is a
dictate of our world, then we have yet to
claim our freedom.”
Peter Block

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