Creative Nation is at the vanguard of developments in the agency model. This comes as no surprise to us.

What are we on about? Well, as we mentioned last week, Pitch magazine’s Editors have relaunched the Agency Reputation Survey to address the killer question ‘what do clients want from agencies’?  The immediate response from clients is that creativity and return on investment (ROI) are the prime considerations. As far as we are concerned that is as it should be.

Molson Coors UK chief executive Mark Hunter delivered a dissection of the ills of modern marketing at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Mark’s main point is that ad agencies have been slow to grasp that the ground has shifted beneath their feet. Agencies need to transform every aspect of the way they work as the old certainties of marketing recede into memory. Pitch magazine carries full text of his speech. We’ve distilled his main eight points.

• Understand the changing role of consumers- Agencies must constantly test content, change executions and rework creative treatments for optimal ROI. The “pitched battle” approach to marketing is redundant. We agree, all Creative Nation campaigns and strategies are tested, launched and tested again and if need be, adapted or entirely reworked . . . and fast too!
• Take back ownership of the strategic agenda - Market researchers, brand consultants and futurists have taken a lead on ad agencies by offering clients greater understanding of consumers’ lives. Brands (like Diageo and Unilever) are taking back control of strategy. We at Creative Nation believe that an achievable communications strategy is only possible where knowledge of the consumer is at its heart . . . any other approach is sure to misfire.
• There is no distinction between “above-the-line” and “below-the-line” marketing– So true. As consumers we don’t distinguish between brand touchpoints, do you?  So why should our clients? No. The best approach is, as Creative Nation has experienced, to utilise every touchpoint as part of a tailored strategy; the way we might suggest a client transmit a brand message on film is vastly different to the way we might suggest they do so online for example. Cut your cloth . . . one size does not fit all.
• Develop open sourcing for ideas as a viable financial model – The heart of Creative Nation’s business model is the crowd / open sourcing of ideas; our name, brand and above all our work for our clients shows that this model works.
• Take responsibility for driving a change in pricing models to account for the impact of Digital – Creative Nation is known for it’s realistic pricing and for us digital is an integral part of what we do . . . there has never been a silo mentality in this Creative Nation!
• Outcome based compensation – Creative Nation thrives on a payment by results model. With global brands like Coca-Cola moving towards this model, others are sure to follow. Bring it on!
• Communicate your agencies “value add” – Creative Nation is all about helping create cost- effective content like break bumpers and more besides. We know that compelling content sells like nothing else can; content is king.
• Offer project management plus creative and buying services to minimise overheads – Creative Nation offers project management for pitches and campaigns. We do it because we want to and because we know it delivers the best result for our clients. 

We welcome positive moves towards ROI, realistic pricing, creativity and crowd sourcing. It can only be good for us in terms of more business. As we said last week, it is also great news for clients. We share clients’ belief that the best creativity is affordable, results driven and collaborative.

Phew! All this hard work makes us think of holidays. As we’re so busy and can’t really get away for a while yet we thought we’d share a virtual vacation with you, it’s only 80 seconds long but wow!

Until next time . . . . have a great May Day bank holiday.