// what do you think?

Biz

Sometime’s it sucks being ahead of the curve

By ⋅ February 13, 2008 ⋅ Post a comment
Filed Under  , ,

In my previous post on Death of an Agency. I pointed out *one* of the major flaws in our business plan is that we were too far ahead of the market (especially for being in Boise). Pretty much all of my life I’ve been ahead of the curve.

Usually those of us that are early adopters enjoy being out ahead. We like the wild frontier and if everyone else is doing something, we’re bored with it. It’s just the way we are. And you have it for everything; music, fashion, business, technology.

But sometimes it sucks being ahead of the curve. Your favorite indie band sells out. EVERYONE in the hipster coffee shop has the same white laptop you had last year. Your favorite skate clothing brand starts selling in the mall and being bought by a bunch of stupid jocks… but I digress.

There’s an interesting new report from Forrester by Peter Kim that addresses what the future agency will look like. Not only does it point out trends that many of you reading my blog are already aware of but takes it a step further to identify how agencies need to adapt.

It really is a great report and I still have to wrap my head around all of the implications. The one thing it did tell me though was that BlueLine was *trying* to be a 2013 agency in a 2007 world.

Being Peter Kim: The Connected Agency

The executive summary of the research: Today’s agencies fail to help marketers engage with consumers, who, as a result, are becoming less brand-loyal and more trusting of each other. To turn the tide, marketers will move to the Connected Agency — one that shifts: from making messages to nurturing consumer connections; from delivering push to creating pull interactions; and from orchestrating campaigns to facilitating conversations. Over the next five years, traditional agencies will make this shift; they will start by connecting with consumer communities and will eventually become an integral part of them.

Technorati Tags: ,

Similar Posts:

Share This Post
  • Facebook
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Diigo
  • Posterous
  • Tumblr
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Scridb filter

About Tac

Social media anthropologist. Communications strategist. Business model junkie. Chief blogger here at New Comm Biz.

Visit Tac Anderson's Website   |  
  • http://www.georgeseybold.com George Seybold

    There is a type of development work done that you may have heard of - agile development. One of the methods that makes up agile is the daily scrum meeting which identifies what can be accomplished in a single day and what will be delivered to the client that day. As you consider the article mentioned, consider what an agency / client relationship looks like if deployed in an agile method or framework. i.e. real-time deployment of deliverables that are responding to community feedback in fast-time. The agency as a part of the community becomes empowered to deliver the bite-sized chunks that are most valuable to the community.

    Next thought.
    The agency grows the business in parallel to the customer in this model. As a true partner the agency’s revenue is tied and grown with the communities adoption of the space. In addition, the acquisition and development of relevant brand participation in the community becomes the economic driver leaving the ad unit to evolve from a passive instrument to a active asset in the community.

    For example: an HP printer icon is placed next to photos a recent concert. The icon when clicked initiates a screen that says - you can print to your own printer, or you can use snapfish to do your printing. The utility is a value-add to the consumer, but the HP sponsorship is both relevant and drives usage of their property - snapfish.

  • http://www.georgeseybold.com George Seybold

    There is a type of development work done that you may have heard of - agile development. One of the methods that makes up agile is the daily scrum meeting which identifies what can be accomplished in a single day and what will be delivered to the client that day. As you consider the article mentioned, consider what an agency / client relationship looks like if deployed in an agile method or framework. i.e. real-time deployment of deliverables that are responding to community feedback in fast-time. The agency as a part of the community becomes empowered to deliver the bite-sized chunks that are most valuable to the community.

    Next thought.
    The agency grows the business in parallel to the customer in this model. As a true partner the agency’s revenue is tied and grown with the communities adoption of the space. In addition, the acquisition and development of relevant brand participation in the community becomes the economic driver leaving the ad unit to evolve from a passive instrument to a active asset in the community.

    For example: an HP printer icon is placed next to photos a recent concert. The icon when clicked initiates a screen that says - you can print to your own printer, or you can use snapfish to do your printing. The utility is a value-add to the consumer, but the HP sponsorship is both relevant and drives usage of their property - snapfish.

  • http://www.righteousrodent.com Brian

    Amen… it only feeds the ego to be ahead of the curve too far and leaves the children hungry.

  • http://www.righteousrodent.com Brian

    Amen… it only feeds the ego to be ahead of the curve too far and leaves the children hungry.

  • http://mpccorpmarketing.wordpress.com Jen Harris

    Giving you a shout at
    http://mpccorpmarketing.wordpress.com/
    :)
    jen

  • http://mpccorpmarketing.wordpress.com Jen Harris

    Giving you a shout at
    http://mpccorpmarketing.wordpress.com/
    :)
    jen

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com/blogger-burnout-give-up-or-dig-in/ Blogger burnout? Give up or dig in. - New Comm Biz - New media strategies for business

    [...] may come across as harsh but I’ve dealt with this cycle my whole life.  While I am ranting a bit my comments aren’t meant to bash anyone more to [...]

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com/izeas-no-worse-than-traditional-advertising/ IZEA’s no worse than traditional advertising - New Comm Biz - New media strategies for business

    [...] may come across as harsh but I’ve dealt with this cycle my whole life.  While I am ranting a bit my comments aren’t meant to bash anyone more to [...]

  • http://caffeinatedmarketing.com/2009/07/29/blueline-marketing-update/ BlueLine Marketing Update « Caffeinated Marketing

    [...] BlueLine Marketing Update July 29, 2009 Filed under: Cool News (to me), People that are smarter than me — jenharris @ 10:52 pm Tags: Ben Whitaker, Blueline Marketing, Brain Packer, Brian Critchfield, Erik Warila, Flat Planet, John Hardesty, Justin Foster, Kristine Asin, Mike Boss, Rachel Wilson, Sam Swenson, Tac Anderson People are constantly asking me: What ever happened to everyone at BlueLine Marketing?  (and that is usually followed by “what happened TO BlueLine?” and “wow, you guys were WAY ahead of the curve“) [...]

Follow along and stay updated.

Subscribe via RSS

Archives