2016 was a year of humiliation for adland. Will 2017 be a year of hope?
2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, has also been a worrying year for adland with fake apps winning at Cannes and media agency transparency under the spotlight. In this guest post, Mark Hadfield suggests that 2017 will be a year of hope.
Let’s start off with some honesty. The hard work, commitment and creative ambitions that you’ve put your energies into this year have been affected by scam work from other agencies.
It might seem like an over claim, but whether it’s been through the eyes of an awards judge, a client review or within your own agency, the way people now view your creative work has changed. It’s a more cynically-minded audience now as people try and root out the cheaters.
And the sad truth is, the industry has brought it on itself.
The insatiable clamour for awards has led to some agencies and networks going to morally questionable lengths to climb the rankings of the Gunn Report.
I have the same career ambitions as the next person, and it’s nice to feel the work we’ve put our energies into might stand a chance in being recognised by our peers and clients for the impact it’s had on culture and business. Yet I’ve never worked on scam work to achieve that aim.
And I’ve never seen it or heard of it in the Iris network, because the simple fact is we’re too busy trying to sell things for our clients. And that’s the first thing I hope changes in 2017 – we need to put the emphasis squarely back on business impact when recognising and awarding work.
To achieve that I believe awards categories should be split to separate cause related work from sales-driving work.
A scam is a scam is a scam. And cause-related work is important for sure, but I don’t remember much sales-driving work being exposed as scam.
To denigrate cause-related work would be wrong, but I feel in the current climate work that actually sells products is being perceived as less valuable to the industry. It’s currently out shadowed by that tear-jerking cause the agency worked pro-bono on to generate 500 billion impressions.
We owe it to ourselves and our clients to ensure we have a fair emphasis on business impact – in both creative and effectiveness awards.
After all, wasn’t it some old bloke with a pipe that once said “we sell or else…”, not “we highlight causes or else…”
Besides scamming seemingly reaching its peak in 2016, it’s also not been the proudest year for a few agency networks has it?
Whether you’re working your staff to death, keeping a bunch of brown envelopes under your media agency desk or washing your alleged misogynistic laundry in public, 2016 is probably a year that some of you are looking forward to saying goodbye to.
The truth is in our industry, doing the right thing is sometimes tough. It’s an industry that can compromise people.
This becomes dangerous when those compromises trickle down from the top, or become part of company culture.
(Add to this the macro context of what’s going on politically in the USA, UK and in some countries in Asia and we’re in danger of extreme and corrupt beliefs and methodologies becoming normalised)
But my naivety powers through and I hope 2017 is the year when the good will win out.
Because we – you and I – are in charge of whether it does or not.
The reality is the vast majority of the people in our industry are hard working, morally sound, ambitious and conscientious people. As department and agency leaders we must ensure these are the people who succeed.
We must look beyond short term financial factors and empower and champion the people we know will not only power our businesses to success, but do it in a way that is right for society.
Unfortunately a minority is disproportionately taking the headlines for their abhorrent working practices.
We need senior decision makers who make the right decisions, for the right reasons.
And we need the people who work under them to hold them to account.
Our industry can do good things for society and for individuals. It can be a place where people value working, where money can be made responsibly and where meaningful creativity is championed. It can create ephemeral and meaningful moments that make a positive impact on the lives of the masses.
So I hope that 2017 is the year we address some of the rot that has grown in the industry in 2016.
It’s up to us.
Mark Hadfield is Asia Pacific planning director of Iris Worldwide
Thanks for a thoughtful and well meaning article.
People who scam (or disguise scam as real work) might think they are gunning for fame and brilliance but all they do is devalue and harm this great profession. Their scam might be “creative”, but when it comes to the real work, the marketplace and clients can see that they are duds. Which is why clients continue to pay lower and lower rates.
This is squarely on the heads of scammers.
The other problem is people who have scammed through their junior and middle-weight years and then stopped once they became ecds …they’re now at the top but they don’t know much about doing real ads….they’re in every agency in town, including your own, Mark.
ReplyThe problem is effectiveness. Cause or Revenue, are you able to sell for your clients? Too bad if you are competing and not winning against a category that the judges and people find themselves attracted too. Your task would be to drive an insight that beats the emotion that the ’cause’ touches on
Sorry, but the world is driven to the ground with consumerism, and awarding more ‘sales’ when the brand can surely and genuinely do some good
Your issue seems to be the inability to compete with a category that has ‘feel’ if scams were are an issue- then surely the award organizers should be able to know a scam from real?
Replyrevolt against the fake, my friend, not try to make the pool smaller.
2016 was a ‘fail’ because:
– The outrageous ego’s involved in awards were exposed
– The award shows themselves were exposed
– The Trump Polls reveal social and online data cannot be relied upon*
Creating outstanding work for real clients, all involved feel proud of still remains the most effective way to operate financially and ethically, long term. Its not complicated.
*The ‘Data Myth’ is the worst as networks have led clients to believe they can invest and bank on top of peoples social interests, likes and behaviors. But what people say and do online is not what they really think and do in real life. Some data like SEO still has value. The Trump Polls have exposed data for what it really is:
A step too far removed from what people really think, believe and do.
ReplyHave your say