It’s time for agencies to cut the shit and embrace the hybrid
Agencies need to start embracing people with across-the-board experience in advertising rather than siloed specialists to become sustainable argues Andrew Cornale.
Coming from a diverse digital background, I’ve been in a number of different agencies (creative, advertising and marketing) and have seen how they operate. Some experiences were good, some not so good but one thing that I picked up is that the industry is filled with so much bullshit, it’s unbelievable.
Quite often, I’ve attended meetings where strategists are arguing with UX designers who are competing with project managers in a game of buzzword bingo while the client is sitting at the end of the boardroom table with a confused look on their face. Egotistical hierarchies, cumbersome processes and oversized structures are seen too often in an industry that thinks it’s embracing digital but is still trying to grasp the concept.
I find it quite concerning that still in this day and age, hybrid talent isn’t embraced to it’s full extent. While I appreciate the need to hire a specialist in any field, why is it that managers are still “pigeonholing” staff into narrow roles?
Jack of all trades, master of none?
Rare breed these hybrids you speak of, the talent pool as been trained in speciality over decades of “this is just how we do it” style approach.
Full stack developers are definitely one area of potential, as are UX/CX/Designers.
RIGHT ON. Could not agree more. As a hybrid myself, I’m that rare breed. Glad to see there are SOME people out there that believe we exist.
@Stu
Agree 100% – good talent is hard to find.
Obviously a precaution with hybrid talent is the whole jack of all trades thing. I think it’s important to combine skills that can be easily linked. Like design / UX, Development / Digital Production, Full Stack Development etc.
Willingness to learn is key.
@Sammy
Nice one! Good to hear you agree 🙂
So many great points in here Andrew! Cut the ‘who can out jargon the next guy’ act and get the work done, AND then deliver results. Now let’s all take a moment to imagine a client that was a hybrid. Ha!
“Client” often is the beginning of the domino effect. Often the client has not the expertise to even get the right brief up.” Marketing managers” who seem to exist in a vacuum where they do not even basic terms about Advertising, IT or Design. If only companies would send in a hybrid themselves!
@Andrew this is good in theory within perhaps a small part of an agency with a small workload – try scaling a business that works smoothly this way?
You’ll also run into problems with continued skill development. If you are trying to stay ahead of the curve and develop skills across all disciplines then how do you ever truly get good at anything?
Advertisers deserve specialists. That is why they pay agencies. If they wanted a jack of all trades hybrid worker, they’d simply hire internally and control the process themselves without any outside assistance, cost or help.
@JD
I get what you’re saying but I still disagree.
The preconceived idea that a hybrid can’t offer a specialist skill set to a client is the exact bullshit I’m talking about. I’m not suggesting a large agency full of “jack of all trades” but rather an agency where crossover skills are embraced.
There’s no reason why a Digital Designer can’t specialise in their field but also pertain good project management skills so they can run their own projects. Or a UX specialist that has crossover design skills and can help with overflow. These are just a few examples.
What’s the difference between “creative, advertising and marketing” agencies?
Feels like much of the above could be addressed with good suits and an agile methodology.
Andrew has worked with my companies for years. Big projects. Smaller projects. The andrew and his team – they are commit to what they can do well and deliver well.
He’s a young guys starting a business with a strong Point of view that won’t sit well with highly retained agencies.
If a business isn’t ‘digital’, it’s not sustainable.
If businesses don’t skill up on ‘digital’ they will have to rely on trust.
If businesses trust an agency that doesn’t understand, deliver and maintain a ‘digital’ offer as part of an overarching brand communication strategy then they get what they deserve.
There are unicorns. Agencies that can deliver unbiased, media neutral, integrated communication solutions, but clients sometimes prefer to task their ‘advertising agency’ with management of the process (and the agency by ‘adding value’ to the process add extra revenue).
Or worse, there PR agency with their ‘social’ strategy – lol.
It’s time ‘digital agencies’ woke up and smelled the coffee. They should hire all round marketing communications strategists and delivered all round marketing communications. Here’s why.
To some clients (the ones that didn’t invest / skill up) ‘Digital’ is rocket science. But ‘traditional ‘advertising’ isn’t. That’s the opportunity.
A digital tail wagging the traditional dog.
Drop ‘digital’ from the ‘positioning’, hire skilled traditional comms expertise and then deliver digitally driven holistic solutions.
We do.
There are many ‘agencies’ that already operate like this. Some do well, some don’t.
Just like there are clients who believe the current agency ‘model’ works and those who don’t. Like all good ideas, it’s better to demonstrate, than claim. So, just get on with proving the naysayers wrong and your supporters right. Good luck.
I believe that Andrew makes some valid points, particularly around layers and structures, which when streamlined can create cost and time efficiencies, and actually improve output.
I don’t know if ‘Jack of all trades’ or ‘hybrid’ is the right term or phrase, but I believe people who have a strong slant in one discipline but have experience and appreciation across other disciplines are the jackpot talent, as they seem to apply their core skill much more effectively. As an example a ux designer who has experience with technical development and has had some client face-time will produce smarter, more robust experiences than someone who has done nothing but ux. There’s something to say about this professional worldliness some people bring – I think as a business greater exposure for team members across departments can be a great thing.
On a personal note, I’ve learnt more in 3yrs as a CD working with my business partners who are all ex senior client side marketers than I have in my entire career. And I would like to think that has happened in return for them as well.
Mate – chill the f out. Yes the old thing is old, and endlessly frustrating, and yes the new thing is sooo much better, but maybe, just maybe, if you flick that chip off your shoulder, people might respect and value you for the incredibly special person you clearly believe you are.
@ChillPill
It’s clear that my “point of view” has touched a nerve. If you want to chat about it further, feel free to drop me a line: andrew@impulsedigital.com.au
I somewhat agree with you Andrew, but a better model to my mind is to hire people who understand and respect each role within the agency / agency partners and let them get on with their job.
At the moment we have too many people who think they can do everyone else’s job, yet they do their own jobs poorly and in the process, frustrate the people or partners hired to do their bit.
You have media companies coming to presentations with creative concepts. Digital agencies coming in with above-the-line ideas. PR agencies coming to meetings with social strategies. Activations agencies presenting web banners. And the worst, advertising agencies not only doing everything in their presentation (and therefore making the above-the-line component weaker), but also presenting product ideas to the client.
It’s screwed, and if you can hire hybrids to do the work of three and cut costs, great, but specialists will give the best job – provided they’re focused on their area of expertise.
It seems pretty obvious that digital is still being massively misunderstood and undervalued, I’m not sure what the problem is with Aussies but they just won’t get it through their heads that times have changed – there is a huge inertia in the Australian business community with legions of businesses that treat ‘the internet’ like a secondary consideration-gawd, how can 3.5 billion people represent a secondary consideration, along with everyone owning smartphones and looking up everything from nightclubs to mowing services – hybrids are at least going to be online literate, so that is a step in the right direction.