Whilst George Bush was riding high on the narrative of the first Gulf War, Bill Clinton beat him flat out in the 1992 presidential election with one key observation: “It’s the economy, stupid!”
I dare say that in our industry, “it’s the creativity, stupid!” and here is why:
We have been facing the following trends for at least 10 years, with an acceleration post-COVID in 2020
- Continuous cost cutting to the point where clients are sometimes sitting on piles of cash saved, not knowing what to do with it
- Endless digital media fragmentation where almost every individual is now both considered media and a target.
- Ridiculous measurement expectations whereby anyone can expect an ROI on anything, including the color of their underwear.
If you add to the mix AI, which will have the effect of steroids on the three aforementioned trends, I will let you imagine the state of our business in the coming months…
In response to that, we have two operational strategies from the top two holding companies reporting in Q2:
For Publicis, it is clearly an expansion claiming to match anything the future may throw at us. It’s basically, “We know what the future is. Just trust our crystal ball.”
For Omnicom it is more pragmatic. It is less about predicting the future, and more about simplifying it across their organization.
I personally believe the two options are unfortunately tactical. The narratives may please Wall Street temporarily, but they will not help brands grow significantly. On the one side, nobody has a clue what the future holds for us. On the other, simplification is a good option, provided you stand for something and give it a strategic direction. In reality, simplification at Omnicom has translated into massive layoffs targeted at increasing the stock price vs any real client interest and brand growth.
Both companies seem to have forgotten where they came from: They are creative industries at the core, whether they like it or not. What made them, and what still makes them unique, are creative solutions to business problems. Creativity is extremely scarce. it is gold! This is precisely what differentiates our industry from any other, especially the consultants. Creativity is possibly the best strategy to address the future, because it can actually mold it. Creativity is a formidable way to simplify a business if we build it around it with a direction. It is the only true and viable business purpose for this industry. Instead we have turned it a shameful word vis-à-vis every possible stakeholder! It now sits disgracefully in the basement of the Palais des Festivals during the Cannes Lions!
Whilst I understand the power of technology and the complexity of the current system, I strongly believe, that only creativity can actually build brands and contribute to their growth. Anything else is pure tactics and wishful thinking. Bill Bernbach said “creativity is the most powerful force in business” a while ago. The winning holding company will be the first one to actually remember that. I am sure it will happen very soon, simply because the current situation for brands has reached a dead end. Brands have been stuck for the past 10-15 years with dismal growth expecting tech miracles and snake oil to get them out of their misery. Tech and simplified systems are only functional enablers. Let’s go back to the drawing board with creativity as the driver. It is now time to cut through the BS and finally acknowledge that it’s the creativity, stupid!
#makeadvertisinggreatagain
