Current advertising agencies make revenue based on a service model charged by number of employees it takes to deliver an agreed scope of work. All IP, thinking and work an agency does on behalf of its clients belong to those clients. Agency long term value is based on reputation, a portfolio of clients’ work and knowledge residing in individuals who might or might not leave.
There is no current ability to build massive data storage populated with agency owned data regarding what’s important to people, how they interact and make decisions. There is no ability to break down the FTE heavy structure and process inherent in making money to action campaigns in 72 hours or less. There is no ability to scale beyond tens of clients. There is no ability to use data collection to normalize between channels and determine a predictability regarding where and how to best spend marketing funds.
Agencies today develop client rosters based on cultural fit, revenue limitations, geographic limitations, reputation. Agencies don’t identify specific categories and set out to become experts in these categories as a cable broadcaster might, because there is no way of amassing long category term IP.
Agencies do not build and curate influencer communities within specific categories with the purpose of creating a category network that is ripe to consume and proliferate publishing.
….. but what if an agency were to throw the rule books out, starting with the business model and organizational structure
