We Must Evolve
Do Not Be Afraid to Change the Way You Think and Activate Ideas
I recently made this post on PJA’s blog, the Bow & Arrow.
I recently read an article in Business Insider about how Facebook’s video ads will cost more than what the networks charge for a Super Bowl spot. The article forced me to think back to my college career goals that I had set my senior year. I remember the number one goal, of course, being to work on a Super Bowl commercial—the ultimate accomplishment. It is the one day a year that consumers actually look forward to watching commercials. It meant my work would be seen by millions of viewers. It would be talked about and maybe even pick up a few awards along the way.
Fast forward a decade…. I have accomplished many of the goals I listed, but I never have been part of creating a Super Bowl commercial … and I am not bothered by that.
After college, I fell into Digital marketing. I knew little about it. I took a job at a small agency because I thought it would hold me over until I was able to handle a major broadcast driven account. I quickly realized that Digital was not a “trend” that was going away. It wasn’t a step back but rather an opportunity to move forward in a new direction.
At that moment what was happening in the industry was unprecedented. Clients were innovating with new tools, agencies were changing their models, this little thing called Facebook was emerging as the leading social platform, mobile was reinventing itself, and budgets (slowly) were shifting from traditional advertising into Digital. This series of changes called for agency folks to rethink what their clients needed to succeed. They needed partners to help them figure out the hard stuff.
At that time, I realized a Super Bowl spot would not define my future in advertising. My value would come from partnering with my clients to figure how to drive their organizations into becoming digital leaders. I had to help my clients evolve to meet the new needs their audiences were demanding. This naturally brought a sense of energy and excitement that was more than any commercial could create.
Think back to the most recent Super Bowl. Yes, we still talked about the commercials, but months later I still see blog posts and articles about Oreo’s response to the black out. A simple idea that leveraged social, backed by supportive clients resulting in pure marketing genius. This response received positive attention, was seen by many, and was much more effective than Oreo’s actual Super Bowl commercial. Why? It was unexpected and innovative. Oreo knew leading up to the Super Bowl they had to evolve their strategy in order to engage the target. The black out was just a lucky break!
Television still plays a huge role in advertising and will continue to do so. The difference is that today commercials must now support a richer integrated experience.
Moving forward, it is imperative we all remain innovative and take advantage of new opportunities. We must be willing to evolve in the way we think and the way we activate our ideas. In the end, this may result in the evolution of our own career goals along the way. Today, mine remain open ended because in another decade I have no doubt things will be very different.
