Darryl Patterson

“In order to open up a dialog between the consumer and the brand, communication must be 2-way and transparent – you have to take the good with the bad.” Ad agencies have been saying this to their clients – that open communication is the key to getting social media to work. And we all know this to be true. It shows an honesty from the brand that tells the consumer that the company behind the brand really does care and that they are listening. As it turns out, our clients have been listening. So much so, that they expect the same kind of transparency from their agencies. But transparency is generally the domain of the smaller local & private agencies. The big global ad agencies feel that the risk is just too big to allow people to say both good and bad things about their work. This is why the industry needs sites like I Have An Idea and The Ads of the World, so that people can post open and honest commentary about what ad agencies are doing.

Clients are looking their agencies in the eye, telling them what they want. The agencies in turn are simply turning out the same old same old. The clients are leap-frogging past the agencies and the agencies are getting left behind. The clients are running ahead and the agencies can’t keep up – a position that agencies are not use to and just can’t figure out how they got there and how to get back into the lead. The video Advertiser vs Consumer is so true. Every agency was showing that video in their boardrooms and in their client’s boardrooms… and they were all laughing together. The irony is that while the agencies were laughing, everyone else was laughing at them. Like that guy who’s the butt of the joke, but laughs along oblivious to the fact the he’s the one being laughed at. Even digital agencies are becoming what I call Traditional Digital Agencies – meaning, they are not embracing the new technologies that are emerging, still thinking that banner ads and microsites are relevant.

Enter CP+B – the shining jewel in the ad industry right now. The newest iteration of their website is open and honest, and it uses the many social tools available on the web. They might not be the first agency to take this approach, but they certainly have a big spotlight on them for the great work they do. When they launch a new site that follows the mantra that ad agencies have been feeding to their clients, well, the industry listens. And listen they have – the comments are being flung (good and bad) and the amount of media coverage they’re getting in this industry is bringing ever more attention to CP+B. Ad agencies have a hard enough time being open, honest & transparent within their own walls, let alone with clients, potential clients and peers… well maybe less so with peers. CP+B is taking a risk, one that I think will pay off.

There are very few real agency leaders these days. Yes, it’s a cliche, but agencies need to start taking their own advice: take risks, maybe you’ll build something beautiful for both your clients and yourself. Then again, maybe you won’t. But you and your client will both be better off for trying.