Thinking. Again.

As another business year ends I find myself reflecting on what the future holds for all of us in the creative industries and more importantly, what we can do best for our clients in these very different times. One thing is certain, everyone is looking for short-term fixes that will cost less and yet bring in the vital revenue to pay the next month's bills. Now more than ever this is the simple need that as creative marketeers we must strive to achieve in everything we do. Gearing our own business to our clients’ needs and not to our own agenda.

With the economy slowly emerging from its depression this is where we are. The people entrusted to sell our clients’ products and services to their consumers. We may look for the rusted signs along the way to reassure us of the progress of our steps, but unlike before there are none. This time the change is for good, but only good for those of us who are willing to change ourselves.

There are of course the agencies that will not be able to align themselves to this new environment, due to the incumbent overheads they cannot reduce or dispose of. Whilst it seemed a good idea to have large commercial premises to arrive at everyday and leave once the day’s work is done, owning or renting ‘Concept House’ is now not such a good idea. The banks agree and won’t even secure an overdraft against the property if you own it and often look for personal guarantees against what they consider a liability and not a capital asset.

Businesses are also demanding a direct contact with the creative doers and thinkers and not managers and administrators. Again this additional middle-tier of people cost both the agency and ultimately the client, often more than the designers, web developers and production teams who in reality do and think the most.

There are some of us who have made the change. Some profoundly and others more progressively. The ‘virtual agency’ is now a reality. I know I own one and it works.

Blame it on PDFs, SKYPE, 100meg broadband, social networking media, smartphones or perhaps its inevitability was born in the demise of the economy and its impact on how we all had to change, like it or not.

Like all industries the creative sector was grossly top heavy. With many projects funded from abundant public sector budgets, property developers’ wallets and a credit fuelled retail sector times were good. But like our clients, we were seduced by the ride and with every rollercoaster you have to get off at the end. It wasn’t long before there were casualties participating in such adrenaline fuelled activities.

But every solution has its day and we now have to ensure we take this opportunity to be as creative in the way we approach our business as we do our next creative brief.

I too am sure that online media will continue to erode traditional methods. As an agency we are now 80% online biased, including all aspects from brand, web, e-comms and through to SEO. With print, press and display media an increasingly rare opportunity to demonstrate our design and copywriting skills. We still regard the brand and its proposition continuing to be our client’s most formidable asset, regardless of its media application. Be it on an exquisitely art directed 96 sheet poster or a three minute YouTube movie. The best ideas still sell.

As before there is as always a cyclic aspect to the journey, but for our own industry this paradigm shift which in my view will be irreversible is here to stay. This time of hand-in-hand challenge and opportunity a time to start thinking again. As after all that's what our clients pay us to do isn't it?