Art, copy & code

If you asked someone in 1973 what the agency of 2013 would look like, they would have given an answer that completely neglected the Internet given it was barely an idea at the time. So if the future is unpredictable what are we certain will never change about this business? The need for creative people and cultural insight and the ability to tell interesting and persuasive stories that sell things. What will be different is the range of creative talent we employ and how we tell stories.

The talent pool at agencies has remained the same for sometime. The same types of people fill agencies the world over. As technology creeps into just about everything we do people do, we can’t rely on TV scripts to sell things anymore. We need ideas that are more than advertising, and for that we need new people.

In 2013 we were introduced to Art, Copy & Code, the pairing of a digital expert with the traditional creative team. This expert is tasked with extending brands into the multiple dimensions and touch points that the modern web offers. The goal: create deeper more valuable relationships between brands and people. A successful brand in 2053 is a brand that offers real tools that improve people’s lives by solving their problems. A Nike+ or FitBit device with accurate actionable output, a Colgate app that tracks your dental hygiene, a supermarket that creates a nutrition plan and shopping list of food you like.

Getting to the bottom of business problems for brands won’t require advertising and communication experts. Creative talent from other backgrounds will be the people solving these problems. Agencies will need to look outside of the advertising talent pool to find these people. Platforms like Gap Jumpers are already bringing new talent together with agencies to ask questions and solve problems together.

Beyond the creative output, we also need creative people to innovate on the current business model of advertising. Companies like Google and Facebook are able to offer rich consumer data directly to brands, short cutting the agency impacting our bottom line. Victors & Spoils are an agency already challenging the current model by founding themselves on crowdsourcing principles. The result: smart business, great work. Successful players in any industry need to hustle.

Jay-Z, the music industries most iconic hustler pulled off one of his most innovative deals this year when he sold 1 million records to Samsung, technically going platinum, 3 days before his album MCHG even dropped. Not only is this an example of an innovative new partnership between brand and cultural icon, it is also a testament to how thinking outside the traditional model of your own industry can be incredibly rewarding.

What does this all mean? It means that in 2053 advertising agencies won’t look much like advertising agencies anymore. They’ll be creative companies filled with coders and copywriters, developers and designers, human scientists and hustlers. This group of hyper-talented individuals will guarantee brands are able to offer meaningful experiences and tools to people that compliment their products and keep people coming back.

Carsten Pruijs, Strategist, 72andSunny Amsterdam
Lees eerdere bijdragen in de online jubileumeditie van Adformatie.