We devote a chapter in the book to some general musings about the impact of consumer empowerment on marketing services agencies and the pros and cons of different agency models. I had the opportunity yesterday to put a new agency model to the test on a real live brief. I was invited (actually my writing partner David was, but he dropped out) to join Amelia Torode’s team of so called digital ‘misfits’ at the IPA Fast Strategy Conference. We given a real live Honda brief and forced to compete against two other teams – one based on a traditional agency model of planner (John Tipple), creative (Dave Trott no less) and media (George Michaelides and his team) and the other based on some of London’s highest profile creative directors.
Fortunately for all you other digital misfits out there we won. The key learning for me was how refreshing it was to be part of a team of ‘misfits’. There were no fixed roles – we all appeared comfortable migrating between analytical, strategic and creative tasks – and the word ‘advertising’ was barely mentioned. It may not be the model for the agency of the future, but it was definitely an enjoyable experience. Well done to my fellow team mates – Yusuf, Adil, the other Martin and of course, Amelia. Misfits rule the world.