Macworld is coming to a close (did you see the new keyboard-less laptop?), and CES is getting up and running in Vegas. So technology is on the minds of a lot of people. But how will these conferences fair, and what predictions and new products will they bring? Many are wondering how all of these seemingly superfluous products will do in the economy we're currently in.
Surprisingly (or maybe not), the predictions are that they will do quite well. If you need a bit of proof, walk into the huddled masses in any Apple store. There are no slow-downs there. In fact, they're working overtime lately. Of course, that's just one proof point. I'm sure there are others that are not doing as well. However, the underlying theory here is that even in bad times, historically, people still seek entertainment. They may just look to replace more expensive entertainment with less-expensive entertainment. So, as the theory goes, families that may not be packing up the family and taking a week vacation in Florida and visiting Disney World still will look to entertain themselves somehow in the home. That could mean a new Blu-Ray Player, or computer, etc. Technology is at the heart of the entertainment at home phenomenon. Well, after Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers.
Here comes the jump... hang with me. So what does this mean for small agencies looking to stay afloat in these economic times?
Marketing is, unfortunately, one of those superfluous things that do get cut in hard times. We all know that it is precisely the opposite that needs to take place. If there was ever a time to have a better relationship with consumers, it's during the times when they want to button up their wallets and stay home (perhaps playing Scene-It on their new Blu-Ray Player?). And even the companies that do cut, know that they shouldn't and worry about their choice, thinking that they don't have other options.
But they do. Marketing, in and of itself, is not the superfluous thing. It's not the luxury that can be easily done without for a while until things get better. It's what the marketing dollars are being spent on. The luxury today is the big agency (and the big agency price tag). The luxury today is the marketing tactics that do little incremental benefit in the campaign. We've been noticing non-profits looking at their budgets and moving dollars that used to be spent on PSA campaigns that air on television and radio and moving them into social media. We've seen companies look to pull away from full-page ads in industry magazines and look to SEM and other digital marketing strategies. They're making the cuts in dollars, but aren't sacrificing the exposure that they would suffer if they completely shut down the marketing "machine."
And what about the large agencies? Well, that's the good news for smaller agencies. Anyone that has gone toe-to-toe with larger agencies has undoubtedly heard the client use some variation of the phrase: "no one ever got fired for hiring IBM." I talked about this in an earlier posting. But now, that brand name of the large agency doesn't seem to be worth the dollars in this economy. The "laziness" of picking the known name isn't the default mode anymore. If given the choice between no marketing, and trying a smaller agency that can promise great results for half the price, companies are starting to look at the smaller agency.
What's even more interesting, is that if they get similar (or better) results in these "experiments" with the smaller agencies in these lean times, they just may never go back to the large agency. Paying for the high-end rent, and feeding the global holding company's bonus pool may not be worth the brand name anymore. Lean times or not.
So, small agencies, here is your shot. Being creative, using social media and digital/online marketing to it's fullest, and aggressively going after the big agencies (and their untouchable clients) may just pay off. But you have to show value. You have to execute, and you have to shine. If small agencies can't "hack it" in these experiments from the big companies, they may not have a reason to come back. It's a fine line.
It's your time to shine. Make it count.
(Photo: Flickr-Osvaldo)
