I was on vacation last week and got to catch up on some reading that was piling up at home. And guess what I learned? If you can believe it, from what I can tell, this Internet thing is really starting to catch on.
In my stack of reading was the May issue of Business 2.0 magazine; I enjoy many of their articles exploring new technologies and finding new ways to connect with customers – which is what we do at RD2. So I was surprised at an article about the Ad agency BBDO and the Chief Creative Officer David Lubars:
An 800-pound gorilla fights back. Business 2.0 Magazine, May 2007
The reason I was surprised was because here we are in mid-2007 and an Ad agency is being applauded for – get this – being “…reborn…” and “…unorthodox…” as they help clients “…navigate a strange and bewildering new-media landscape.” Yup, Ad agencies have finally heard of the Internet, which they evidently see as strange and bewildering. BBDO’s forward thinking CEO was quoted as saying: “You can’t just buy people’s attention anymore. You must engage them.” Wow, what insight.
OK, I’m being a bit harsh, and I do recognize the forward thinking and creative ways Mr. Lubars has used the Web to help clients explore new frontiers in communications – he was behind the series of famous BMW films back in 2001 which we all pointed to back then as a new way to “engage” the customer, (So I really am a fan).
But my point is this. We live this stuff every day at RD2 and we use, respond to and recommend to clients many new ways to “engage” the customer. The article finally points out what we have been saying for years – you have to think and act in new ways to break thru the clutter and to tap new opportunities for business. The users have really taken over. Not only are there new technologies and tools, made available every day by inventive developers, but now there is also a growing list of new practices by users which in turn triggers new ideas for tools and creates even more opportunities for businesses.
The article also points out that many clients don’t trust their large, lumbering, money hungry (my words not the article’s) Ad agencies to concept and execute these new communications strategies – they many times prefer smaller, specialized firms; did I mention RD2 is a boutique specializing in new marketing technologies?
Send me a letter and I’ll fax you a copy of the article – then we can do lunch over three martinis and…I think I’ve made my point.