Here at Full Contact, everyone in the agency brings a different experience from working in a variety of facets of the greater marketing world. We have folks hailing from experiential agencies planning big events for big brands, global holding companies working with clients with some of the largest budgets, in-house experience, smaller boutique agencies, and even work outside of the traditional advertising industry.
We are all very grateful for the diverse background and the experience that was gleaned at each stop along our professional paths. It kept us curious to learn new things and, more importantly, continued to challenge how we looked at our clients’ marketing opportunities.
A Fluid Landscape
Something else this range of experience prepared us for was the fluid landscape of today’s marketing world. In a recent article for AdAge, Maureen Morrison notes the changes that agencies have had to weather in the last decade. Some obvious transitions include the shift to digital for advertising and marketing, but there were a few, more subtle, changes that occurred–especially during the recession.
The role of the Account Executive has undergone the most substantial change as clients decreased budgets and agencies trimmed the fat to keep their budgets lean. The result was fewer agency professionals on the front lines of relationship management, but also the discovery that creativity can come from anywhere. It’s not about briefing the creative team and waiting for them to come back with the campaign – now we see creative thinking also coming from media, PR and yes, even the account team.
Diversify and Reapply
It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change. -Charles Darwin
At Full Contact, we understand that diversifying the roles of our professionals means reapplying the knowledge we have in new ways, and thinking differently about how to best serve our clients. One way we look adaptability in the eye is to gather as a group for monthly inspiration sessions. Sometimes we talk about interesting advertising campaigns that inspire us, but more often it’s just a discussion of things we’ve seen that are compelling, cool, shocking, or otherwise notable.
Our people are our greatest asset, and they are all brilliant thinkers. To pigeon hole each into a rigid job description is not only squandering our resources, but it’s also failing to adapt to the new, more fluid landscape of marketing. Our inspiration sessions challenge the traditional process and help focus the blurring lines between marketing disciplines as agencies specialize less and deliver more.
As we break down the barriers between the roles within our agency, and the more we put our brilliant thinkers in one room without restricting their paths, the better all of our work will be.