What makes a great agency? : Obsessive Insight
This isn’t coherent. It’s a brain dump. I apologise, I may come and edit it as I go but at the moment… Well you’ll have to read on…
Just to recap recently we had an away day at Equator and James did a bit about the elements that he felt make Equator a great agency. I reflected on this and thought I’d add my thoughts. I’m certainly not saying the Equator are the only agency that have have these elements or that it is just digital agencies. I just want to explore it further and hopefully see if you agree no matter what line of work you do.
In a lot of ways the theme that of ‘Obsessive Insight’ surprised me. Not that I didn’t believe it, more that it was something that I knew but wasn’t aware of. Thinking about it for a couple of days it seems very, very obvious.
To do your best work you have to be curious. And that curiosity has to stretch into a whole range of areas. In a digital agency you have to be curious on technology, on advertising, on people, on clients, on your colleagues, on how your kids use the Internet, how your Gran uses the Intertubes, looking at new things, looking at old things. The list goes on and on. You need to stick your nose in and learn.
In a lot of ways obsessive insight is what makes a comedian great. Any great comedian will use obsessive insight to present something that’s everyday, almost mundane and then make it new, fresh and funny. Billy Connolly is a genius at that, Eddie Izzard is also in that same league.
Those extremely talented guys give us insight into everyday things that make us laugh. An agency’s job is to be as talented in providing insight to their clients. Our job is to show a client that something that seems to them everyday, mundane and give them an insight that makes astonished. And to get that insight you have to be curious, you have to be interested and it certainly helps if you love your job.
An example? Well, one of the most recent examples of great insight comes from the recent Sainsburys campaign (thanks for the great article NP) that focuses on an overall objective, learning about their customers then creating a campaign that would engage them. The beauty of the Sainsburys campaign is that it seems such a simple idea, so obvious. It’s the insight that makes it so.
Working in digital gives you a great opportunity to pour over details. We get so much stats about users, referrals, time on site, CPA, OR, etc, etc, etc. This is all good, it gives an insight. However you have to understand people to make the stats come alive, to give you real insight. Stats tell you what people have done but they tend not to tell you why they did it. For that you need insight.
One of the most exciting parts of my job is that I get to learn about new industries, new approaches in other comapnies. By offering insight we can be part of an overall solution. I’ve got a great opportunity at the moment to learn more and more about our clients. I’m reading blogs about their sector, I’m getting Gogole Alerts about what they’re up to, I’m looking at new thinking. I love it, I’m throwing myself into it becuae the more knowledge I have the more insight I can provide our clients and the greater the chance that I can make them astonished. Great job. Love it.
So. What about you? What you thinking?
Steelso :: Dec.18.2007 :: Good Agency :: 3 Comments »
Ahh, this obsessive curiosity thing is so familiar to me. I love finding out new things about people, they’re so fascinating I could lose myself among shelves of Marketing, Campaign, The Grocer and other magazines just reading about consumers and their buying behaviours, the way they think, what they like, what makes them happy and what makes them sad.
It’s always lovely to discover something new every day, it makes you feel quite alive!
If only we’d have an invention like Facebook daily, the World would be such an interesting place 
I wonder what that dog’s thinkin!!
Obsessive Insight!
Well, one can hardly call themselves a serious Tolkienian without that, can one? It’s all in the details. That’s where you find the words between and just behind the writing. I can see how working in the digital domain applies. I liked what you said about understanding what people think and especially the part about what your kids or your gran are doing on the internets. I’m going to think this over and apply it to the dock-builders. Also to my own life. Getting obsessed with details does make you really think.
I also like your taste for comedy. To add to that, something else these comedians do is stand things on their heads and look at them from a completely different POV. That lends tremendous insight.
I’ll end this by wishing you all the best during the holiday season. Merry Christmas, dude.
xx
Pipkin