Two Lean Fables from Adland

From the Lean Startup at Pivotal Labs on June 22, 2011.

Transcript

1. Two Lean Fables from Adland
 #LeanIgnite
3. Our business: Ads. Commissioned by clients. Designed by agencies. Executed by vendors.
4. All agencies seem lean in a pitch. http://rpminsights.blogspot.com/2010/04/our-creative-department.html
5. But after a pitch... Client RFP Media Production Planning & Creative Creative Testing Account Service
6. How do agencies make money? Billings = Whatever it costs to produce work Revenue = ~15% of billings Profit = ~20% of revenue
7. Perverse incentives Agency v. Manufacturer Campaigns v. Product ROI?
8. Fable #1
 “Where’d everybody go?”
9. Develop a vision.
10. Get out of the building.
11. Don’t waste resources. 
 Make it better.
12. Fable #2“Is it the bits?”
13. No vision. Research is too often used the way a drunk uses a lamp post: for support, rather than illumination.
14. But we got out of the building anyway. It couldn’t have been the bits - Nobody knew they were gone. In fact, nobody’d heard from the brand in years. People (and dogs) had changed - Lots more choices, no more junk food.
15. “You’ve got 99 problems... and the bits ain’t one.”
16. We suggested a pivot. Three-ingredient dog food. Real food, no fillers. With a new brand ID & campaign connecting the old, loved image (something dogs love), 
 to a new doggie parenting style 
 (something owners love giving dogs).
17. “Thanks, but we just wanted to know if it was the bits.”
18. It’s easy to talk about lean.
 It’s hard to be lean. Google #Firestarters: 
 Agile Planning Do Agencies Need to Think Like Software Companies?
19. Principles of Lean Start-ups (for Ad Agencies) Assume the client briefs are hypotheses to be tested. Continuous customer interaction - with both client & consumer. Establish clear goals for the campaign from day one. Start simple, and then iterate on successes and learn from failures. Create right-sized, integrated teams, provide the right resources & tools as they are needed, and keep score with vendors & partners.
20. Thank you,
 
 @farrahbostic