Something New: Introducing Crater Lake & Company

One thing that has always fascinated me about this business is how much all sides agree on the big issues the industry faces We may see the problem from different perspectives we may all have different solutions but we generally all agree that whatever it is existsWhether you39re a creative agency a tracking study partner a media agency a market modelling business a design business a PR outfit an adtech supplier or a client marketing manager one key theme keeps reoccurringYou can call it the need for greater collaboration the requirement that we all pull in the same direction the need for integrated thinking Whatever you call it we simply don39t have it don39t do it amp8230 and yet we all recognize its worthIt39s not just down to structure and organization After all the fullservice creative agencies of my youth weren39t exactly models of collective thinking The reason for our failure to collaborate lies deep in a need to prove our own worth to promote ourselves and our specialism above all othersA few years ago this manifested itself in arguments over who was the client39s 39lead strategic partner39 Everyone had a claim which of course led to turf wars and to clients spending all their time settling disputes and putting overambitious partners back in their boxesAs the specialisms have multiplied and the sheer quantity of data has increased from a trickle to a gush and as measured accountability however you define it has become essential so the need to work together has increasedAs one seasoned marketer put it quotI39ve got more data than ever before and I39m more confused than I39ve ever beenquotIt doesn39t matter where you sit odds are you39re less well informed than all this data sloshing around suggests you should beMarket research studies that stay in their siloes and are never shared with nonresearch partners or colleagues Data analysts whose work never gets to creative agencies Media agencies who are seen as buyers as executors but whose knowledge of what data and insights lie behind the briefs that guide their buys is sketchyAnd then there39s the poor client faced with more and more data more and more specialists whispering in his ear more pressure on his time and more often than not a CFO who sees marketing as pink fluffy and an expense to be cut as opposed to an investment to be managedAnd at the same time coping with fewer neutral resources at his disposal and a business that expects shortterm performance whilst not linking those needs with the benefits that come from building the brand over timeThe four Crater Lake founders have come together because we want marketing to be understood at board level and to be seen as an accountable driver of business In short to succeedWe are a collective Hilary Woods a creative agency strategist with decades of experience at BBH Ogilvy and mcgarrybowen working on brands like American Express and Unilever Fiona Blades the founder of the Realtime Experience Tracking RET business MESH Experience a business she started after spending time in brand management and agencies where she discovered that her questions on the relative performance of PR versus advertising versus instore versus sponsorships were not being answered David Beaton cofounder of Custometrics a data analyst business built around predicting outcomes something it39s done successfully for many years across North America and myselfWe all have our specialist areas we are all highly experienced and we know that how clients will use us will varyWe are launching with the stated aim of quotmaking sense of it allquot Taking all that expensive research all that data all that insight and turning it into a clear narrative a story understood by all of a business39 partners as well as by those internal stakeholders outside of marketingWe believe that there are many clients with a pile of jigsaw pieces in front of them and without the time and resources to complete the puzzle We aim to provide the picture on the top of the boxCrater Lake itself is a beauty spot in Oregon It39s famous for the depth and clarity of its waterIf you39re intrigued and want to dip your toe in to see what we can do for your business we would love to hear from you You can contact any of us in my case it39s brianjacobscraterlakeandcompanycomClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Something New: Introducing Crater Lake & Company

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Brian Jacobs

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