The Year in Review (Or, Frank Said It Best) – Brian Jacobs

amp8220And now the end is here and so I face the final curtain amp8221Well for 2014 at least Itamp8217s been a funfilled year of blog posts of some people saying flattering things greatly appreciated all of the time some taking me to task also appreciated at least most of the time we should all aim to continue to learn and some just yelling at me which perversely perhaps is funAs we get towards Christmas I am far too tired out by all those Christmas lunches and far too out of ideas not to fall back on the last resort of bloggers and even real journalists everywhere and end the year by repeating the bits Iamp8217ve liked best So thatamp8217s the bits I like from the things I wrote itamp8217s hard to get any more selfindulgent than thatMarchamp8220If agencies want to fulfil their undoubted potential they need to sell the true business benefits they bring the results not just the mechanics They need to sell the hole not the drillamp8221Marchamp8220Amongst media agency services are data analytic skills and the ability to turn the crude oil that is raw data into the valuable fuel that drives insights and leads to competitive advantage Data skills sit neatly alongside research skills as a crucial input to communications planning So why subsume these skills within a set of operating principles that are guaranteed to fan the flames that flicker within many advertisers that media agencies are basically a bunch of wheeler dealers determined to cheat them at every turn through one means or anotheramp8221Aprilamp8220Meanwhile the guys who work for either Omnicom or Publicis will no doubt carry on doing what they do many of them very well without the distraction of having to contribute to what is said to be 70 integration committees Maybe theyamp8217ll toil away with a tad less admiration for their leaders than they used to have thoughamp8221Julyamp8220So we have clients dealing with account teams they like and respect but a large part of whose work they donamp8217t pay properly for and who are unable to help them overcome the clientsamp8217 fundamental issues with the agencyamp8217s trading arms where the money is made This canamp8217t end wellamp8221Augustamp8220It is now going to be up to GroupMamp8217s media agencies to amp8216manage programmatic executionamp8217 as an element in being responsible to their clients for all aspects of deliveryamp8221Septemberamp8220Many in agencies have it drummed into them that client procurement teams are responsible for all things bad from grumpy staff in their agencies to global warmingamp8221Octoberamp8220Even the most rabidly enthusiastic digital disciple recognizes that without people we are all sunk not to mention unemployed Algorithms and systems are all very well but the magic bit comes from peopleamp8221Novemberamp8220When technology first met advertising the resultant conversation was a dialogue of the deafamp8221Decemberamp8220Publishers those people who deliver the content people actually want to read as opposed to the content that people simply want to write amp8221Decemberamp8220In a nutshell agencies need to deliver a service within which the plans shape the buys Itamp8217s when the buys shape the plans that things go wrongamp8221May I thank you for reading the Cog Blog in increasingly large numbers and for all your comments and feedback I hope you found at least some of the posts interesting and entertainingAnd most importantly may I wish you and yours a Happy Christmas a relaxing break and a prosperous New YearThe Cog Blog will be back early in January 2015Brian Jacobs spent over 35 years in advertising media and research agencies including spells at Leo Burnett UK EMEA International Media Director Carat International Managing Director Universal McCann EMEA Director and Millward Brown EVP Global Media He has worked in the UK EMEA and globally out of the USA His experience covers shifts from fullservice ad agencies to media agencies from traditional singlecommercialchannel TV to multifaceted digital channels and from media planning to multidisciplinary communication planning Brian can be reached at brianbjandacomRead all Brian Jacobs39 MediaBizBloggers commentaries at The Cog BlogCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentariesImage at top courtesy of freedigitalphotosnet

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The Year in Review (Or, Frank Said It Best) – Brian Jacobs

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