360..?
I find myself wrestling with the idea of what a 360 agency actually means, or does for that matter. As I understand it, there are two kinds of 360 agencies: there are digital ones and ATL ones. The difference between the two being that the ATL ones tend not to do their production in house, so while having a 360 offering is probably easier to (apparently) achieve, it’s arguably not a true 360 offering. I also wonder if this 360 craze is being driven by a widely held belief that clients want the full service one stop shop so many are so crazy to create. Ironically, since when has this industry listened to it’s clients? An agency has to ask itself why it wants to be 360 and what actually does that mean.
Seemingly so hungry are many to compete in this space, that they often get a bit caught up and lose sight of the golden rule: it’s no longer about channel, it’s about product, audience and idea. A heady mix of internal politics, misguided belief in a monopoly and seeming desperation (to cross the line) can lead even the most stalwart agencies and creatives to suddenly become retarded and nefarious, seduced by the promise of what is surely a fools gold.
It’s a powerful learning, no matter which side of the fence you may be on, everyone is capable of sitting on their high horse and banging on about how the disciples from their side do not exist on the other. Yet, whether it’s a business or creative decision, or whether it’s right or wrong for the brief and client, it seems all will jump at the chance to broaden their horizons and multiply their offering. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against that at all, providing it’s the right thing to do and it’s for the right reasons.
Corporation/politic/grown-up naive as I may be, I have never done anything that I do not consider 100% right for a brand or an audience. And I sure as hell have never based any thinking solely on a desire to succeed in a specific channel, it’s always been about the power of an idea, the choice of channels is secondary.
My fear is that the idea of a 360 offering is predicated on the ability of a single company to create and (in digital), execute everything. I might be wrong, but a company that sets out to do that, to create and execute everything, couldn’t possibly excel in all.
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