How agencies position themselves

There was a piece in Monday's Independent about how agencies sell themselves to clients. It rounded up the slogans and claims of a few agencies and presented them without much in the way of comment. It's easy to poke fun at these things (I will try to resist the temptation) but interesting  to see how a few of these statements of intent compare.

JWT
Slogan: 'Time is the new currency'
They say: "The power of brands can be measured in their ability to attract people's time. Time is what's most valuable to people all around the world, and the way they spend it is predictive of the way they spend their money. Our role is to ensure that more people spend more time with our clients' brands, in the knowledge that their money will follow."

Well, maybe. (Unless your service is partly about convenience, like say, Google or Amazon. In which case, you might want your customers to spend less time with your brand.)

DDB
Slogan: 'Co-creation'
They say: "Co-creativity is a process that puts consumers at the heart of the solution. It's agnostic about where the best idea comes from – online, branded content, advertising, an event – in fact, it is increasingly likely that it is through combining all of these and more that the most creative and influential ideas will be gained."

This feels like an observation rather than a brand positioning.

M&CSAATCHI
Slogan: 'Brutal simplicity of thought'
They say: "The slogan comes from the idea that it's easier to complicate than simplify. Simple messages enter the brain quicker and stay there longer, so brutal simplicity of thought is therefore a painful necessity."

Well, true to their beliefs, this is at least simple and easy to understand. All that pain and brutality sounds a bit nasty, though. I'm a bit scared of M&C Saatchi now. I worry that they're going to pin me down and forcibly penetrate me with their brutally blunt tools.

Saatchi &Saatchi
Slogan: 'Nothing is impossible'
They say: "From the outset the Saatchi brothers broke the rules, challenged industry norms and created work that was groundbreaking in every respect. Brands are faced with the danger of becoming commodities that lack differentiation, but we believe that bold and infectious creativity can drive loyalty beyond reason for brands."

Surprising to see that Saatchi & Saatchi still talk about the long-departed brothers. Living in the past?  I thought S&S was all about Lovemarks these days but no mention of that from The Indie.

BBH
Slogan: 'When the world zigs, zag'
They say: "Our first ad was a poster for Levi's black denim: a flock of white sheep heading one way, with one black sheep going the other way. The message captures our approach to life."

TBWA\London
Slogan: 'The disruption agency'
They say: "All brands have ambitions to outpace the competition, but too many go through life copying their competitors. We aim to uncover the clichés, assumptions and conventional wisdom that hold a category back, then look for opportunities for brands to grow by disrupting those conventions."

Well, the two above are just exactly the same, differently expressed, aren't they?

Ogilvy Group UK
Slogan: 'To be most valued by those who most value brands'
They say: "The slogan was coined in 1993, but its roots go deeper, to David Ogilvy's belief in the power of brands, as long as they stay relevant and continually refresh their appeal. Our view is that branding is a genuinely useful concept that helps good companies defeat bad ones, so the clients we most want are those who share this belief. We don't apologise for this idealism, since the most successful brands tend to have longstanding ideals at their core, which can be dramatised in myriad ways over time."

This is a mission, not a slogan.  Can't really focus on this one as I have a problem with the use of the word 'myriad' in any context other than fairy tales.

Wieden + Kennedy
Slogan: 'Creating strong, provocative relationships between good companies and their customers'
They say: "We believe that great brands lead from the front. They provoke, inspire and change the cultural landscape. The most successful brands have fans, not customers, and the relationship between a brand and its fans is based on dialogue, not monologue."

Arrant nonsense.

Euro RSCG London
Slogan: 'Contagious ideas'
They say: "We live in a world where consumers can more judiciously edit what they consume, [and can] mould and reconfigure ideas relatively easily and be far more expressive to their friends, family and colleagues about what they like and don't like. Contagious ideas live beyond the space in which they first appeared by creating word of mouth, word of keyboard or media interest."

Well, Euro's Woolite campaign could certainly be categorised as some species of virulent virus, so they're practicing what they preach.

Fallon
Slogan: none
They say: "We choose not to have a fixed positioning point. In an increasingly open media and creative environment, where more is possible every day, we feel that it doesn't make sense to pre-pack what we do. What we do, and how we do it, is fundamentally bespoke and about building the confidence to do something different."

A very cunning justification for having no positioning at all. And it seems to be working for them. Maybe this shows that agencies don't really need a coherent or differentiating proposition. All they need to be successful is some  smart people, some great clients and a shed-load of brilliant work. Simple.

Comments

[Ravages]

Wieden + Kennedy
Slogan: 'Creating strong, provocative relationships between good companies and their customers'
They say: "We believe that great brands lead from the front. They provoke, inspire and change the cultural landscape. The most successful brands have fans, not customers, and the relationship between a brand and its fans is based on dialogue, not monologue."

Arrant nonsense.

Hmmm...subtle.

[Seb]

Keeping in mind "what they say" shouldn't the slogan "Creating strong, provocative relationships between good companies and their customers" rather end on "their fans"?

[neil]

Isn't our job to turn 'customers' into 'fans' by helping to build those relationships?

[Seb]

Absolutely right. You know your agency.

[alex ws]

hey there,

I dunno that "zag, not zig", is the same as "disruption"...

An idea doesn't have to be a 180 degree idea to have maximum disruptive effect.

True, some 180 degree ideas are disruptive. But others give one the feeling that the marketing guys are playing their 180 degree game again. Agency culture over substance. All a bit black and white.

Is it just me, or does "Disruption" sound a little pervy? But in a good way. The kind of way where you might be beavering away at your desk, next thing your favourite girl comes over and starts feeling you up through your nice, stiff suit trousers? Work. Work. Work. Work. Work. SEX. Disruption.

[alex ws]

hey there,

I dunno that "zag, not zig", is the same as "disruption"...

An idea doesn't have to be a 180 degree idea to have maximum disruptive effect.

True, some 180 degree ideas are disruptive. But others give one the feeling that the marketing guys are playing their 180 degree game again. Agency culture over substance. All a bit black and white.

Is it just me, or does "Disruption" sound a little pervy? But in a good way. The kind of way where you might be beavering away at your desk, next thing your favourite girl comes over and starts feeling you up through your nice, stiff suit trousers? Work. Work. Work. Work. Work. SEX. Disruption.

[Eamon]

Useful insight about Fallon. I agree, to some degree, with Seb about Zigs/Zag / Disruptive. Of all the approaches after Fallon, I like TBWA's the best.

[John]

God. I struggled to read some of these. So flabby - all this complex talk about simplicity and such. The EuroRSCG one is so clamourous as to border on the hysterical. The "disruption/zig-zag" thing is just bleedin obvious.

Laid side by side I wonder which agency would fair best in a "which-would-you-opt-for?" survey.

Interesting though :-)

[neil]

Also interesting to think of these agencies' clients and whether their stated beliefs are reflected in the work they do.

Saatchi & Saatchi: T-Mobile, Sony Ericsson, Carlsberg, Visa. ("Groundbreaking in every respect"?)
TBWA: Nissan, Galaxy, Müller, Nivea. (Disruptive?)
BBH: Woolworths, BA, KFC, ITV. (Still zagging?)
Euro: Woolite, Citroen, Peugeot, Yakult. (Contagious?)

And, yes, before anyone else points it out, W+K: do we live up to our aspirations on EVERYTHING we do? Maybe not, but we do try.

[clara bow]

Really disappointed to read this (smug, bordering on bitchy) post. I expect better from you, W+K... I'm all for useful peer critiques and stimulating debate, but this is the stuff of playground jibes. Why not just do what you do and let the work speak for itself?

[neil]

You may be right, Clara. Will try to tone down the bitchiness.