Short termism – alive and kicking?

We need to change the way we act or ad effectiveness will continue to deteriorate, writes ISBA’s Mario Yiannacou

Being a football fan I was quite interested in a recent stat about Andros Townsend: he has played for 12 clubs since 2009, he was transferred in January this year and again this month…and he’s only 24.

I am likening this continual movement to the ad industry’s talent pool.

Having been to quite a few events in recent weeks with the run up to the summer season, I have noticed a recurring theme – short-termism. It cropped up at the excellent Big Think event organised by Thinkbox and was even discussed at a recent Action group meeting, here at ISBA.

So, why we are seeing short-termism, aside from the usual suspects:

– Shorter human attention span – less than a goldfish
– The distraction of various devices we have in our possession
– The underlying issue that everybody wants everything now – and even yesterday if it were possible.

Perhaps it would be a good time to take a step back and maybe start thinking about who makes the content and who commissions the content that we are all desperate to consume including the ads.

Having had numerous conversations on the subject, I happened to meet a former work colleague, who had just landed a great new job at an ad agency as a creative. He mentioned that he was working on a new brief which had come in from a long-standing client detailing they wanted something new and fresh.

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Taking the opportunity, the ‘new boy’ (in his case), came up with a superb new idea, which was presented to the client and subsequently run – happy days for all. But what about the next new idea he enquired? – Oh, there is no next one, the ‘boy’ is no longer new, no longer fresh and no longer needed as much. Time to move on, he thinks, and within six months he was at a new agency.

A classic example of short term thinking, firstly from said client/agency, and secondly, he now feels that he has to go somewhere else to gain more recognition – not great for self-confidence.

This seems to be an ongoing trend in our industry where we all want great creative work that cuts through all the noise to sell our products and services, only to have no intention of using the same person twice. Take a look at LinkedIn for the evidence. And not just creative profiles.

Across ad land, people don’t seem to be staying in jobs long enough to truly understand the brand they are selling – every two years they’re out the door onto the next brand/agency brief. Is the grass always greener? Only if it’s watered – new ideas need time to mature for them to thrive.

Is there lack of incentive? It seems the brands and agencies are moving away from long-term brand building and putting a little too much faith in data, hoping it will meet the brief.

Having just read an excellent article by Russell Ramsey – executive creative director at J Walter Thompson – I am beginning to suspect that this is becoming the case.

As Russell eloquently puts it, we need more Simon Cowells in the industry. OK, maybe not more Simon Cowells, but people who are prepared to take the learnings of the data and add in a bit of ‘gut’ instinct – Apple being a great example although a little extreme.

At present, there aren’t too many agencies that are purely run by creatives, for example. I’m not saying we should ignore the data but I don’t believe we should solely rely upon it. It’s not a question of what or how much data you have, but more so what you do with it.

Have we now come to the point where the people and their ideas are being pushed out in favour of data, which is increasingly being relied upon to make those crucial decisions? If so, what are the consequences?

If the hype is to be believed, creatives and everyone else in ad land may eventually be replaced by an algorithm which is no doubt cost efficient but does not know or understand the nuances of human behaviour. Thus, creating bland/boring ads which no one will talk about or engage with because they’ll all look exactly the same regardless of category.

Sometimes it is about the people and the commitment to the idea by all parties concerned, sticking with a campaign and giving it the chance to work. New ideas can be unsettling and initially lead to a negative response.

Any downward trend that’s revealed in the data causes an immediate panic and a swift change of direction. Admittedly, a change is easier to achieve in the world of programmatic where ads can be optimised at the touch of a button.

But, imagine if some of the greatest ads you’ve ever seen had not been given the chance.

We mustn’t forget the other set of numbers, the financials. Are shareholders now taking a short term view demanding that they want to see profits at the expense of long-term security?

Short-termism is certainly a contributing factor to the issue of the overall deterioration of ad effectiveness which is still alive and kicking.

Mario Yiannacou is media and advertising manager at ISBA