The Agency Internal Combustion Engine
February 15th, 2010 | 
Author: The Agency Internal Combustion Engine
For well over 100 years one invention has propelled our world forward literally and figuratively. And now many people want to eliminate it.
Its the internal combustion engine. Cars have em. Planes have em. And ad agencies have em too.
Its an ingenious idea. Take a high amount of energy put it in a small enclosed space and ignite it. You might get a lot of forward motion. You might also get nothing but noxious fumes. The same mechanics apply in the agency world: Depending on where your career fits into the corporate machine you may be in for a wild fun ride or you might get run over.
In the engine that makes up an advertising agency the parts dont always work the way theyre designed to. Because were in the business of generating ideasand generating money. And most ad executives cant agree on the best ways to do one the other or both.
Nor do all the parts work together seamlessly with one main thrust. Most advertising agencies arent meritocracies. The best idea doesnt always win. Rather ideas and concepts are prejudged judged and filtered in all sorts of ways from the rank and demeanor of the person presenting the idea to the monetary and or emotional cost of doing or not doing an idea.
Sometimes you can pinpoint those moments where you know the engine isnt built to run smoothly. I once worked in an agency that simply never presented work internally. No lets put it all up on the wall and take a look. I mean if two creative teams were given the same assignment never did they put campaigns sidebyside to compare. Until one day when it finally happened. Everyone from the account director to the new business guru championed the idea me my art director the less experienced team presented. The other team consisting of 2 creative directors got upstaged and knew it. But later on they insisted well ours is a slam dunk. Which left me my partner thinking What meeting were you just in?
The engine sputters because everyone in advertising is in the business of selfpreservationand career preservation. Particularly when youre a creative its easy to feel threatened by the success of others around you. Because ultimately youre judged by your outputwhat you produce that the marketplace and the industry can see and value. So when it comes time to prove your talent and worth youre judged not as a part of a team or agency just as an individual. Unless you have a stake like a financial one in the success of your agency youll always have to look out for yourself.
As much as the parts of our agencies are interdependent it only takes one malfunctioning part to bring it to a halt. A Creative Director that green lights everything without much comment looks weak and a Creative Director that decides to rewrite and redesign everything is a megalomaniac. Account Executives try to please everyone which often pleases no one. And the CEO often has no idea how well the engines running on a daytoday basis.
Itd be nice all the parts of an agency work smoothly. Some parts need a little extra greasing. The fuel has to be the right mix. And the conditions outside have to be as optimal as possible. Its hard to get an agency going if everythings frozen over.
But as we crank up the advertising engine every day we need to keep some things in mind.
The agency will stall if its dominated by naysayers and devils advocates whose mantra is the client will never go for it.
The agency will spin out of control if theres always a lastminute scramble to change campaigns because someone important didnt see them early enough.
The agency will grind to a halt if one part lacks the ability to effectively work with the other parts.
With every week comes a new conference or survey in which its said that the advertising industry and its professionals arent keeping up with the times. It may be time to face that an agency’s attempt to push new thinking or new marketing ideas are subject to old processes posturing and personal prejudices. Maybe thats why if you think youre an integral part of your agencys internal combustion engine you never want to see it dismantled.
Can we eliminate the internal combustion engine? Maybe but well have replace it with something else. Something more efficient. Cleaner maybe. New fuel. Less moving parts. Something that isnt designed by the engineers who came up with the last version of the agency internal combustion engine.
It may take our work to new places we never thought wed go.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Branding. Religion. Censorship. Office politics. Global politics. Sexual politics. And getting drunk during a job interview.
Since 2002 Danny G. a.k.a. Dan Goldgeier has been writing the most provocative advertising columns ever published. They’re all witty thoughtful and probing and a must read for those who want a perspective rarely seen in traditional industry publications.
An Atlantabased copywriter and ad school graduate Dan has worked at shops big and small. He reads incessantly about advertising and is a whiz at rock roll trivia. Learn more about him by visiting his copywriting website or AdColumnist.com the View From The Cheap Seats Archive website. You may also find articles by Danny G at TalentZoo.com.
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