Well this is rich. Cramer-Krasselt has resigned the Panera Bread account claiming the client is just too difficult to deal with. An internal memo reads: "There comes a time when no matter
what the acclaim for the work, no matter what that visibility, no matter how good of a relationship we have with the marketing department, no matter what the test scores and results that contributed
to reversing falling comps before the campaign and that outpaced previous work and became great case histories -- despite all that: the constant last-minute shifts in direction, the behind-the-scenes
politics, the enormous level of subjectivity that disregards proof of performance -- all churn people at a rate that becomes much too much even in this crazy business. The previous agency found that
out as well. There is a pattern. And in the end, no amount of money makes it worthwhile. Fortunately, we have always been in a position to act in situations like these if we really, really have
to."
This is Australia-based but it should be of interest to everyone in advertising globally. Australian site Mumbrella will host a Hangout Thursday, June 12 at 12 p.m.
Singapore/Hong Kong time. The topic will be scam ads or the practice of creating ads simply to win awards. Recently, DDB CCO Amir Kassaei said he's not against scam ads. No, seriously.
While the Hangout will focus on the prevalence of scam ads in Australia, the practice (crime?) is a global one. Remember JCPenney's Speed Dressing ad? It won
a Bronze Lion that was later rescinded. In the Hangout will be Sapient Nitro Asia-Pacific ECD Andy Greenaway and The Works Creative Partner Damian Pincus. Questions will be posed by Mumbrella editors
Robin Hicks and Alex Hayes. There is no specific link yet other than the fact that it will be hosted on the Mumbrella site.
As if agencies didn't have enough to
contend with these days, Altimeter Group Analysts Rebecca Lieb further outlines the challenges agencies face today when it comes to winning business. She rightly posits that agencies are increasingly
facing competition from large consulting firms, PR firms, social media agencies and even IBM, which recently announced plans to launch an agency. Of this murkiness, Lieb writes: "This is a tough and transitional time for clients and agencies alike. More and more, we’re
seeing clients who are asking for execution before strategy. Who are uncertain of desired outcomes. Who often look to agency partners with one field of expertise to assist them in areas in which they
have little or no experience. Who remain looped in an RFP process that lasts much longer than expected because they’re uncertain which type of candidates to vet. Then, they find themselves
making apples-to-oranges comparisons when they receive responses from a wide variety of candidates, ranging from agencies to consultancies to PR, search and social media firms.” Tough and
confusing indeed.
BoomAgers CEO Peter Hubbell has had it with all you twenty-something hipsters who think anyone over the age of 50 is useless. More accurately, he has a message
for Madison Avenue's fixation with youth and the 18-49 demo. Of this, he says: "2014 is the
beginning of a new era -- The Age of Aging -- because it’s the year when the last of the boomers will turn 50 and effectively age out of the marketing cohort that is deemed to matter most to
advertisers: age 18 to 49. In five years or so, there will be more people over 65 than under age five for the first time in world history. There is no other global trend that will do more to affect
global economies than The Age of Aging." He says boomers are quite angry about this, adding: "When I go out and speak, boomers bend my ear about how they’re really really frustrated about
advertising -- some are pissed off. I hear things like: ‘Wait a second! What do you mean you’re using pop culture icons I don’t even know because I don’t stay up late enough to
watch the shows they’re on?’" Now you may respond saying, "Meh. They're just old farts. No one cares." But you should. They have far more disposable income than you and they're still
spending it. Give them something to spend it on.
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I, myself, have seen cases where an agency in a similar situation, walked away but allowed it to appear as if it was "fired" by an obnoxious client rather than reveal the truth of the matter, simply to avoid being labeled as a tough "shop" to work with. I'm sure this scenario has been repeated many times. I applaud Cramer-Krasselt for its stand up approach to what must have been a very frustrating client-agency "relationship[".