Ernie's Blog: New Stuff. Hurdles.

I guess in marketing terms I'm an early adopter. Sometimes an innovator, but I can't really lay claim to that for too many things. Early adopter just seems to fit better. Seems like most of my career, I've seen things on the fringe, or even on the near sidelines, and have spend a huge amount of time trying to convince those around me that some variation on whatever it is would be useful for us/them, usually in their advertising. Sometimes, I've been successful.

Those things on the edges can be anything. Small, big, in-between. A photographic style, a copy attitude, an editing technique, a wardrobe style -- all the way to an emerging media platform, or a new product category.

The thing is, rarely have I worked for clients (or agencies) who are also early adopters. So to a lot of the people I've worked for, I probably seem more radical than I really am. (I'm sure some of them think I'm downright crazy.) I suspect most people who are also early adopters, and who are also in advertising or marketing, are in the same boat.

When you keep abreast of what's happening on the edges, things seem old before they hit the mainstream. Things seem obvious, or even commonplace, to you -- before they're even on your clients' radar. If you're working on Apple, or Go Daddy, or even a small entrepreneurial client, convincing him/her/them to take a leap is a vastly different process than if you're working for the average marketer in your average market.

Average marketers, or average agencies, for that matter, don't automatically pick up on new stuff very easily. Or early. Sometimes when they finally do, it's kind of funny. Sometimes, though, it's too late.

Here's an example: More than a few times, with major agencies, and major clients, I've found myself wheedling, cajoling, begging, whatever - to convince them to incorporate an emerging film style or technique in a spot. Not just because it's new, but because it fits the concept perfectly, enhances the communication, and looks vastly different than the competition. Let's call it "Film Technique X". In many of these cases, I've succeeded. So, the campaign gets shot, with this radical new "Film Technique X" everyone's afraid of....and, surprise of surprises... it works.

Fast forward to the next year, or even the year after that. Now the style isn't radical. Now the style is commonplace, and everyone's using it. Now the style is a bad idea - because the campaign has run its course, and the new campaign won't get the same benefits. In fact, it'll hurt the new campaign, because the style has become cliche. So what do you suppose are in the specs for the job? Something to the effect of "must be completed with Film Technique X" -- and usually, there are visual examples to explain, just exactly, what "film technique X" is. They almost never include a reference to their own spot -- they've forgotten that they even used the technique.

That's funny.
But it's also not so great for the resulting communications piece. Now, you're making something that looks just like everyone else.

Getting a client who's not used to considering new things, to consider (or even use) new ideas is hard. And can be really frustrating. So, here are six things I try to remember:

1. What's new to you is completely foreign to them. What's pretty normal to you is pretty new to them.

2. What's pretty normal to you still hasn't hit the mainstream yet. So it's not really normal yet. It's just normal to you.

3. People like to take baby steps before they take running leaps. Baby steps might not push your client to the forefront of anything right now. But they will give her confidence to maybe take a running leap next time. Then she can jump over the competition.

4. What's new now, won't be soon. There will be something newer. Sooner than you think. If you lose this battle, it's not the end of the war. Refer to the baby steps, above.

5. "It's NEW" isn't a good enough reason for most clients. They want to know what it'll do for them. Present it in their terms, in language they understand. Don't talk down. But explain exactly how this thing they've never seen or heard of before is going to help them (or their advertising) work better. After all, that's the only reason to use any technique -- new or old.

6. Many clients (and many agencies) will not move from their comfort zone. Ever.
They will eventually become very low hurdles for their competition.

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