The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

1/ Great idea badly integrated.
2/ Bad idea brilliantly integrated.
3/ Great idea brilliantly integrated.
4/ Bad idea badly integrated.

To be honest, there were a couple of absolute grade-A, fucking awesome ideas … ideas that I am unbelievably jealous of … but there were a whole heap of submissions that seemed to think that just because they were integrated into a bunch of different channels, it was enough to win an award.

Now I don’t know if this attitude was because of the agency or the client [or both] but just like too many people are focusing on the process rather than what the process delivers, too many clients/agencies are seemingly focusing on being integrated rather than understanding what’s right for the brand and audience to get the results they all need.

Putting aside the whole issue of whether there should even be an integrated category in award shows [my view is “no”, because we should always be doing the right thing by our clients, not making it out like it’s something special], I have to say that I think Ogilvy has to share a lot of the blame for this attitude.

Years ago, when they launched their 360 degree approach, they basically said [or that’s how it’s been interpreted] that an idea – any idea – has to work in every channel or it’s not right.

Now while I buy the thinking in principal, the problem is too many people took it verbatim and suddenly ideas were being executed in weird channels because they could, rather than because it was right and that’s my whole issue with the current integration approach … because judging on some of the submissions made today, a lot of agencies [or their clients] are advocating a “shove the idea anywhere” strategy when the reality is if they know their audience well enough, they should know how and where to develop an idea that allows them to be efficient with their approach, rather than plaster it all and bloody sundry. [Which is hardly a comms ‘strategy’ is it!?]

I am a massive advocate of integrated campaigns – though I’m still shocked how many people think taking a still from a TVC and banging it out everywhere makes it integrated when in reality, all that approach actually is, is duplication.

If people need to latch on to any phrase, it should be an integrated idea, not an integrated campaign … but sadly this is an industry that likes to talk without always appreciating the consequences.

All in all It was a good day … but what it also highlighted to me is that my speech on Wednesday is going to go down like a big bucket of slightly tepid sick.