Enough is enough.

This isn’t about taxes! Even if you were to raise taxes, what are you going to do about the other 95% of the problem.

If this isn’t time for serious structural reform, when is the time? It is clear that we have two parties with very different views about how to spend our money and how to spur economic growth.

This is an incredibly difficult problem and I feel awful for every individual affected. The question is whether everyone is better off by spending more and becoming more reliant on our government or by spending less and providing americans the opportunities to liberate themselves.

I will vote for less spending and serious structural reform. I respect your opinion if you disagree; however, I’m hoping most won’t disagree.

Sports rivalries are great at bringing people together in one way or another:

• Bears v. Packers
• Purdue v. Indiana
• Cubs v. Cards
• Duke v. North Carolina
• Purdue v. Duke (recently started… at least within our family)

While you may say terrible things about the other team and their fans, ultimately, you create a bond.  Only the other team and their fans truly understand your unique sense of humiliation or exhilaration or anger or disgust or joy because its happened to them, too.  Only you and your rival have endured at the hands of the other’s harassment for a full year following a win or a loss.

It’s a beautiful thing to see.  Those that normally don’t participate, those that usually just listen reach out, speak up, support, etc.  People from completely different places and backgrounds come together.

Given we may actually have a good football game on our hands tonight, I’m more excited than I’ve been in a while about a Bears – Packers game.  My grandmother would have been excited about this one, too.  Unfortunately, she’d be rooting for the wrong team and probably preparing some kind of cheese appetizer for the game.  In that spirt, our next door neighbors are coming over to watch the game tonight.  One of them is a Packers fan, and like my grandmother, unfortunately, misguided.  Plus, she is bringing over an appetizer called Green Bay Sushi.  All class up north .  Yes, I’ll still eat it.

Go Bears!

The front page headline reads, “Suburbs’ $100,000 teachers.”

I’m not a teacher or a reporter but something about this particular editorial perspective given to a piece of data/news like Teacher Salaries infuriates me.  Given their importance to our kids, our communities, our society, our future, how can anyone believe that current teacher salaries are aligned with their real value?  I believe this is one of the places where we can actually change the world.  Good teachers can have an impact that ripples for generations.  Good teachers are instrumental in all aspects of our development.  Because they are paid from the public as opposed to private coffers doesn’t change this basic value proposition.

There are many things that are being done and still need to be done to improve our educational system.  However, spending time even hinting at the potential of teachers being overpaid/overvalued isn’t one of them.

I believe our newspapers provide a valuable community service.  Unfortunately, I feel this kind of coverage continues to undermine the current and future value of newspapers to their readers.  Even positioning this story as part of the “Tribune Watchdog” section is problematic as I start reading thinking someone has done something wrong.  Covered straight as a data point and trend is news.  When covered this way, I believe the story belongs in the op-ed section.  I’m sure we all share this frustration when reading articles across many subjects in our daily newspapers.

Either way, I couldn’t disagree more with the premise.  Good teachers deserve to be paid at least $100,000.  Good teachers should be rewarded.  And other smart, talented people should be incented to become teachers by the possibility of earning $100,000 or more.  Isn’t that the story as opposed to being amazed by the fact that more teachers (while still the minority by far) are making $100,000 or more.

Just felt like sharing.

Over the past seven years at WH a lot has happened.  When first recruited by the president at that time our task was to transform what was a small interactive consultancy into a full-service, nationally recognized interactive agency.  With the outstanding collective efforts of a lot of very talented WH’ers along with the support of our board providing financial backing for key acquisitions, I am proud to say that’s exactly what we did.

We all created an agency that was recognized as one of the best over the past five years by Forrester in their annual wave report.  We set the standard for digital target definition with our Persona work consistently rated as best-in-class.  We acquired many excellent firms (e.g., DNA Studio, Insight Interactive and Estco) that made significant contributions to our success.  Most importantly, we helped some of the best brands in the world (e.g., SC Johnson, AT&T, Black & Decker, Sears, Regal Cinemas, Harley-Davidson, Tide, Sherwin-Williams, Save-A-Lot, Eaton, New York State, Kohler) build their businesses through the digital channel.  And we won quite a few awards along the way.

From leading strategy, to marketing, to client services, and finally to serving as president these past couple years, it has been my distinct privilege to be a part of that success – and perhaps more importantly, to work with such an accomplished bunch.  It truly will be fun to watch everyone continue to grow.  Of course as I look back I see many things I would do differently. However, in the final analysis, I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.

The ongoing digital marketing revolution is going to be a wild ride.  As consumers continue to adopt digital channels as their primary source for information, education, commerce and entertainment, digital budgets will continue to grow along with the power of digital to build stronger brands and unique relationships with consumers that were not possible just a few years ago.  This will force all digital agencies to adapt and grow as holistic marketing leaders and partners for their clients… and, perhaps in the not so distant future, will mean a true blurring of the line between digital and traditional agencies.  New opportunities and challenges are emerging every day.  I wish my friends at WH the best of luck in navigating this exciting digital marketing future and hope our paths will cross often along the way.

As many of you know, my next path leads to beautiful Charlottesville, VA, where we’re thrilled to take advantage of grandparent babysitters and acres of new land for Nate (golden), Bill (chocolate lab) and Henry (small human) to explore.  Can’t say that we’ll miss those -20 degree wind chill Chicago winter days but we’ll absolutely miss seeing all of our friends and family in Chicago as often as we do today.

chad.ciesil@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/chadciesil
(m) 312.286.9383

This is the genius of SXSW.

It captures our sense of idealism – the spirit that has driven so many in this digital journey from the very beginning.  As business people we understand the harsh realities faced on a daily basis; however, this conference seems to have the ability to tap into that childlike enthusiasm we all shared when we knew the worldwide interweb would lead to a utopia of shared information, cross-cultural understanding and acceptance with solutions to the world’s most pressing political, social and scientific challenges.  By the way, a lot has changed for the better and who knows what the future holds (see, the conference does affect you).

Then, there’s the reality.  It’s a conference with some really good sessions and some really bad sessions.  There are some really smart people and some not so smart people (hopefully, the majority of people don’t put me in the latter category).

I’d put Chris Messina and his session on ActivityStrea.ms in the really smart and really good category (twitter discussion: #gettingstreamy).  Great balance of the philosophical and practical with far reaching implications for marketers as we all look to harness the vast amounts of data created by the “social digital world” in an effort to create meaning, value and utility for individuals, companies, groups, organizations, etc.

With all of that said, it was my first SXSW and I enjoyed the total experience.  The shared passion and energy for this business by almost all of the attendees I met is a wonderful thing.  Definitely one of the reasons why I believe in the future of digital professionals as the leaders marketers will require to unlock the opportunities that lie ahead.

Additionally, it was a great opportunity to spend time with old and new friends from SoDA (Society of Digital Agencies).  Shared some great conversations (and, yes, a few cocktails) with some very smart people producing amazing work for their clients.  If you get a chance, some good ideas shared and captured on twitter (@sodaspeaks #digitalwinSoDA) around the topic of “Agency of the Future.”

In the end, I’m hooked on the ideal SXSW embodies but remain aware of the reality.  However, I’ll take a little idealism, passion and enthusiasm any day.

See you next year.

What did I do?

• Went onto the worldwide interweb to watch the trailer again.  Of course, made my wife watch it too as soon as she came home.
• Wanted to share it with my friends so sent out a link on Facebook and Twitter to the YouTube page with the trailer.
• Went back to watching the third best show on television: 1. Friday Night Lights, 2. CBS Sunday Morning, 3. American Idol.

Four things came to mind as a result of this experience:

1. This challenges a few of my positions in yesterday’s post; although, I was watching one of the highest rated television shows and came across an ad for a product in a high-involvement category (movies).  And it just happens to be the sequel for a movie me plus a few million others love.  Nonetheless, worked for me and I’m sure a lot of people like me.  TV still provides focused scale that can be powerful.
2. I’m the integrator and search is my enabler.  I conspicuously left search out of my post yesterday and that was wrong.  Agencies of the future need to have a core competency in search.  Major oversight and many apologies.
3. They had me hooked… but they let me go.  I was in.  Ready to spend many more minutes sharing, commenting, reading and watching everything about Iron Man 2.  In my humble opinion, a major opportunity missed.  They had me but I don’t think they understood me.  They didn’t plan for, either consciously (didn’t want to spend the money or don’t think they need to given the power of the franchise) or unconsciously, how I’d react, what I’d want to do and where I would go.  If they had, this brand enthusiast would have done a lot of free work for Iron Man 2.  Instead, I went back to American Idol.
4. I’m a nerd.  I’m watching American Idol and I’m going crazy over a comic book hero movie.  My wife appropriately reminded me of this fact.

While this reminded me of the potential power of television, it quickly reinforced the bigger opportunity for digital.  Even when I see something on TV during a show I truly like, I immediately go online and have the potential to get immersed for a very long time.  Then, of course, I go back to my show, rewind on the DVR and skip over all of the other television ads I missed while I was online.

Do you agree?  Disagree?  What do you think? (about everything except my nerd status)  What should they have done?  If the “Third Option” agency existed, what would have been different?

For a while now in the digital space, we’ve been dealing with the cycle of “what we know today changes tomorrow.”  We catch up only to fall behind – which leads many to ask if we can ever catch up?  Fundamentally, I’d suggest that if we’re constantly trying to find new ways of making the old models work, the answer is no.  We truly live in a brave new marketing world.  The last five years of digital provide only a glimpse of the change required.  Witness the social revolution, gaming revolution, the continued evolution of retail (in-store and ecommerce) as well as the ongoing mobile revolution, and you quickly realize that we are only beginning to unlock the potential of digital for the next ten years.  When you also consider that these enormous advances are all integrated (or soon will become so), you start to scratch your head at the vastness and pace of change – if not beat it against the wall.

Recently, I was a little bit frightened and a lot intrigued by the picture painted by Carnegie Mellon Assistant Professor of entertainment and technology, Jesse Schell, of a future where behavioral tracking devices and gaming have taken over our lives (Post by Stephen Totilo).  Frightened because after the explosion of change within this space lately, his rather disturbing future doesn’t seem that far away or entirely unrealistic.  But also intrigued because I believe his commentary further reinforces the fact that digital is at the center of everything we do today and that the pace of change, adaptation and innovation cries out for someone to lead us forward.  The interesting question is who?

Sidenote: For the purposes of this post, I’m using “digital” in its broadest meaning to marketing including all of its permutations that connect people wherever and whenever they may be to other people, companies, information, utilities and marketing content and messages… and vice versa.

Keen observers know that a leadership debate has been raging within this increasingly digital world for a few years now – which type of agency should lead: traditional or digital?  The pace of technological change and digital marketing innovation is such that the answer seems to change as quickly as the question can be asked.  But one thing is increasingly clear: both sides need to adapt their structures to deliver what marketers truly need in this perpetually new landscape.

There have been many excellent opinions voiced on this topic from the agency and analyst community recently.  Edward Boches, Chief Creative Officer for Mullen, wrote a great post on his blog (creativity_unbound) combining the views of Forrester analyst, Sean Corcoran, with his own excellent commentary about the future of advertising agencies.  As Mr. Boches points out, adaptation is required quickly.  The key question again, can we adapt enough and in the time required based on the current traditional or digital agency model?  One of the comments Mr. Boches received to his post reveals one of the primary pressures today’s agencies are facing due to the digital revolution: Ed Flynn, “We are going from a low labor and high media cost model to high labor and low media cost model.”

Over the past 75 years marketing budgets along with what agencies do and how they are structured has directly followed consumer behavior albeit with more lag time than the data may dictate: Print to TV to Digital today (an oversimplification leaving out direct mail, OOH, radio, etc). While I’m sure there are some stragglers, I believe many have accepted the fact that the primary communication vehicle or connection point for marketers is or soon will become digital. Digital will be the driver and command the bulk of marketing budgets in the not too distant future.

To be clear, I am not suggesting that all other media (TV, print, OOH, direct mail, etc) other than those considered to be digital are irrelevant today; although, they are all becoming digital. Only reinforcing that today’s consumers (that’s you and me) spend more time consuming digital communication than any other.  More supporting data emerges everyday like this piece of research by the Pew Internet & Life Project reported by Cecillia Kang, Washington Post (Washington Post Article), showing the “internet surpasses newspaper, radio for news.”

So, where do we go from here?

If the debate focuses on the ensuing struggle between digital and traditional agencies for leadership, then I think we’ve missed an opportunity.  We are in the midst of more technologically driven revolution.  Social and mobile separately, but certainly more powerfully together, are changing the game for digital agencies let alone traditional.  I believe these two elements added to the previous revolution of the past five or so years challenge all of our preconceived ideas about control, brand strategy, communication planning and agency structure.  It is this latest revolution that may force real, dramatic innovation that turns the current agency paradigm on its head.

There are a lot of great traditional and digital agencies out there.  With a lot of smart, talented, creative people, they are working to position and plan to be the leaders marketers will require.  Both sides have inherent strengths and the best of the best agencies (traditional or digital) produce amazing work and results.

With strength and experience in brand planning, “owning the big idea,” holistic marketing planning and deep pockets in addition to acquired, homegrown or outsourced digital expertise traditional agencies are formidable.  Can they reorganize while accounting for the new financial realities and marketing needs created by the digital revolution?  Perhaps, but it seems like a long, uphill struggle.  It is possible that the talent migration from traditional to digital is having a profound effect that will make adaptation for traditional agencies even harder.  It may also be possible that traditional agencies have lost the firm grasp they once commanded on the brand and product marketing basics making it easier for digital agencies and other new agency breeds to assume the leadership position.

Digital marketers need to pick up this ball and take control of the conversation as they forge a path for the future.  Brands do have meaning and value.  Uncovering and discovering consumer truths and insights must be at the core of what we do.  Providing consumers with reasons to believe a product or service has unique value and benefit can’t be overlooked.  All of these things contribute to building a relevant, differentiated brand. Plus, there are a lot of great ideas out there about the new era of brands and brand building.  Forrester presented an interesting thesis around Adaptive Branding that everyone should consider.  However, I don’t believe all of the fundamental marketing and brand building blocks will or should change.

Additionally, digital agencies need to become holistic business partners with their clients understanding all elements that are a part of a marketer’s day: sales, distribution, ROI, sales channels, sales support, supply chain, merchandising, portfolio management, research, pricing, category management, promotions, packaging, etc.  And traditional agencies need to truly understand digital is already leading with consumers before recommending the next muliti-million dollar broadcast media buy and production.

Can traditional agencies adapt to the extent and with the speed required to be the leaders that marketers will need and demand?  Are digital agencies able to emerge from their unfortunate, predominantly subjugated role as the second in command or digital production shop?  Or, is there a third option?

Look forward to a continuing conversation that helps us all and paves the way for an even brighter marketing future.  Will be a great discussion on this very topic with everyone attending the SoDA unConferences at SXSW (http://sxsw10public.eventbrite.com/ ).  See you in Austin.