We all recognize that the advertising business is all about the big idea. The big idea that breaks through the clutter and creates momentum for a brand -- that idea is what makes or breaks an agency. You could argue for ROI, strategy, and even scale is emerging as a key differentiator.   But the reality is regardless of what clients may admit – they want the magic sauce too. I often say “the prettiest girl in school does not exactly go for the most dependable guy” – the same thinking applies when clients pick agencies.

So if you work in or with a shop that is perceived as highly creative, you are probably nodding your head.  But don’t get too comfortable. You may be in trouble.

Here is the trick. The medium is changing fast and what may appear similar to the uninformed simply is not. For example, writing for TV is actually quite different than writing for film. Selling in a new tagline is not the same as selling in a new business model.  And, lastly, designing a multichannel, interactive brand experience that is driven by a complex technology back-end is simply outside the scope of what an art director/copywriter team can concept over a few lattes.

Conceptual ideas are cheap and meaningless unless realized. How many times have you walked down the street and caught a new product or new business or a new campaign and said to yourself I came up with that years ago?  Don’t be mistaken; we do not get credit for what we doodled in our sketchbooks, or concepts on the whiteboard. Clients only give us credit for what we have done. The big idea is “real”.