On the Business of Advertising

The Advertising Business no longer exists as we once knew it. And to be honest, our role today isn't just that of advertising. So perhaps it's time to examine what business we are actually in.

My agency, and many others, promote that we're in the Idea Business. I mostly agree with that, but get hung up on the thought of relevance. Yes, we come up with ideas. But if the ideas aren't relevant than they're worthless. So I'm not sure Idea Business is right.

A lot of times I like to think we're in the Problem Solving Business. Which is true, but I think that's one of the things that holds this industry back. Because solving problems is passive. And we need to be proactive. We need to solve the problems that don't even exist yet.

I think in truth we are in the Communication Business. No, that doesn't sound hip and cool, but when you look at why there is even a need for ad agencies, you'll discover it boils down to communication. We exist to help clients communicate with consumers.

The reason I think it matters what business we define ourselves as being a part of, is that it becomes a constant reminder of what our role is. Our goal used to be to create ads, which is why saying we worked in Advertising made sense. But our business is no longer about print or the :30 TV spot. Instead it's about communicating with consumers as effectively and as interestingly as possible.