Most of the Asian ad industry is reeling. Budgets and revenues are down.
People are demoralised. Clients often force agencies to churn out rubbish with the threat of the axe over their heads. The result? Creative quality is declining. And there's little respect for the value an agency can add.
So what are we hoping for? That next year the clouds of recession will lift, clients will start spending again, they'll buy our recommendations, we'll work shorter hours, get bigger bonuses and things will return to "normal"? That's hopelessly reactive. We are a proactive industry. We cannot simply blame external forces. We must ask the question - what can we do about it?
We need to take a long hard look at our industry and our motivation for working in this intoxicating fusion of creativity and business. Ask some brutally simple questions. How many people in your agency are passionate about the brands they work on? Do they use them? Do they use the competitors' brands? Do they get excited when they see a great commercial?
How can we get the passion back? I believe we need to keep reminding our people of seven key aspects:
Love advertising - how often does your agency get together in a room to watch ads? How often do you do that with your clients?
Fire - are people encouraged to be passionate or to toe the line? Challengers or yes-men.
Flexibility - we are a flexible industry. The talented rise quickly. There is no need for seven years of study before qualifying. We must remind our people of this.
Responsibility - where else can young people contribute so much so early in their career? During my mercifully brief career in merchant banking, I spent most of the time in a basement analysing annual reports. We, however, are selling ads, going on shoots, reviewing competitive strategies, interacting with clients.
Scope - do people working in advertising realise that we are exposed to more industries, more products and more different people than in any other business? What could possibly be more interesting and stimulating than that?
Fun - it's not pure showbiz, but creativity is fun. Yes, this is a business, but we should enjoy it. When was your last agency party? Away day? Weekend in Shanghai?
Creativity - everyone has ideas and thoughts which, freely expressed, can build clients' businesses and thus our own. Too many agencies stifle creative thinking with organograms and bureaucracy.
Maybe, having more fun than anything else with clothes on is asking too much. But I believe in our future, and in the future of our craft. Of course, not all the problems affecting the industry are ones we can control, but I believe the primary responsibility for making us better rests with us. We must put the passion back in - and quickly.
