One of the founding father of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung, originated the term synchronicity, which could best be described as ‘a purposeful coincidence’. Keep that in mind because something very interesting is happening in the world of advertising.
Technological advances now make it possible to implant those clever chips in almost everything, transforming the relevance and usability of appliances and electronic goods. Some agencies and media organisations are mirroring that degree of integration and reimagining their functional relationships by embedding themselves with brands. This is not mere colonisation, but a form of symbiosis.
Take Channel 4, who secured a seven-figure stake in Readly, a digital magazine subscriber platform, and broadcast Readly’s ad last month. C4’s sales director, Jonathan Allan, is driving the strategy that targets first time TV advertisers. However, the real game-changer is the type of advertising deal, where the broadcaster earns a results-based revenue share from the campaign itself. It opens up a niche for advertisers (albeit with some risk) and potentially establishes a new trading model based upon a clearly defined win-win ROI.
The BrainJuicer agency, which counts Peter Soer (Vice President Marketing Kellogg’s Breakfast Foods Europe) among its advisory board, has announced a different strategy, with chief exec Rod Connors promising, “…We can guarantee a minimum performance level across every campaign idea that we develop.” One can only assume that both their Key Performance Indicators and Critical Success Factors will need to be crafted very carefully.
Collider’s approach is facilitating creative partnerships between start-ups and brands / agencies, and invests up to £100,000 per annum spread over a maximum of ten start-ups. Collider favours private investors from the marketing and advertising arena, presumably because they already understand the landscape. Founder, Rose Lewis, has identified distinct advantages of working with start-ups – their openness to change and willingness to be early adopters of platforms and technology. Partnered brands will naturally reap the benefits, both in their campaigns and culturally.
This blurring of the lines between start-up, brand, agency and broadcaster promises new opportunities through hybridisation. When we change our definitions we automatically affect our boundaries. As the author of The Power of Positive Thinking, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, put it so well: Change your thoughts and you change your world.”