Strategic Brand Architect Revisited

In his book, The Future of Advertising, Joe Cappo predicted the onset of a new kind of advertising agency: the strategic brand architect.

Joe identified two key characteristics of this new kind of ad agency:

1. Profit Neutral - The firm's revenue model would be independent of a specific type of advertising service (e.g. PR, graphic design, packaging design, etc.)

2. Media Neutral - The firm's revenue model would not rely on media commissions.

Joe published his book in 2003. Five years later his predictions are beginning to come true.

What we've seen recently are marketers seeking two types of services:

1. Strategic oversite and management
2. The use of multiple resources

What they want is access to expertise in marketing strategy, campaign management support, and the freedom to select individual resources they like.

This is what I believe Joe Cappo meant by strategic brand architect.

Hmmm, customers demanding what they want, not what sellers want. Where have I heard that before?

This shift reminds me of when the Japanese realized they didn't have to both make and market their products; they could be just marketers and be very successful.

In this new world, ad agencies will need to disconnect strategy and campaign support from function. This will be difficult because their revenue models are tied to performing the functions. This is revealed in the absolute dread that overcomes an ad agency when the client asks for digital files.

I believe the day of the strategic brand architect is upon us. It's no longer a theory, but a reality.