The death of the Jack of All Trades.
Welcome to the arena of 21st-century advertising. A new landscape where advertisers have all found a common ground of fervent agreement: they want agencies to focus on their “sweet spot” when it comes to pitching their wears. Instead of trying to “do it all,” agencies are being told that they’d be remarkably more attractive if they illustrated a focus and expertise on something unique, special and specific. Agencies must differentiate themselves the same way they help their clients differentiate their brands. So the time has come to pick a lane – and throttle down.
Naturally, over the last few years, this concept has led to a bit of controversy. Many agencies continue to believe and say, “Okay, but we can do it all.” However, the cold hard truth is this – the days of the traditional (Jack of all trades’) agency are fading. Paying for off-the-shelf solutions and a stable of creative talent who, for example, may have mobile phone account experience, now trying to help you reach your rabid mountain bike audience – just doesn’t make sense.
On the other end of the spectrum, many niche agencies specializing in a single channel or creative discipline are raising their hands claiming they can do more than you think. Unfortunately, these guys pose their own problems. Niche agencies that want to go beyond their niche require a tremendous amount of additional communication on your end to get people up to speed and keep them in the loop. Based on their singular area of expertise also leads to tunnel vision creatively, and solutions which drive their bottom line versus yours.
Most clients are no longer looking for a one-stop-shop to solve all their problems, nor do they want to be lured into empty promises by niche shops. Make no mistake about it: it’s a specialized advertising world today, but it’s vital to find the optimal balance. We understand this and have carefully built Unbound to fulfill this sweet spot.
Over the last few years, we’ve carefully listened to exactly what clients were telling us. They’re not looking for broad ideas and messages, cast like nets into the sea in hopes of catching the attention of potentially interested parties. They also don’t want to wrangle an unruly coral of niche partners. They want the best of both without the shortcomings. So we are here to help.
From customized, laser-focused strategy, upfront data analysis, brand development or redevelopment, we build definitive, custom, strategic solutions. From there we tap creative talent whose expertise specially fits the bill. The result is a series of steps each utilizing the power and expertise of our sweet spot.
