Will better times spark creative renaissance?

The Three Graces/Primavera (Allegory of Spring)
Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Boticelli

Stuart Elliot of The New York Times reports growing optimism along Madison Avenue on predictions that an economic rebound in 2011 will bring heftier ad/PR budgets. 

It won't be business as usual though now that the digital genie is out of the bottle.  The terrible economy actually drove growth in digital advertising, according to Geoff Ramsey, chief executive at eMarketer.  Online marketing is the new reality and to be successful brands need integrated (offline and online) communications.   

To achieve this advertising, public relations, promotion firms can no longer operate in silos. The digital frontier demands interdisciplinary teamwork - the kind that will revolutionize brand marketing with strategic and creative innovation.  

Can Ad Agencies Pitch Big Brands on Transmedia?

Y&R's "Whole Egg" - ready to hatch after +30 years ?  

Today, more and more filmmakers are pitching projects with transmedia adaptations. In the current issue of Canadian Screenwriter Magazine, columnist Kelli Ann Benz writes,  “Now, when you come with your series idea, [funding agencies look at how] you are taking it digital too – engaging web sites, web series, computer games, alternative reality games, social media sites, blogging, geo caching, whatever!”

What about big-time brand marketers?  Transmedia adaptations seem a logical next step for big consumer brands with well-developed digital programs. The question is, can traditional ad-centric agencies pitch (and deliver) transmedia campaigns? After all, transmedia requires an interdisciplinary approach and talent from inside and outside the typical ad organization. Until now the territorial nature of the ad business has made such collaborations difficult to pull off.

In the 1970’s, Y&R’s chief Ed Ney introduced a visionary concept called “Whole Egg” – a blueprint for the one-stop super ad shop capable of integrating advertising services with other marketing specialties, such as direct marketing, public relations, sales promotion, and more.  Indeed, Y&R acquired a stable full of best-in class specialty firms like Wunderman, Ricotta & Kline, and Burson Marsteller, yet the spirit of “Whole Egg” was never fully realized. Perhaps it will be now. The digital age demands integrated thinking and resources, and Y&R (now part of WPP) has plenty to work with right in the family.