While diminishing marketing budgets and expanding pressures on CMOs have led to an overreliance on 鈥榮afe鈥 or 鈥減aint by numbers鈥 work, truly big ideas aren鈥檛 becoming harder to sell to good clients, a handful of creative leaders argue.
Big ideas are more essential than ever to cut through in cluttered categories and a fragmented media environment, they say. But agencies aren鈥檛 presenting truly groundbreaking ideas often enough, clients are settling, and a fixation on data dampens an ability to present instinctive, emotional work.
鈥淭he total brand experience is very different than what it used to be,鈥 Troy Ruhanen, incoming Omnicom Advertising Group global CEO and Australian native tells 天美棋牌.
鈥淭he brand has to show up in so many places, mean[ing] even more so that a big brand platform is needed to be the rudder on that.
鈥淚t's more essential than ever. I don't think it's harder than ever to sell it. I think clients settle a little bit too often, because they feel the pressure. And sometimes I've seen a lot of really great clients, you know, we've had some pitches, and it's the CEO that actually is the one who blocks the brave idea.
鈥淏ut then we have to really help them sell through that idea into that company. It's absolutely essential. It's not the easiest thing, either. We know when we see a great idea, because you don't see them that often ... There's a lot of paint by numbers right now.鈥
Stephen de Wolf agrees we鈥檙e not seeing big work because big ideas aren鈥檛 being pitched. BMF鈥檚 chief creative officer worked at Clemenger Melbourne in its heyday, and was integral to world-renowned campaigns like Meet Graham and Snickers鈥 Hungerithm.
鈥淏ig and great ideas aren't that hard to buy, because when you see them, you have a visceral response to them,鈥 he says.
鈥淭he biggest question we need to ask ourselves in the industry is, 'Are we presenting great ideas to our clients?' That's the first thing. My guess would be we're not really, if we're really being hard on ourselves. When you see a great idea that's right, that's not a brave thing to buy, it's just the right thing to buy.鈥
TBWA\Sydney鈥檚 ECD, Katrina Alvarez-Jarratt, works for CCO Evan Roberts, Wolfie鈥檚 former creative partner at Clems. Katrina agrees with him that truly world-class work will never be hard to buy, because it will feel right.
鈥淚t's harder and harder for marketers, and I have a great deal of empathy for them. Because I've seen that change over my career, and budgets are tighter. They've got more pressure to drive growth than I think they've ever had. It makes it really hard to buy something different or try something new when you've got that pressure on you.
鈥淭he bravery piece is really interesting, right? If you have a really clear problem to solve, and the work really delivers on that, then even the wildest idea doesn't feel brave, it just feels like the right answer.
鈥淲hen you're doing something different, it's always going to feel a bit uncomfortable, but ultimately, it shouldn't. It should feel like the right answer.鈥
DDB Sydney creative partner Jenny Mak thinks safe ideas are the easiest to sell, because the most interesting ideas do cause discomfort at first.
鈥淪elling big ideas has always been about striking the right balance between creative ambition and client confidence,鈥 Jenny says.
Last week, Katrina argued truly . Speaking on a panel alongside Telstra CMO Brent Smart and Bear Meets Eagle on Fire founder Micah Walker, she argued you can鈥檛 apply rationality to the best creative work.
DDB鈥檚 Jenny adds fixating on rational data dampens creatives' ability to present emotionally instinctive ideas that connect with people (and drive business growth as a result).
鈥淥n one hand, data and technology have made it easier to validate ideas. But at the same time, this focus on data can make selling ideas harder,鈥 she explains.
鈥淏old ideas - the ones that win hearts and minds - often defy the metrics. They thrive on instinct, emotion, and a leap of faith, not a report.鈥
Special Group creative director Leti Bozzolini notes good clients want to buy good ideas; 鈥渢he big idea is becoming more necessary.鈥
鈥淕one are the days you just needed an idea that only worked in film - an idea now needs to go across film, OOH, social, digital, influencer, activation and partnership,鈥 she says, echoing Troy鈥檚 point that brands need to stretch further, across more channels. 鈥淎s a result, the big idea is becoming easier to sell than in the past.鈥
In order to convince good marketers to buy 鈥済reat, big ideas,鈥 Wolfie thinks 鈥渨e all need to be more interested in our clients鈥 and connected to culture and audiences.
鈥淲hen you're interested, you also know when a big idea is right for them, and how to tell that story, and what risk they are prepared to take.鈥
This year, Australia fell out of the Cannes top 10, tying with India at #11, which top leaders like . Australia and New Zealand was making six, seven, or eight years ago, and so this market needs to reset the benchmark.
鈥淥ne thing that we've always been as an industry is being very, very good at doing a lot with not much,鈥 he adds. 鈥淭hat's not new for us. That's actually what's defined us on the global stage.鈥
TBWA鈥檚 Katrina references a quote from Mischief co-founder Greg Hahn: 鈥淚 have often told my clients they don鈥檛 have the budget to be boring.鈥 Katrina notes that in the current economic conditions, 鈥渘o one鈥檚 rich enough, so you鈥檝e got to make a dent somehow, and the best way to waste a bunch of money is to make something that no one notices.鈥
It鈥檚 widely known that in a downturn, brands that continue to invest in marketing will outperform and outgrow competitors that slash spend. But increasing pressure on budgets and return on investment means it鈥檚 crucial creatives can handle criticism, advocate for the ideas they believe in, and remain resilient, Jenny argues.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 really changed is the landscape. Clients face tighter budgets, more scrutiny, and layers of approval. In this environment, selling an idea isn鈥檛 just about its brilliance - it鈥檚 about its resilience to criticism,鈥 she says.
鈥淭he easiest ideas to sell today? The safe ones. But the best ideas? They鈥檙e the ones that make people uncomfortable at first. Because that discomfort is where the magic begins.鈥