Maybe it's because it's triangles week at Brand Tarot but I've been thinking in threes again. I've been working on some presentations (which hopefully I'll be able to share soon) and this diagram occurred to me. Not that it was particularly relevant to what I was writing about but you know how these things pop into your head.
I think what this describes is the world that planning is heading into, the world that overlaps with UI design, experience design, product design, media of all forms etc etc. I think the fact that ad planners have some facility in translating ideas between these worlds is why we're being sucked into all sorts of industries. What I like about the world of blogging is that you can see the thinking that other people in the culture/commerce/creativity overlap are doing.
That's it. This doesn't really go anywhere yet. Just thought I'd mention it.
Shouldn't that be where all functions/organisations are heading?
Posted by: John Dodds | January 31, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Ha! I'm coming from the other direction.
ie, UI design & Experience Design. (or my particular job, 'Information Architecture')
and finding that I'm heading into a world that overlaps with planning.
Those circles pretty much describe what i do, apart from i'd probably change 'culture' to 'behaviour'
Posted by: David Carruthers | January 31, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Russell, good one, I am trying to think when commerce and creativity overlap (interact) and culture is _not_ involved, but that's probably just the anthropologist talking, culture, we see if everywhere. But, if that true, that would be a way to say that culture is the lingua franca that allows commerce and creativity to talk to one another, or the interface where they must meet, if they are going to meet. Or something. Thanks. Thought provoking!
Posted by: Grant | January 31, 2007 at 03:24 PM
While we might all be evolving to become these guys who develop insight driven platforms from which any manifestation of brand experience can evolve (ads, products, services, retail etc), by sniffing round the job market myself I find that there are very few 'ad agencies' really capable of providing the evolving needs of brands beyond advertising.
Sure, there are some creative hot shops pushing the envelope but at the end they just make shiny ads.
I went to a job interview at one the other day and said, "I don't want to take all the this information and deliver an rigorous insight that only helps make better advertising." At which point, I think I lost the job.
The thing is, I can count the number of US creative shops really evolving into new fields on one hand (includes Fahrenheit 212 and Anomaly).
The big danger for ad agencies is design agencies with product design skills. I'd argue that it's far easier for a design agency to expand into retail, communications and online than it is for an ad agency to expand into brand experience.
2c/p...
anyone got a job in somewhere I can just help make good stuff? ;)
P
Posted by: Piers Fawkes | January 31, 2007 at 04:22 PM
Nice idea. This sounds/looks a lot like what Ideo is doing. Maybe that should be the starting point for how we all work, since it ensures that insights/thinking/creativity are baked into the product and company from the begining.
Posted by: mark | January 31, 2007 at 05:23 PM
grant - if I wasn't trying to be make all three start a C I'd probably have written 'pop culture'. Getting at the idea that we have to engage with the world 'out there'. This is the problem we planners often have, we merrily use language that has a specific meaning to particular professions without the precision that they might like.
Posted by: russell | January 31, 2007 at 07:58 PM
I think you are absolutely right on with the Pop Culture addition, Russell. Seriously, I just bought my tickets to WonderCon (http://www.comic-con.org/wc/) rather than another planner/marketing conference. (If a comic conference does not scream pop culture, commerce and creativity, I don't know what does. Granted I'm also a geek for stuff like that.)
I am a planner for Dell and I had a blast and found some brilliant insights just scanning the "computers behind the blog" Flickr group.
As planners we can't own "insight" or "strategy." If you do, you need to get better work mates, I think. However, being the one who most studies that confluence above is totally something we should be offering.
Posted by: Cameron | January 31, 2007 at 10:18 PM
It's interesting that as a media owner this is also where we would say we are (I guess that means I agree with John)
Posted by: Neil Perkin | February 01, 2007 at 06:13 PM
Hey Russell - thanks for the post. Spurred on my own idea on "confluence". http://barkingurbanite.blogspot.com/2007/02/opportunity-for-creativity.html
Posted by: Shannon B. | February 02, 2007 at 01:22 AM