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Adaptability may be the most important skill today. The ability to seamlessly change and, more importantly, the willingness to change are now determining who moves up and who gets left behind.

My Story- Reflective Report on Agile Is The New Black and NYM14

Putting the tour into context:

The New York Minute 2014 (NYM14) study tour, requiring each student to document something ‘new’ in media and communications over two weeks in New York City, represented a number of things to me. It provided a unique and challenging aspect to my Master of Advertising course in terms of strengthening and heightening my academic studies, it allowed me to escape Australia once more and visit a place I had vowed to return to when I was 15 years old- New York City, and also it gave me a significant opportunity to boost my advertising career. I began my journey on the tour with the latter very much in mind and constructed a topic that would encourage me to contact communications professionals in New York.

To broaden my understanding of the industry, to network with professionals internationally, to be exposed to a new market, to be pushed to question the type of advertising work we do in Australia and why we do it, and to have my eyes opened by the perceptions and concepts of those with much greater experience than me- this is what I valued and hoped to achieve throughout our visit. Looking back I can confidently say that I did achieve this and more, particularly in regards to a newfound respect for the importance of innovation. Being a global practitioner is something I have a great ambition for as the world is no longer divided into separate local markets- it is fast becoming a singular global entity thanks to mobile technology and the Internet and for a graduate student entering such a fast paced industry, thinking global is a required skill. Thus the NYM14 tour was not just a great end to my university studies, it was the beginning of a very important part of personal development.

These are the moments that make you stop and think:

As you can tell, I had both high expectations about what I personally wanted to get out of the tour, yet at the same time I couldn’t tell you what I imagined the work of the tour would be like even if I tried. It became something of a freeing experience, I was able to throw myself into research- reading online articles, speaking with Melbourne entrepreneurs, building my twitter presence- and delve into a completely new world, the Start Up world, without any judgement or apprehension. What surprised me the most is that this feeling of limitlessness and the almost uncomfortable lack of boundaries continued when I arrived in New York. This freedom to discover and try anything and everything was absolutely essential. Thus, it was through the process of creating my documentary narrative that several critical incidents occurred, interwoven with the process of documenting my project, acting as a parallel narrative that helped to balance one with the other.

1. Arriving in New York

The wealth of information available in New York was overwhelming. Everywhere you looked, listened or wondered, there was a new insight into start up communications, start up agencies, or the start up philosophy- how and when to adopt the Lean Model. Prior to arriving in New York I knew it would be a hard task to decipher who exactly were the key players- and realised it was something that would have to occur more organically, as no amount of reading or note-taking would ever prepare myself for the pace at which networking and business occurs. Being placed in new surroundings naturally heightens ones ability to be aware of what is going on around you, noticing events that might pass locals by. Our first day on the tour we ventured to a series of startup co-working spaces where many of us would set up camp and produce our work. There was a huge sense of apprehension of the unknown and how these spaces would welcome us as students, yet I was pleasantly surprised at how open and excited they were to have us on board. That first day was a sensory overload as we covered a huge amount of ground across Manhattan and Brooklyn, yet as we travelled it struck me just how much of this startup world was occurring above and below the city streets. As I looked up to the high-rise buildings on Broadway, the penny dropped that anyone could walk past any of these buildings and not realise what was going on inside, not unless you had a reason to go in and find out- startup company or corporate office- it was all happening behind closed doors. It was up to us to find a way to open them. From day one I was reminded how easy it is to become complacent in day-to-day life, to miss what might be happening on the second floor of a building, or the basement of an art gallery. I made a mental note that when I returned to Australia, I didn’t want to simply pass things by, I needed to make more reasons to go in and see where it takes me, to see what I can learn from others and especially, to understand the way in which they perceive the world.

Being inquisitive and open requires one to actually go out, demonstrate your openess and find it. It won’t come to you.

2. Immersion into something very, very new- the Startup Culture:

It's all well and good to talk about it with classmates and read articles and tweets online, but being in the startup workspaces, going to their events and hearing their stories in person? That is a whole different story. I can't describe the energy that these men and women have. Passion and drive is everything that they need to get through the day. They live, eat, sleep, breathe their MVP’s (Minimal Viable Products) with such vigour that it can often make you exhausted just after one hour with them. There’s a phrase that is known to many- “love you work”- yet I had not truly understood the meaning of it until I met with the likes of New York entrepreneurs. It gave me something to aspire to, that sense of absolute love and passion for the work, and demonstrated to me that it is possible to be successful and in a lucky position to love what you do. What I did not expect was how open and willing the entrepreneurs were to sharing their thoughts and their stories- the events I went to were almost something of a religious experience the way that they look up to those who have succeeded in such a tough environment.

3. Getting a feel for New York agency life:

Advertising agencies in New York. Something that many Australian students have dreamt about as the ideal career on Madison Avenue. I had been going back and forth between the startup workspace, interviews with technology and communications startup founders and consultants, and interviews with a few advertising agencies when it suddenly struck me how close minded those that worked in agencies had become. They existed in the Madison Avenue bubble and while they acknowledged the work of startups there was a certain distain, or impatience for anything other than their work in the industry. Advertising is a world where you have to fend for yourself so I understand their need to project the good work they have done, however I did not foresee the constant inability to be curious about what lies beyond. Creative directors don’t seem to understand what media agencies do, media agencies don’t seem to need to keep abreast of technological innovation and I’m left wondering how these agencies have kept their clients afloat.

Single-mindedness was everywhere in the New York advertising field. Something that is very much discouraged in Australia and shocked me so much so that being curious is now my number one personal goal in developing my career.

4. A pivotal moment on the Highline Tour:

Standing above the city streets on the Highline in Chelsea I listened to our tour guide describe the way in which the design of the Highline had begun to impact the surrounding buildings, and at certain point, these new buildings also impacted the design of the Highline- a sort of process of reflection via architecture and design. I digested this thought for a very long time that morning- the reflective, give and take nature of an object and its surroundings. As narrated in my documentary, it was a pivotal point for the project’s narrative and research however it significantly resonated with my own self. I had approached the tour not just as a university subject and assignment but also as something of a life lesson. I was motivated to be as open as possible to events that occurred and aware of my surroundings. The Highline tour came to represent one of these life lessons reminding me that I am influenced and equally impact the environment around me, meaning that not only do I need to have a strong sense of my own being and any personal changes I make but also understand how the surrounding environment adapts and changes simultaneously. Thus it is crucial to keep my eyes open as to what's happening around me as it can give an indication to how I am residing in this world. For example work spaces, social meetings, career networks, hobbies etc. As dramatic as it sounds, the Highline was a crucial turning point.

5. Creativity will kill monotony:

You always save the best till last. At least you try to. In my case I was flooded with last minute interview opportunities that came through for my documentary. By chance I happened to be able to meet with a man on the very last Thursday who has become somewhat of an icon for brands competing at the forefront of innovation and attempting to incorporate startups into their business, either via adopting new technology, or adopting more agile marketing communications to capture a new audience. This particular man had come from being a playwrite, to working with a number of fledgling startups, to consulting on huge corporate brands and running wildly popular startup conventions. I couldn’t believe that I had stumbled upon such a character on my very last day, however I only got there through sheer persistence and willingness to see it through. It was gratifying to note that both of us could have walked away at any point, I was just a student asking to interview for a few minutes, yet neither of us did. He taught me two very important lessons that Thursday- 1. Never let assumptions get in the way of a chance meeting, and 2. His eagerness for creative work and his drive to chase creativity from one project to the next has removed monotony completely from his life.

From Incidents to Insights:

The experiences I gained from the tour led me to several key insights that were a result of interactions with people throughout my project, New York city itself- one that never sleeps and always offers something new to discover if you let it, the culture of both America, ad agencies and startups- so vastly different to Australia, and from frequent food adventures leading me to areas that only locals venture. To put it simply, I have outlined below as a summary of what I believe are the most important takeaways:

Skills to network with-

Ways in which to reach out successfully and how to negotiate timeframes, time zones and pitching via email

How to navigate cultural differences in a business context

Being hyper aware of oneself-

Realising the importance of having a consciousness of my own behaviours and how I impact the space around me.

Broadening of the mind-

A career can go in many directions and opportunities if you keep your eyes open, are actually endless. You just have to be both agile enough and passionate enough to draw them out. Equally as important, with every failure comes success, while I couldn’t achieve everything that I had wanted to for my documentary project such as producing a short video alongside my narrative, I know exactly what to do differently for next time. One experience has broadened my mind for the next time I am faced with similar challenges.

My love for advertising is real-

This for me, is a big deal. To confirm that the time and effort, literal sweat (thank you New York Summer) and tears, are all worth it means a great deal. While I acknowledge that I may change industries sooner or later, I can now be firmly satisfied that my ambition to work in the cut throat industry of advertising is authentic and true. It is a fascinating little gem of an industry, cunning one might say. This cunningness is what makes me smile, because while some tout at it, I firmly believe that this is a path to building by skills in communications- so much so that I can one day push the creative communications envelope with my own team to solve some of the biggest communication challenges out there.

What New York taught my career:

When one goes through such a short and intense experience, there’s a sense of adrenaline that comes along with it, a heightened sense of ambition for better future practice. Perhaps it was the intense passion of the entrepreneurs I met, but the tour gave me a number of skills and lessons to benefit my own career in the Advertising industry, both in Melbourne and hopefully overseas in the next few years. These are a direct result of the critical incidents I narrated above:

A greater ambition to be a unique communicator-

Studying the new in media and communications made me much more aware that it is no longer about being skilled in one aspect of marketing communications, sch as advertising. One needs to be aware of and be prepared to learn skills for all aspects of marketing communications. As my documentary discovered, the communications landscape is increasingly connected, a blur of channels, platforms, stakeholders and audiences requiring knowledge of all elements and no longer can one rely on being a specialist just in one field.

To think beyond the immediate environment-

There’s a world of new out there and only when you look up from your everyday life, or run head on into it as we did on tour, do you notice how much more is going on around you. Sometimes it’s hard to have the time to realise just how much is going on, however I feel I have gained both a personal and a professional perspective by removing myself from my familiar Australian surroundings.

Being incredibly open to the diversity in marketing communications-

Speaking to such a broad range of individuals throughout the New York tour quickly demonstrated that communications is still one of the fastest developing industry’s to work in. Not only is the pace non-stop but the development within it, strong links to technology, business, environment and to consumption just to name a few means that innovation is inevitable- and that therefore career paths can be incredibly unique and literally limitless. I had given way to what I believed to be the standard advertising career, working my way up in a few agencies and eventually find myself a position in senior management. That’s not to say I hadn’t considered moving client side or following an alternate opportunity should it come up, I had just become complacent with the near future being filled with generic agency life. The tour offered a breath of fresh air encouraging one to always be open and to thrive on the new, because there is always something new out there.

Adopting the Lean philosophy-

I will continue to draw on the philosophy of the Lean model in order to consciously absorb elements such as agility, responsiveness and adaptability into my own professional behaviour. I strongly believe that the communications landscape will have to continue to become more agile in order to keep up with consumer demand, thus it makes perfect sense for those working within the industry to adopt such agility in their own approach to work as well.

Identifying the new in my field, and enhancing advertising life after New York:

My topic lent itself nicely to looking at where advertising agencies and their clients are heading in the near future given such a consumer-centric society driven by mobile technology is well and truly here to stay. This consumer behaviour in both Australian and American markets has significantly impacted the need for innovation by brands, and by agencies too. I frequently came up against the agency insisting it was their job to be nimble and agile on behalf of the client- as the client has no interest, or no capabilities to adopt elements of the Lean model. Thus I was pleasantly surprised that I had in fact not only unwittingly isolated the correct key players to speak to- start ups who can express the importance of agility in communications, and agencies who represent commercial brands- but had also chosen to ask the right question. One that gave me many clues to how I should play my hand in the advertising industry and as a young graduate working in agencies in Melbourne.

The ‘new’ I am referring to here is the extent to which people already understood the importance of agility in marketing communications. As one woman at a start up said “it’s not all about moving fast and breaking things, that’s not always possible” but it is possible for individuals within the agency or start up to keep themselves as agile and responsive as possible. For example, the innovation in technology in terms of how society communicates- wearable technology, geo-targeting, new social media platforms etc- may never make it into a common FMCG commercial brand’s advertising campaign, however if one is keeping up with these changes, and constantly learning about them, then the option to work at the forefront of creative communications will be thrown out the window. In short, I quickly understood that agility as demonstrated by start ups, is something that should be adopted personally as it not only encourages inquisitiveness but also resilience in a very tough industry.

The marketing communications field is very much grappling with how to keep up with consumers and gain share of mind in an innovative and creative way, thus I walked away from the two weeks in New York with an incredible sense of curiosity and ambition to take on board personally the remarks made by the professionals I had interacted with. Agility is not only a philosophy for business models and communication campaigns, but also for one’s own career.

Returning to Australia, I feel I have had such a unique experience that could not be replicated in any other project, in any other city. I also recognised after returning to full-time work at a media agency that the Australian market is a few steps behind the American market, allowing my new found knowledge to potentially provide an upper hand. For example in how I approach clients, how I approach agency life, and how I approach my personal development by not allowing myself to forget just how much there is to learn out there. Innovation is only going to speed up, if anything and my NYM14 experience is certainly going to do me well.

The Back Story to Agile Is The New Black

Project statement:

Agile Is The New Black is a series of narratives set in New York with the purpose of capturing the impact of the startup philosophy (the Lean model) on the marketing communications landscape. With audiences becoming increasingly fragmented, picking and choosing the way in which they consume content and utilise digital platforms, the pressure is on both commercial brands and advertising agencies to keep up. Marketing communications is thus experiencing a significant change. Agility, adaptability, relevance and responsiveness are essential- engaging audiences has never been more sought after. These are the stories through the eyes of startups, agencies and thought leaders in New York to uncover the truth of the moment: are brands and agencies mirroring the agility of startups in order to navigate the increasingly fragmented communications landscape?

The ‘new’ in media and communications that I went out to capture-

Key Insights:

The journey that took place throughout the study tour led Agile Is The New Black to interact with a range of startups, entrepreneurs and advertising professionals. Each of whom had their own story to tell and their own perspective on what agile meant to marketing communications. As the journey took place these perspectives began to converge and isolate several common factors, indentifying key insights (each highlighted below) into the communications landscape, New York startups, advertising agencies, and how all three are now converging.

The communications landscape has in fact changed:

Consumer consumption patterns are constantly changing and evolving, we pull content towards us as we want to- rather than brands being able to interrupt with their message they are having to fit into the consumers lives. Because of this, quality, personalisation and the humanistic element of marketing communications is more important than ever before. Agencies and startups are working to engage an audience via authentic and transparent experiences. This suggests the need to be very focused, very niche in a particular area in order to ensure both authentic engagement and high levels of quality.

From a startup perspective:

Startups are now part of the communications landscape whether marketing professionals like it or not. However what is on offer from the startups is the opportunity to invest in innovation and become agile through either the innovative products or the startup philosophy. In reality the importance of quality, niche and authentic brand experiences is so great that in the near future brands might not have a choice but to adapt or die. This is reflected in the “hustle” nature of startups- constantly moving forward and adapting as the market adapts. Startups are now an example of how to become a niche experts in the marketing communications field- for example Newscred or Contently are breaking down the communications process in order to become specialists. Offering education to brands to pursue a more adaptive and responsive practice while also offering an avenue for the brand to be agile in the interim.

From an agency perspective:

The need to be responsive and agile to the changing consumer is recognised by all and understand that it is important for the future of the industry. In particular it is the agency that is responsible for acting as the most agile and nimble body on behalf of larger commercial brands, to scout new technology and new communication innovations and determine if it would be worthy for the client to proceed. There is also a trend of much smaller and more niche agencies, particularly digital agencies, popping up across New York, signifying that there is significant demand for both expertise in new technology and how that can be worked into a brand campaign via multi-platform engagement, but also demand for specialists in advertising rather than a one stop shop full-service ad agency. Thus the key findings from an agency perspective are being able to adopt elements of agility with keeping up with new innovations on the market and also constantly challenging the client to be more daring, to be more creative and evolve in the way they communicate with consumers.

The changing landscape has brought these players together:

The result of Agile Is The New Black is not definite, as the environment is ever-changing and developing, however the documentary did begin to uncover the potential middle ground for agility to be shared between startups, ad agencies and commercial brands for the benefit of the consumer. Put succinctly by an interview I had with Garth Holsinger, an advocate for startups and a consultant on innovation to the likes of Procter & Gamble and Nike: “These trends are re-shaping the way that consumers acquire knowledge, share opinions and buy products. Brands are only just beginning to see the light in the form of innovation labs, or using startups as an extension of themselves to provide the brand with an element of agility” (Garth Holsinger- Pilot 44, 2014)

What the audience should takeaway:

The audience of Agile Is The New Black is taken on a journey through a series of narratives, each a snapshot of life in New York searching to capture a new element of marketing communications inspired by the start up Lean model. A question is posed about the potential for agility, as a central part of the Lean model, to be adopted by advertising agencies and commercial brands as a means to keeping up with the increasingly consumer-centric landscape. These narratives, constructed from interviews and events with entrepreneurs, employees of startups, founders of startups, founders of advertising agencies, employees of advertising agencies and my personal observations, exist as a source of content on a fairly unknown topic so as to educate the audience and propose opportunity for further conversation.

The documentary as a whole, is meant to be consumed over time- contemplated and reflected upon- just as I reflected upon the experience in New York. The unique platform on which it is situated, ‘Medium’, a startup online platform for public journalism, allows the audience control over how, when and where stories are read- equally fitting the theme of agility and consumer-centricity. The platform also enabled a space for storytelling that is rarely indulged, allowing different lengths of narrative to be curated in real-time along side quotes, images and videos all original works captured onsite across New York city. Agile Is The New Black is a very personal, yet very open window into an element of innovation within marketing communications where the platform on which it is presented is as important as the content itself.

Choice of media- Medium.com

Agile Is The New Black unfolded as a real-time narrative on an online public storytelling and story-sharing platform called 'Medium'. A start up platform itself, Medium was the perfect platform for the documentary to unfold as it allows individuals to create their own pages and upload their original stories in a professional setting- almost as if curating ones own publications. The adaptability and multimedia aspect of the platform allowing images, videos and edits to be made anytime, anywhere mimicked the agile and responsive theme of the documentary content itself. It became clear very quickly while researching and considering key players to speak with in New York that this particular documentary would be very heavy in content, there were so many moments to capture- moments that needed time to take in and contemplate. Thus the documentary required a platform that enabled the viewer to work their way through the content at their own pace as well as allowing them to choose the way in which they discover each narrative. While the documentary is presented as a story with several chapters in chronological order, each narrative has been written as an individual story in itself, again highlighting the agile theme by recognizing that not all viewers will or are able to read the entire documentary. Essentially, the platform allowed both ‘snackable’ and ‘feature length’ content, something deemed very important when considering how fleeting and fragmented media consumption is (Nick Shore, Astronauts Wanted at NY Media Centre 2014).

The people were the process:

The people and the events I engaged with very much dictated the form and conclusions of the project. I had a hypothesis, and I wanted to rely on what I found in New York to direct the findings. As such a great amount of effort and time was invested into reaching out via email and twitter to as many sources as possible in order to network, interact and become involved in as many experiences as time would allow.

Startups:

Newscred and Contently- two startups who have produced brand publishing platforms enabling brands to produce and manage their own content advertising vastly improving the quality and rate at which native advertising can occur and educating brands on how to take charge of their communication touch points and interact in a more meaningful way with their consumers.

Pilot44- founded by Garth Holsinger, Pilot44 is attempting to bridge the gap between technology startups and commercial brands by providing brands with the opportunity to test and evaluate new products prior to bringing them in house. Garth was a particular gem of a contact who has had a huge amount of experience in bringing startups and brands together, recognising the importance of getting these two parties to work together in order to build a productive and innovative future.

WeWork- a very successful US based collaborative workspace, I interviewed their in-house magazine editor and community manager prior to the beginning of the two weeks production in order to get a feel for the startup culture, what was seen as essential to their workspace success and what sort of startup trends they had seen lately.

Unsuccessful contacts:

StoryShift- a very recent startup website by Melisa Singh encouraging individuals to share their personal stories online.

Thunderclap- A startup for social good, working to encourage small donations from many to achieve big goals.

Chartcorp- a startup online platform that enables users to chart and track their media performance, like a unique analytics tool.

Idea / Shift- A US based publication on gobal technology innovation.

Agencies:

Opperman Wiess- A small creative and brand strategy advertising agency who have found their niche in devising the brands ‘playbook’ and then acting as coordinator of the brands creative communications

PHD New York- As a global media agency, a visit to the PHD New York office gave much needed insight into the American market and the key media touchpoints as well as providing an understanding on how American clients differ to those in Australia. Early in the project, this particular agency ignited my passion for the topic I was documenting and also pushed the narrative in a new direction by identifying agencies as the reality of a brands capabilities to be agile- not the brand itself.

Droga 5 and Y&R New York- No formal interview was carried out however several meetings with a creative director and an account manager from both creative agencies provided commentary on the project and much needed friendly advice in regards to career progression in the advertising industry and working abroad.

Unsuccessful contacts:

Tank Branding- No formal interview was carried out due to running out of time during the production of the documentary.

Red Antler, Space150, Stellarhead, Brooklyn United, Social Bomb- each of these digital agencies in Dumbo were contacted with some positive response however a time to meet was never managed.

Events:

Digital Hustle with Jason Calacanis- A startup event run by The Phat Startup, a small networking group in New York who bring in guest speaks, such as Angel Investor Jason Calacanis to advise and inspire young entrepreneurs with their own stories

The Highline Tour- while not a startup event, the Highline became a crucial thought starter for my project and personal reflection based on the concept that an environment and an object within that environment tend to work off of each other, they give and take, instead of purely reflecting a mirror image of on another.

The StoryTour on Food Startups in Brooklyn- a tasty morning spent at a food startup hub in Brooklyn lead by a new form of storytelling in the real world, as an offline experience. This morning not only accentuated the characteristics of the people who work in startup companies but also demonstrated that the startup philosophy, the agility required, is not just a business plan- it’s much more organic, it’s a way of life.

Millennials and Mobile Media with Astronauts Wanted- A presentation night held at NY Media Centre for a new startup digital agency called Astronauts Wanted *No Experience Required who focus solely on the forefront of social media and how Generation Z (youth under 18 years of age) can be targeted via the ‘rising stars’ of such platforms as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Vine etc. The talk provided an eye-opening insight into the up and coming consumer and the kind of communications challenges brands will face soon when trying to reach these young consumers.

Big Brands Week- A week long event run by Garth Holsinger, a successful consultant for both brands and startups, and WeWork, a startup co-working space, looking at how technology startups and brands can start to interact, how to facilitate such relationships and what value they can provide each other

Documentary Annotation

Agile Is The New Black, hosted on Medium, is a curated collection of narratives accompanied with original photography taken in New York city at each location where the narrative took place. The landing page of the documentary provides a title and brief description allowing the audience to quick glance and have an understanding of what the project is about.

The collection, stored on a unique documentary site, appears below the title description as a series of 'reads' ranging from 2 minutes to 6 minutes long. This caters not only to audiences that may not want to read every section of the documentary, but also allows the audience to control the way they consumer the information- to pick and choose as they see fit. While the order to the narratives has been curated on purpose each story heading and description acts as a topic sentence, so that as the viewer scrolls down, if they read each title they will have an understanding as to what the entire project is about- without even clicking into a story.

Each narrative, such as the introduction to the documentary below, begins with a paragraph setting the scene, and putting spotlight on the main characters taking part in that particular entry.

At the end of each story is a take away thought- a bold sentence or quote to act as a thought starter for the next entry. The use of the platform Medium also enables audiences to share either the whole story or quotes as they read, and as such, the narratives have been constructed in such a way as to offer 'quotable quotes', taking advantage of the Medium editing tools changing the size of texts and highlighting key points.

After attending a few Startup events and spending the first few days at our co-working space NY Media Centre in Dumbo (as narrated in 'Dive in. Bring Snorkels. And Flippers' and 'When in Doubt Hustle'), I felt I had a good start to understanding the New York startup culture- good enough to take my initial research to a media agency, PHD. I had approached the concept of agility being adopted by commercial brands as the essence of my project, yet at this meeting, within five minutes I had quickly turned around to discover that it is the agency is offering brands the potential to become agile. It was at this point that the style of narrative held by Agile Is The New Black over all became much more conversational and anecdotal, as I realised that there would be many points where I would uncover an insight, only to have it contrasted by the next person I interviewed. This documentary was very much a story of working through the process as it was about about capturing the new in media and communications.

The first week in New York I attended a number of events or experiences, one of which was a significant turning point as detailed in the post "The Light Bulb Moment". I originally did not expect to be able to find insights into my project from every event or meeting I went to however the project began to consume the way in which I thought about things, the way I processed the city, the way I viewed my surroundings. Something I did not expect was just how much I could use to contribute to the content within the documentary, however given the flow of each narrative developing as the actual study tour developed, it made for a much more comprehensive insight into drawing startups and advertising agencies together through the concept of agility.

The Niche Agency narrative was completely unplanned, I hadn't expected the documentary to develop in the direction of considering ad agencies themselves as beginning to act like startups, thus I thought it was essential to draw upon an agency contact and a startup event to demonstrate a new kind of agency emerging in the field, agencies that have been put together by very experienced professionals- signifying that there must be a reason for the change.

Having touched on examples of startup culture and examples of advertising agencies both big and small- it was necessary to devise a narrative that demonstrated the relationship between the two particularly those specialising in communications. The documentary had posed some interesting questions but it hadn't yet delved deep enough into how the startup philosophy could be adopted by commercial brands- until I found two startups, Newscred and Contently, to provide their own perception of how their success had impacted the forefront of innovation in marketing communications with their content marketing platforms.

In order to make sense of the journey I felt it necessary to summarise the experience as a moment in time, a moment of truth. The word 'moment' being key here, as the nature of the topic and the industry will simply keep on evolving and moving forward. This documentary is only able to capture what it was like during the two weeks in July, 2014. Nevertheless, the final narrative acts as conclusion, drawing on key insights from all stories across the project. By presenting the work in such a manner, it allows the audience to click in one place and read only one piece if they wished to simply know the result. While Agile Is The New Black aimed to capture a journey, some may wish to simply have an answer- 'Moment of Truth' acts as said answer.

It would have been fantastic to have had the opportunity to produce a short video of the documentary, so as to create a more visual and stimulating introduction to the project however this is a lesson learnt for next time.

Resources

Agile Is The New Black - medium.com/agile-is-the-new-black

Contently - www.contently.com

Newscred - www.newscred.com

PHD NY - www.phdmedia.com

Pilot44 - www.pilot44.com

Opperman Wiess - www.oppermanwiess.com

WeWork - www.wework.com/magazine

Content-ly tapping away

Today was a day of writing, a lot of writing. It's been tricky balancing the lastest interviews and writing up the final stories- I've finally caught up but still a few narratives to go given I keep meeting up with people!

The latest is Newscred and Contently, are both startups on the path to brand publishing. Each has there own platform and each has a unique take on bringing the wealth of high quality journalism and the content that they write and merging them brand opportunities so as to simultaneously supply journos with a revenue stream, and enhance the calibre of brand content out in the world.

Newscred believes that "content should be at the heart of marketing" and have built a platform on which to plan, co-ordinate, serve and measure content. This means that the brand themselves can manage their own content calendar and even watch what news stories from across multiple publishers are doing well according to the selected tags and selected target audience. Newscred also have the ability to push content out to publishers websites like Native advertising, beyond a brand website and into the news world in general. What intrigued me was that they are actively partnering with media agencies to get a better handle on the distribution of the content that is produced by either their in-house team or their freelancers. To me this is the best way to get in with brands and set yourself up for long term success- best of both worlds, so to speak, as they are essentially creating a niche space (not quite agency, not quite contractor, not quite publisher but a definite expert in only content marketing with a beautiful platform to boot).

Contently on the other hand is much more focused on packing up their platform and matching the talent of the journos with the brand. Essentially the catch cry of the guy I spoke to at Contently was two pronged- 1. the platform and 2. the talent. Strategy involved with matching content with brands was apparently only a recent edition and to me it sounds so strange that they haven't invested more in that. However his explanation was that the brands that approach them already have a clear strategy in mind and don't need time spent on it, what they need is editors and writers to produce the personality of the brand for their own brand pages. Contently are packaging their platform and the opportunity to work with top writers as opposed to providing an end-to-end solution like Newscred. It's interesting to see that both have picked up on an integral shift in marketing - content is so hot right now- and approach it with the design of a platform and provide money to journalists yet not approach the market in the same way.

It's genuinely fascinating to see how two people start from a similar place and end up, when you look very closely, in very separate parts of the world...

Despite this the key take outs are the following: Niche- being able to drill down for brands and select a content topic that brands can be experts on and therefore unique and interesting and genuine is key. Content is flooding the market, so they need to be able to stand out and this seems to be the key

Quality- both parties spoke about this at length, quality wins every time. Quality writers, quality editors, quality in the platform design, quality in the brand personality, quality content. Only the best for these clients apparently. And they're big global ones too.

Frequency- a key problem faced by clients is gathering enough content to make it real and engaging. This significantly links with what PHD NY said about engagement being the upmost importance to US consumers.

Getting down to brand communication innovation

I met with a start up turned profitable business today- Newscred- who have built their own beautifully designed platform to enable content marketers and journalists to mutually benefit. The crux of the problem they are solving is a) creating an environment where content marketing is at the heart of campaigns and is actually good content and b) providing a revenue stream to highly competent journalists who either freelance for ad hoc brand projects or work in the Newscred Newsroom.

It's a fascinating space and a fascinating office- trendy and very open, like many of the more entrepreneurial companies I have met with.

The reason to meet with them was to get a first hand look at their platform and also to hear their thoughts on being a go between for brands and their content. Newscred are all about quality, all about giving a greater opportunity to the immense amount of content libraries and resources any journalist has and ensuring they have revenue to go off and do their passion projects. The benefit for the brands is that this means excellent writers producing incredible content to work into native advertising or a brand dedicated website or blog.

While it is quite intricate the space they are playing in- "niche" seems to be another key theme within my project- they have certainly created a new area of communications to innovate, and arrived at the right time. Content is increasingly hard to get right and we need a real time management system that also mixes in analytics of news stories from around the world in order to best serve branded content in the right way and the right time in the right space.

Impressive no?

"you’ll notice that [Lean] is much more about principles than it is about practices. This is the trap that many teams new to Agile and Lean fall into. They focus on the practices when the real place to look is the principles."

Collin, Agile Coach @ UX Weekly London via ustwo.com

When an interview fails, smile and move on.

So I just met with an account director of a very small, very new agency in New York situated in China Town- believe it or not the loft space they are using is where Beastie Boy's recorded some of their albums! So that's awesome.

However what wasn't so awesome were my interviewing skills. I'm definitely having an off day and I'm fairly sure the man I was interviewing was just as out of it... But key take away? I've learnt when interviewing someone who doesn't talk very much and doesn't give you ver much- you have to have more questions prepared. I did have questions but I made the mistake of thinking that all my experiences would be the same as I have had people prior to now that are so chatty I can just pick key points they make and go from there, no questions necessary.

I think it is fascinating that the essence of the advertising agency is to construct a brand strategy only. They facilitate campaigns and the creative production but their be all and end all is the brand's playbook. Hence making global clients a key focus. It's also the type of agency that relies on out-sourcing to independent creatives and the network they have built over their own careers. This makes an interesting point on the nature of ad agencies and the environment that they build around themselves. This particular agency has purposefully said no to ever getting too big and is trying to go against the norm- moving away from full service and simply be experts on the strategy of a brand and act as consultants instead of producers. To me it sounds like the perfect job- hashing out a new direction for a brand, and defining the key strategic insight, then co-ordinating and facilitating across multiple markets around the world. Their creative flair shines through on their side projects such as producing these beautiful films with their filming partner RSA. While an agency and accountable for their clients, they are incredibly unique in their positioning to take up side projects such as developing branded content on their own terms and then pitching it to a company (instead of the other way around), and taking up product development as part of their agency offerings. Working predominantly with Alcohol brands, product development is crucial simply because its such a homogenous market. So they've definitely chosen the right area and right type of client who will be wiling to take the leap into product differentiation.

Alright, so key take outs today:

1. This style of agency would not have been possible five years ago. Technology is facilitating the ease of creating content- something that was mentioned by my other agency visit as well. So a small agency can easily outsource and co-ordinate a huge global brand strategy and be still be responsive and nimble. In my book this makes it just as agile as a start up in an incubator.

2. The agency is based on creatives, not suits. More importance on the idea than the execution means more explosive personalities but also more explosive opportunities for innovative ideas.

3. The agency is niche, yet they take chances with side projects. I haven't yet met an agency or read about an agency that is as niche as this one. It's a beautiful concept and I only wish the interview had gone better!

So there you go. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn to just smile it out and hope they don't think you're an awkward student. Next time I can wow them. If I get a next time!

creativesomething

Yes, you can teach creativity. You give people a set of tools and techniques and approaches, and you help them gain the necessary mindset. Creativity is a result of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that allow you to be a problem-solver.

The always great Tina Seelig explains how to teach creativity in her interview with VentureBeat. (via creativesomething)

Work hard, play hard.

it's already week two, and time seems to literally be flying by. Having a bit of a break from the project on the weekend allowed room for some equally amazing experiences- R&B clubs, music concerts at Terminal 5, walks through parks and discovering new cafes in Soho (including the cronut bakery!) and my favourite by far- Sleep No More. An interactive and immersive performance of Macbeth at The McKittrick Hotel. It was incredible, and I would recommend any who hasn't already go, and if you have gone? go again.

With a bit of arts and culture absorbed (museums are next weekend of course), it's back to interviews and getting as many stories out as possible. Only four days left!

Gearing Up for Second Week NYM

In light of my 'let's run away from the white sheets of paper' mood, I am endevouring to produce two stories right now. Well after this reflection I will complete two stories and all will be grand.

Week 1 moments:

Events: Start Up Networking at Alley NYC, Astronauts Wanted (digital agency) presentation, Story Tour in Brooklyn for food start ups and Highline Tour.

Meetings: WeWork Magazine and PHD NY Office. Spontaneous interview with a Chelsea Market Jewellery stand

Discoveries: Chelsea Markets, Soho, Pianos R&B bar in L.E.S, that you literally cannot escape people or conversation abut marketing or start ups. No joke. Everywhere in NYC.

Moving onto week 2:

I just wanted to note here a few things from week 1 on the tour and what I should do differently in week 2:

1. Be independent- it's very easy to be caught up in other people's projects and as they're so interesting I love passing on resources I've seen and hearing about their experiences. However I'm on my own journey and as much as I love pretending I'm my own mini community manager (Yep mum and dad I've found a new career path) stuff still needs to be done before time runs out. Productivity needs to triple. And so it will.

2. Be a producer- on the note of productivity, it's very easy to view this as just a project but in fact it's much more than that- it means a lot to me personally and this environment that we are working in and getting involved in means a great deal to those we are interacting with. Trust that you have your own unique experience just like these other entrepreneurs and run with it, don't get sucked into approaching it all as a student. Though I feel like I have represented myself well- I need to believe that I am there on their level. Eye to eye so to speak. I am producing my own brand and my own business through this project.

3. Say Yes and then Say No- like everyone warned us there is too much going on, and New York is just that- kind of a big deal- but it will still be a big deal when you come back to visit on another holiday. So week one was all Yes, week 2 is yes in moderation. My yes is going on a diet.

4. Be concise- Week 2 is all about narrowing down and laying out the content of the documentary, while I have a LOT of interviews to get to as well I need to make sure I have something other than the Medium stories for the Friday pop up. At the moment I'm thinking posters: infographics or quotes/key phrases that map out my whole process from the people I've spoken to and demonstrated where I pivoted my train of thought. Or I could just do a wicked looking mirror with the #AgileIsTheNewBlack painted on it and ask people to tweet their thoughts back at me as a live tag survey.

So if all goes to plan, week 2 will be a bit more self-preserving, a bit more productive and a lot of hard working fun.

The point at which you simply can't look at blank sheets of white paper anymore.

I have my notes. I have my contacts. I have emailed what feels like over a hundred hours worth of emails. I've done readings and followed conversations on twitter. I have stories I want to tell.... and yet that blank piece of white paper. Honestly, it's the most intimidating hurdle I've faced this whole tour. I doubt it's writers block, it's just a fear of getting it wrong and also not being entirely certain where I am going to end up... so I don't know how to just throw something out and manipulate as I go.

I'm frustrated by how much time just getting contacts and organising times has taken and really disappointed I haven't got at least one story out. I have a lot of back work to do, no doubt I can combine a few as well or jsut make them shorter reads for the Medium site. The disappointment coupled with the blank sheets of white paper has not served me well these past three days.

I've loved this project- I've had my moments of exasterpation- but I've loved it and I'm excited that people find my topic interesting and like to comment on it - so why do I keep leaving my stories unfinished and unpublished? AMY JUST GET SOMETHING OUT THERE.

Perhaps a cronut will solve all my problems.

Park In The Sky- Highline Tour, Chelsea

Keep it simple, Keep it wild, Keep it quiet, Keep it Slow.

The air. The fresh, clean air. Just by getting off the ground on the west side of New York and suddenly, surrounded by wild vegetation and rustic ironwork intermingled with concrete paving- you can breath again.

Take-away food for thought from a StoryTour in Brooklyn

Shift in consumption, mentality of New Yorkers, Passion for start ups, organic nature of working within a growing start up, the gift of giving, pivoting including a complete change of lifestyle. The genuine, transparent nature of start ups which makes you like them straight away--> there's something about the intangible characteristics of these foodie start ups that makes you trust them, that makes you want more that makes you go out of your way to purchase their product. Perhaps it's the sense of discovery. Perhaps it's the intimacy.

Hold that thought!

Do you ever have that moment when you finally get a problem off your chest and then bam! the solution appears? Forget about Hashtag Blues- I think I have a solution!

Agile Is The New Black. Also known as #AgileIsTheNewBlack and #AITNB

Why not run with one of the most popular pop culture references in the US at the moment. Also a reference to the most sneaky television marketing move that changed free to air/subscription TV consumption courtesy of Netflix (this is in reference to the bulk release of television shows only available from one producer, Netflix, which has not only encouraged people to binge watch but also created a new level of hype and anticipation surrounding the release of TV shows pandering to time-shift viewing and getting in front of illegal downloads). Cheers Netflix.

The title is also tipping my hat to the nature of the advertising beast. Trends come in and out and my hypothesis that agility and the start up philosophy is being adopted by larger companies and brands is trying to pin point if it is simply a trend or if it is a permanent shift. Will agile stay in fashion? Or is it simply the new black, a passing business accessory?

Passion.

We headed out today on the StoryTour at a Food Start Up type incubator in Brooklyn. It was a fantastic tour for the morning with AH-mazing food to be sampled. Popsicles to slushies to pasta to

Hashtag Blues

It's all in the name. Without a title, without something that grabs people's attention and gets across your brand message in one go, you're not getting anywhere.

We are a visual society, we speak and interact via images- emoticons and social media platforms such as Instagram or Pintrest- are quick examples of how our lives are so heavily intertwined with images, with the visual language. Forget slang words, forget shorthand (thank you smartphones)- we are visual creatures who learn, communicate, judge, assume, discover, and create with images and icons that surround us.

Take a look at NewsCred's Visual Virality Inofgraphic, it's an incredible collection of information supporting this:

This is why a brand logo is so important, why a tagline is so important, why the name is so important.

Enter the Hashtag Blues..... I am having a lot of positive feedback about my topic and that it's a great question to ask yet I cannot for the life of me figure out a way to name it, to brand it and make it into a hashtag. I've never struggled so much to put a name out there before, perhaps it's because I don't to mess it up or choose the wrong thing to only have to pivot and use another one. I can only imagine the back and forth start up's have in launching their brand name and the time it takes to put it together. For example, visiting the StoryTour food hub near Flushing Avenue over in Brooklyn today we heard about how all these fantastic food producers deliberated over the name. While the product comes naturally and is quite an organic process to begin with- the label and the look and feel of the start up is where so much time must be invested. I wonder if it is almost more important than the product itself. The idea, sure, but the brand is next. Like I said, we're visual creatures and will gather around a good looking piece of design - we're savvy enough to know when a product is carefully crafted and put together and when it's not.

Jason Calacanis said "This is the age of excellence. Build something beautiful"

I think he's right.

I need to solve these hashtag blues if I am to have a complete project.

How to deal with a big deal

PHD NY

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