Much of the conversation around the GOP’s need to better adopt technology is not only about innovation but also involves a radical change in how we approach collaboration. But what does collaboration look like in an industry dominated by agencies who often compete for business?
One example might be the Technology, Advertising & Startup Council, co-founded by David Berkowitz, Darren Herman, Ian Schafer and Mark Silva. The TASC has been getting a lot of pub lately for trying to shake up the paradigm shared by a majority of New York ad agencies that make competition cutthroat and collaboration almost impossible. And while their audience appears to be pretty limited (only 27 likes on Facebook and no website I could find), by putting a stake in the ground they are starting to move the industry in the right direction.
From Digiday:
“Accountability to clients has never been more important, and the pace of work keeps getting more frenetic. Every hour spent on TASC is one that’s not billed directly to a brand. Instead, it’s an investment in the future, a sunk cost for research and development. It’s a way to help startups provide more value to us and to our clients so that we’re able to do better work and get a head start on new opportunities. We can all learn from each other by sharing best practices on how we evaluate new technologies, gaining insights into how we handle knowledge management within our organizations, and introducing new technologies to each other.
“The old model dictates that if I’m working with one brand, I’m not going to help someone at another shop who’s working with its competitor. The new model requires rethinking how we create value.” (emphasis added)
It’s that last line that really stood out to me. If the Republican Party is going to succeed, it’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck collaborative effort. In order to achieve that level of collaboration, agencies and vendors and even competing think tanks are going to have to rethink how they add value both to the industry as well as the public debate.
What should GOP operatives be doing to better collaborate?
