Marketing Agility

"Your company, no matter how large, should be able to maneuver like a jet-ski rather than a barge"

My career thus far has consisted of working on small projects, short run accounts, or with complete autonomy, which allows for quick changes and exploration into new areas. Work at small marketing agencies allows you to do pretty much anything; with your only hindrance being budget. Now that I am a part of an organization that employs well over 10,000 people, with a brand that is known across the world, I am rapidly becoming acquainted with the red tape, politics and overall bureaucracy of large businesses.

Marketing should be a dynamic environment. It should ebb and flow. An internal marketing department, with a staff large enough to accomplish any task, should be able to maneuver with ease between campaigns, initiatives and progressive ideas. Having nearly unlimited budget and resources should allow a department to create truly innovative and ground-breaking marketing.

This piece is not meant to be an indictment of my workplace- a place with this much prestige and tradition has to be cautious- but instead is meant as a cautionary tale. Marketing is a creative endeavor. The goal of it is to reach people, and I don't mean just to shoot a message at them, but rather to REACH people: speak to them. The best marketing and advertising cuts through the noise and affects people. It evolves and grows with a demanding audience and exists across platforms and media. There is no way to accomplish this when moving your marketing department is comparable to turning a barge. Your marketing should exist in the present and redirection should be something that is able to be done, and done regularly.

Think about it: how many of the marketing technologies that you use today were around a year ago? What about five years ago? If it takes you six months to set up a Facebook page, or a few years to set up a website, how far will behind will you be?