DISQUS

Josh Morgan · 1 year ago

Jake,

Very good post. I used to work at Edelman (and agree they have very smart people in this space). I now run a small agency. A few other difficulties with agencies that come into play that I have run into:
- the large agency business model is based on senior people making decisions and lower level people acting. Engagement in online conversations on behalf of a client requires a higher level of experience and engagement than for example calling a trade publication about an editorial calendar opportunity.
- outsourcing a company's voice is non-trivial. It can be done, but should it and is the price too high both in terms of risk and investment.
For the most part, the agencies role as it evolves in this space should be as eyes and ears and as the voice of strategy, and behind the scenes implementation (i.e. setting up tools, design etc.)

Dave C. · 1 year ago

I read that article yesterday as well and was confused about a detail the writer didn't cover -- you sure Checkout Blog isn't an Edelman project? I was under the impression that Edelman still does a whole lot of work for Walmart. Maybe things have evolved a bit on that account.

Eric S. · 1 year ago

Excellent concept - lets take it to the next step:

* What about email vendors? Isn't email just one (perhaps the primary) channel for communication within a community, or a method of invitation to JOIN the community? Doesn't this put traditional email vendors focused on a campaign model at a distinct disadvantage? Where's the focus on behavioral-triggered emails or user-generated communication?

* How about traditionally-oriented IT departments? While I definitely believe there are some excellent and well-adapted IT teams at work today, doesn't a focus on community completely blow the traditional Waterfall method of application development... well... out of the water? How can a site adapt to the technical needs and wants of an organic and changing community without a more agile development model?

* And finally, could there be community implications that affect the traditional model of retail? Seth Godin has been on a tear of late about the record industry's woes, and now Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails are releasing records independently. Etsy and CafePress gain traction by offering micro-retail models, and auction sites let the community even determine the value of the goods being sold!

Seems like your concept of traditional models going out of vogue sparked off a lot of ideas with me! Great post!

Christi · 1 year ago

Hey Jake-

Thanks for the shout-out! Great post btw.

Jake McKee · 1 year ago

Dave, according to the footer on the checkout blog, the site was developed by Rockfish Interactive (http://www.rockfishinteractive.com/). Maybe they have some connection to Edelman, but as I've understood so far, they're not.

If this is incorrect, please let me know. Hopefully someone from Edelman and/or Rockfish and/or Wal-Mart will stop by...

Jake McKee · 1 year ago

Josh, excellent point, and I've updated the entry to call out this question of whether size kills effectiveness (to paraphrase your point).

John Mallen · 1 year ago

Jake, excellent post.

Being a small PR and marcom shop offering strategy-driven integrated communications,I found myself today (before reading your post) asking myself, "Who (in the agency world) owns social media?"

Seems the suppliers are coming from all quarters, including the clients' IT folks.

The other question is whether there might be a crossover point where there is just too much social media for the time people have available. The question came in a discussion with the marketing director of an IT client, and we were speaking of professional/b to b media.

Being from India and having bounced around the world, I asked how he keeps in touch with far-flung friends. "Oh, Facebook."

So how often does he visit? "Maybe once a week. Too busy."

To the point you raise, the agency business model, I think, is definitely going through major change.