In a statement explaining that he’s become a strategic partner and investor in Boulder, Colo. based Victors & Spoils, industry veteran Jon Bond (pictured) didn’t mince words describing his former shop as Titanic.
“Running a traditional agency today is like being captain of the Titanic, and Victors & Spoils the iceberg. As an investor, I stand behind new agency models designed to challenge the ‘unsinkable.'”
Bond, the KBSP co-founder who left the MDC agency in February, joins Victors & Spoils which is now billing itself as “the undisputed leader in helping today’s brands navigate the new marketing landscape” and “The first agency built on crowdsourcing principles” — which some might disagree with.
For example, each of the shops below are as old or older than V&S:
-Urgent Content
-World4Brains
-Connectivity Marketing
-GeniusRocket
-Adhack:
-open src advertising:
-Crowdspring
-99 Designs
-Eyeka
-TopCoder
-XLNTads.com
So while Victors & Spoils may be prominent, the 6-month old company is definitely not the first agency built on crowdsourcing principles. That notion was seconded by Sean Halter, CEO of Florida’s Connectivity Agency, who said, “It’s so broad, almost anybody could raise a flag and say they were among the first.” Halter raised the question: which was the first agency to focus on social media? The situation is similar here, he notes. But, “can [Victors & Spoils] say they are the first? I don’t think that’s a realistic claim.”
The founders appear to be taking advantage of a good opportunity — namely the fact that none of the shops listed above are staking a claim on that title. Then again, few (if any) of them are as well connected to the media industry as CEO John Winsor, a former journalist and prolific writer/blogger/author. His connections haven’t hurt landing clients, either. Nor will Bond’s.
Despite touting a crowd of more than 750 creatives, V&S has yet to display their work. A source familiar with the agency’s work expects we’ll see some output within the next month, pending restrictions from their clients.
More: “Crowdsourced: Who’s on First?”