Goodby Looks To Outlive The 30-Second Commercial

Change or die. It's a reality facing both agencies and clients. And even the shops with the best reputations are pondering their place in the ever-shifting communications mix. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, a 22-year-old agency that has proven itself a world-class creative leader with its work for clients such as The California Milk Processor Board, Anheuser-Busch, Hewlett-Packard and Saturn, has brought in a British planner with a strong reputation to help the agency draft its path for the future. In October, Goodby hired Derek Robson, 38, formerly managing director of Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, as co-managing partner, duties he shares with the agency's director of account services, Robert Riccardi. The two will also assume the responsibilities of president Colin Probert, 58, who plans to retire at the end of '06. "Forty years is a long time to be doing anything, I think," said Probert, who began his career in the mail room of London agency Pritchard Wood in 1965. "It's a good time to get fresh legs and a fresh perspective around here."Co-chairman Jeff Goodby said Robson will be critical in helping the agency position itself for the future. He cited not only Robson's experience at BBH, but the insight his account planning background will bring to the agency as it reinvents its approach to strategic planning, and everything else. "[Robson] is a guy who can change things a lot without people being upset about it," Goodby said. "He can turn up the blender without making any noise."Goodby is assessing whether its internal processes and structure are best suited for creating content for today's media, and whether the agency can effectively apply its highly proven TV skills to other areas. "We have some issues and worries," said Probert. "One of them is that in a world where people and clients and the media world is thinking that 30-second commercials are less and less of the media mix, we are primarily known for 30-second commercials."While that may be true, the agency has won numerous awards in many categories, including interactive, noted Robson, who said the agency may be suffering from a case of perception versus reality. "The unique challenge is evolving an already fantastic creative reputation," he added.Perhaps the greatest change will arrive in the way the agency approaches the creation of its work. "We're thinking about our business as content creation," said Goodby, who added that the agency is contemplating ways to bring media and strategic planning closer to the creative department and is considering eliminating traditional departmental structures entirely. "Maybe we'll just have strategy and content people."The agency partners have not yet decided on how they will proceed, he said. But "when Derek talks, we listen," said creative director and partner Jamie Barrett. "Our goal is to be unrecognizable 12 months from now," he said. "We're looking, frankly, to redefine what an agency is beyond the way some agencies are talking about it. The feeling is, now more than ever, it's change or die."

Brand Marketing

Goodby Looks To Outlive The 30-Second Commercial

Eleftheria Parpis

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Eleftheria Parpis