Manifesto
The Incomplete Collide Manifesto
The role of both the marketing agency and marketing department needs to evolve.
The old model of creating a product in isolation and then trying to communicate it to as many people as possible no longer works. Actually, it hasn’t worked for awhile. We’re just now starting to admit it.
Still in denial? 
Product features can be replicated faster than you can get products on store shelves. A new feature used to be a competitive advantage. It now may only be a competitive advantage for a few weeks or worse a few days. But what about our unique selling proposition. Sorry, there’s nothing unique about it anymore. Time to move on…
Attention is fragmented in a million directions. And simply interrupting people doesn’t work. When’s the last time you clicked on a banner ad? Exactly. They just ignore you or worse get pissed off and proceed to tell all their friends.
Welcome to a world of infinite social networks. Of course this is nothing new. They’ve been around since the days when we had to hunt for our food. People still conversed. It’s just REALLY easy to do it now with friends and random strangers from around the world. Instantly. No courier pigeons, messages in a bottle or stamps to lick. Nope, it’s all within a click.
Click.
The marketing department needs to evolve to be part of a company’s overall operations and strategy. The new marketing is the product. The new marketing is thinking about the entire consumer experience and making it better. The new marketing is about doing things for people. Sometimes completely unexpectedly. The new marketing is perfecting the art of giving rather than simply taking. The new marketing is about colliding with all of the other departments. Even Legal? Yupp. Even Human Resources. Yupp. Even…EVERYTHING.
The new marketing, is no marketing at all (at least in the traditional sense).
Sure all of the traditional agencies claim they are well equipped to meet these new challenges. You seriously believe that? Then why are their business models still the same? Why haven’t they changed their organizational structures?
Business = Change.
We love the advertising industry. To us it’s more than a career, it’s what we are insanely passionate about.
But we believe the industry we hold so dearly to our hearts has been slow to change. It’s time to change that.
The story of Collide is only starting. Today, it’s about creating a new model that puts marketing at the centre in order to help businesses attract, retain and create fans. To help marketers integrate the marketing right into the product and start doing things for consumers that actually help them do what they want – connect, learn, share, make decisions, ______________________.
Hey, see what we just did there? We bolded do what they want NOT what you want. Sorry, but that’s part of this whole “marketing is at a cross-roads we’ve got so many new challenges” thing everyone keeps talking about.
But I don’t get it. My product doesn’t help people do what they want. Seriously? Then may we ask, why exactly are you in business?
