Word of the Week: Agility

Agility is a word that’s being thrown around a lot in marketing at the moment both by agencies and clients. Alas, though, I suspect many don’t know the meaning of the word.

Having moved from an agency supertanker to a (large, entrepreneurial) yacht, and from a (planning) role that was 70% thinking to (a CEO) one that is 70% action, I’ve got a little insight into what it means to be truly agile.

This piece was inspired by a task set by our Esteemed Founder to get a website up for our Enterprise (and more recently, Digital) offer in 48h. A task which, in my previous life, would have required countless meetings, sign-offs, refinements and pontifications.

In my new role, it didn’t. It required rapid and simple thinking to position the offer, a clear outline of services and some quality case studies to add proof to the pudding. And in 48h it was up. It’s not yet perfect, but it’s out there, constantly evolving.

And that’s the thing about agility – it’s restless, relentless and never quite perfect. Here’s how I think brands and agencies can better embrace it.

Firstly, agility isn’t simply about throwing around words like ‘start-up mentality’ and ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ and spending ages thinking about how to move quicker – it’s about quick thinking and Getting The Fuck On With It.

In 20 years of planning, I’ve gazed at lots of navels and got through millions of flipcharts but I have come to quickly realise that there’s no better approach than thinking in Beta and getting out a Minimal Viable Product. Whether that product is a website, a media opportunity (like this one we secured in a matter of hours) or a creative idea (this one for our Carabao client, conceptualised and activated in 2 weeks), marketing is no longer about perfection (indeed perfection is now derided – N.B. Listerine) but about immediacy, dynamism and striking whilst the iron is hot.

If you’re an agency or a brand who wants to be more agile, you likely need to change your mindset (and culture) so that you are prepared to jump into the unknown, think iteratively and accept less than perfection.

Secondly, agility is about reactivity. Clients spend big on campaign spike and set aside budget for a Business As Usual press office but can miss what lies in between – activity that applies grown-up creativity to the media (and social media) agenda. This can be the most fertile ground for brands to get cut-through – whether you’re Three trying to hijack a World Cup or Pot Noodle jumping on a national phenomenon.

This breed of ‘planned reactive’ comms requires a different kind of set-up for brands and their agencies, featuring rapid-release budgets, slimmed-down sign-offs and whatsapp groups (and, occasionally, ring-fenced teams).

Finally, in a marketing era of blurred lines and collapsing silos, agility requires the rapid blending of different kinds of expertise. A reactive opportunity that occurs on social might require not just agile community management but also paid / native expertise to amplify, influencer and PR expertise to make it breakthrough and SEO expertise to ensure it delivers commercially. Whether this expertise is housed under one roof or activated through a network of freelancers (or agencies), it’s a whole new way of working and one that requires speed of thought, leaps of faith and a new kind of teamwork.

The only real way to achieve this is to bring teams together around live projects and opportunities, remove any agendas from the equation and ensure that everyone has a clear idea of (and respect for) eachother’s skill and contribution.

I’ve learned that agility is many things but, fundamentally, it’s about people – more specifically a group of people who are used to acting on instinct, prepared to jump without a safety net and able to work together without ego.

Get that right and you’re plain sailing (whether you’re on a supertanker or a yacht).