"In any trade involving the generation of ideas, the pursuit of tidiness is a fruitless one. We're dealing with unpredictability. We need rampant egos as well as a furrowed concern for ROI." Jeremy Bullmore
You may recall that I was invited to be a part of the programme for Squared - the Google-led initiative in partnership with the IPA and Hyper Island designed to address the digital talent shortage in the industry. 83 newly employed graduates from a wide variety of agencies have gone through a pretty intensive three month programme to increase digital knowledge and thinking, with an ambition of 'empowering the next generation of future leaders'. For my part in Squared, I ran a session on what's the difference between a fad and a trend, which many of you kindly contributed to.
The programme has just finished (it all begins again with a new intake in a few months time) but I think alongside all the knowledge that the participants will have gained, one of the really lasting benefits will be the network of peer connections they have made and that will no doubt prove very useful to them as they progress through the industry.
When I did my session, the level of collaboration, enthusiasm and conviction from the delegates was very tangible. So it's little surprise that there is already an ouput from the Squared network. The group has come together to produce The Squared 2012 State Of The Industry Report (PDF). Billed as "a view on the key themes affecting agencies, clients and brands as defined by the young people at the cutting edge of the industry", the report has a forward penned by Jeremy Bullmore and incorporates the opinions of broad range of industry professionals from CEO's to graduates, and is focused around six pretty big questions:
- How are agencies evolving their revenue streams with the emergence of new technologies?
- What structure do you think agencies will have to adapt to in order to succeed in the future?
- Which technologies over the next 12 months will affect the business and how are we prepared for this?
- Collaboration is a buzzword in the industry at the moment. How do you see this operating in, and between agencies on a daily basis?
- How can the industry best capitalise on youth and give opportunities to young talent in the industry?
- How do you prioritise agency needs and client needs?
It's a great piece of work and well worth the read. You can view and download the report here.
