Should agencies go political?
Written by Mihai Dragan on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 ( 4 responses )
Tags: Interactive Advertising, interactive agencies, obama, politics
Now with Obama getting to be the first black US president the world has its eyes on politics and so do the interactive agencies.
The question is - should an agency risk 4 years of work just to win some hard fast cash?
I would say no. Of course there are always going to be those agencies that consider it a good move but I would advise you to stay away from this.
Pros:
- You get a lot of cash. Fast.
- Getting to be well known for being a political agency (usually for one party).
- The chance to study new strategies on huge targets.
Cons:
- Losing market credibility.
- Losing employees (some might not be comfortable with advertising for the specific party or politics in general).
- You are playing a different game. Politics are politics, business is business. Mix them and you get a sour cocktail.
- Losing apolitical clients (this goes way deeper than you might think).
- Choose the loser and you get to be loser too. For four years.
What is your opinion ?
Comments:
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
You’re confusing professional work with taking sides. And your pros/cons list is quite subjective and unbalanced.
Let’s put things into perspective:
Should agencies go environmental?
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
I will say YES- but depending on how strong you are, as agency-organization- in terms of being a true professional.You work with an political idea, but not necessary share it.
Plus this is a true challenge for and organization to prove her strength in being a pot with big fish.It is a matter of courage.
This is what we will need in Romania, true professionals, that can do their job regardless the political views
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
I will also say yes.
You do not lose credibility for choosing a political party. its an opinion based on facts. some just see them differently.
If employees are committed to doing a job, their job, do they really have to enjoy the product? No. I work with Alcoholic Beverage companies, but I don’t drink.
Whatever country we live in, politics is a business, and business is politics. We just have to deal with it and do the best we can.
Your comment about choosing a loser I disagree with too. Agencies deliver based on briefs, based on markets. They cannot be responsible for the way people vote, and who for. All we can do as an agency is provide the tools to make them see something that they otherwise didn’t see.
Anyway, thats my $0.02 worth!
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
[...] (EN). Si daca tot suntem in campanie electorala Mihai a ridicat o problema destul de delicata, Should agencies go political? Da si nu, zic eu. Stiu ca nu asta nu e o parere, dar sunt undeva la mijloc. Super continut, super [...]
What is your opinion?