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December 09, 2005
Cobbler's Children in the Digital Age
If you visited this site during the course of the last couple of months my guess is that you would have been underwhelmed. The colors were dull, the layout not at all dynamic, and overall--despite the insightful, snappy commentary by yours truly--you'd have come away thinking that TMP was a rather drab company. (And if you visited as a client, you might have wondered whether you really wanted us as your creative partner.)
But here's what's really interesting: if you'd visited a site we built for one of our clients, you'd probably be amazed. Not only do we have great creative talent at TMP Worldwide, but that great talent produces great results--for our clients.
Today, the site looks much better. Yes, it could be a bit more edgy, more "new," but this look and feel is interesting and attractive. Question is, why did it take us so long to get it right?
Honestly, I just don't know. Maybe it's built into the dynamic of any creative organization. We work hard to understand our clients. We conduct interviews. We lead focus groups--all around the world--on their behalf. We develop great insights, we document useful strategies, we produce brilliant creative.
And then, when it's our turn at bat, when TMP Worldwide's brand is at stake...we bunt.
Sure, some of that's about what it takes to run a successful agency. We need our best talent working on our biggest projects for our clients. We can't survive without them, we can't keep them if we neglect them, their business cycle needs to drive our production cycle—and it does. I can't argue with any of that.
But every day, I become more convinced that charity begins at home. TMP Worldwide is a great agency. We have fantastic creative talent, we have outstanding consulting talent, we have an incredible culture--the most amazing mix of entrepreneurialism and team spirit I've ever seen. And we build the best employment brand positions in the business. Period.
Now, we need to turn a portion of that talent inward to build a brand around our skills. TMP, that's my New Year’s Challenge: let's make 2006 the Year of the Brand. Our brand.
Buckle up.
Posted by at December 9, 2005 09:52 PM
Comments
I couldn't agree with you more...Generally, we tend to neglect our internal or personal needs or wants because we want to ensure we're providing service to others or doing the "right" thing in life to keep others happy, regardless of how we may be affected.
PS. Though I've enjoyed every one of your postings so far, I've noticed your articles are posted in the very late evening hours, hopefully this is because your systems do not use PST.
You sure are dedicated to what you do but don't forget about work/life balance in the midst of all this.
Best regards.
Posted by: MMHT at December 15, 2005 01:45 AM