如何成爲數字時代的"廣告狂人"

"Google and Facebook are attacking,” came the cry from Madison Avenue. “Circle the wagons,” was the answer from France. And so two of the world’s biggest advertising companies, Omnicom and Publicis, announce they are merging. Now that advertisements are more algorithm than Mad Men , the television series depicting Madison Avenue in the 1960s, the merger is being interpreted as the end of the golden era of advertising. It has been seen by the news media as a move by these two ad agencies to shore up resources in order to compete with the giants of Silicon Valley.
“谷歌和Facebook正在向我們發起攻擊，”麥迪遜大道(Madison Avenue，美國廣告業的代名詞——譯者注)發出了驚呼。“進入防禦模式，”這是法國做出的回答。於是，全球兩大廣告公司陽獅集團(Publicis)和宏盟集團（Omnicom，又稱奧姆尼康）宣佈合併。鑑於現在的廣告相對於《廣告狂人》(Mad Men)描述的時代更加依賴於算法，這起合併案被解讀爲廣告行業黃金時代的結束。《廣告狂人》是反映二十世紀六十年代美國廣告業風貌的系列電視劇。新聞媒體認爲，這一舉措表明兩家廣告公司正在擴充資源，以對抗硅谷巨頭。

The problem with this view, however, is that it makes two flawed assumptions. On one hand, it imagines there is a data-enabled, predictive digital advertising machine that is the inevitable future. Search for tyres and you get an ad for Michelins on sale a mile from your current location. On the other hand, it overly romanticises Mad Men-style advertising virtuosity, in which three suave guys sit back with cocktails and kick around ideas on how to sell you anything from hair-replacement therapy to car insurance.
但這種觀點的問題在於，它是建立在兩個站不住腳的假設之上的。它一方面假設，未來將不可避免地出現一種數字驅動、可預知型的數字廣告模式。當你搜索“輪胎”時，會看到一條廣告，告訴你在距你當前位置一英里處有商家在特價銷售米其林(Michelin)輪胎。而另一方面，這種觀點將《廣告狂人》式的創意技巧過分浪漫化了——在該劇集中，三個精明練達的男人一邊坐着品嚐雞尾酒，一邊隨意聊着如何推銷從植髮療程到汽車保險等各種商品的構想。

Both caricatures have a kernel of truth to them. But if advertising is to thrive in this wired era, the efficiency of digitally targeted media must embrace the creativity of Mad Men, and vice versa. The organisations that can do this, whether they are conglomerates or boutiques, will usher in advertising’s second golden age. Indeed, in a short time we may be watching a hit TV series (or web series, for that matter) dramatising the moment when efficiency became hip.
以上兩種誇張的假設都有一定的道理。但如果廣告業要在如今的互聯網時代蓬勃發展，則必須將數字化定位媒體投放的高效率與《廣告狂人》的非凡創意結合起來。能夠做到這一點的機構，無論是大型企業集團還是小公司，都將引領廣告業第二個黃金時代的潮流。事實上，或許用不了多久我們就能看到一部熱播電視劇（或者網絡連續劇），用誇張的手法描繪當效率成爲時髦的時刻。

The fate of the newly formed Publicis Omnicom Group remains to be written, and Maurice Lévy and John Wren, who will serve as joint chief executives, may not make it through the 30 months that they have agreed to serve together. Yet, if this cross-Atlantic merger leads to a better understanding that good advertising manages the synergies between creativity and efficiency, it will have been a transformational moment for the business. There are three things we should look for.
新成立的陽獅宏盟集團(Publicis Omnicom Group)的命運有待書寫。即將出任聯合首席執行官的莫里斯•雷維(Maurice Lévy)和莊任(John Wren)或許撐不過他們協議共事的30個月。但如果這筆跨越大西洋的合併交易促使業界更深刻地理解到，優秀的廣告公司應當管理好創意與效率之間的協同效應，那麼該交易對於整個廣告行業來說將是一個變革性的時刻。我們應關注如下三個問題。

First, can digitally targeted advertising also be creative? It is now possible to target adverts to the right person at the right time in the right place. But that is not enough. It is not sufficient to claim that customer segmentation is dead and set up an automatically generated slew of ads based on input. If the adverts are not inspired, they are noise. And they will be ignored. In our quest to tweet, like and trend, we have forgotten that brands can be built through advertising. Ads can generate big ideas that can never be trumped by tactics. That is the magic of an ad, and that is what is missing from many ads today.
第一，定向投放的數字化廣告是否也能充滿創意？如今在適當的時間和地點將廣告定向展示給適當的人已經成爲可能。但這還遠遠不夠。聲稱客戶細分已經壽終正寢，並根據輸入數據自動生成一大串廣告，也不足以讓人滿意。如果這些廣告缺乏感染力，那麼就和噪音沒有區別。我們追求推特轉發、點贊以及引領潮流的過程中，已經忘記了品牌是可以通過廣告來打造的。廣告可以創造出技術手段無法超越的宏大構想。這正是廣告的魔力所在，也正是如今的很多廣告所欠缺的。

Second, even creative adverts have to be efficiently produced and delivered so they meet the basic goal of selling products by advancing the brand image. Too often, the decision on the client side is left to people who have little experience and cannot judge a flashy ad from one that will sell. Money is being wasted on adverts that go right over a consumer’s head. They may win awards at Cannes, but they lose at the cash register.
第二，即便是創意廣告也必須以高效地製作出來並投放出去，以實現通過提升品牌形象帶動產品銷售的基本目標。很多情況下，客戶方面的決策者缺乏經驗，無法區分一條華而不實的廣告與一條能提高銷量的廣告。資金被浪費在了消費者無法理解的廣告上。這些廣告或許能夠在戛納(Cannes)廣告節上獲獎，但對提高銷量沒有幫助。

The way to fix this is to think about process improvement: how are critical decisions made? Not long ago, it was rare for businesses in the knowledge economy to think along these lines. Today, we are seeing a commitment to greater efficiency across a range of sectors, from manufacturing to professional services. It is time to bring this thinking to advertising.
解決途徑在於思考如何改進流程：即關鍵決策是如何做出的？直到不久以前，知識經濟企業很少按照這種思路考慮問題。如今，我們看到製造業、專業服務等多個行業已經致力於提高效率。是時候把這種思維模式引入廣告業了。

The Google model of targeted advertising is appealing because it claims to cut down on waste. We need to ask how that efficiency can be brought to creative process. Done right, it may even generate greater creativity. Mr Lévy and Mr Wren, along with the chief marketing officers managing our best global brands, should look to the example set by counterparts in manufacturing and supply management.
谷歌的定向廣告模式之所以頗具吸引力，是因爲它宣稱能夠減少無用功。我們必須思考如何提高創意的效率。如果做法得當，或許甚至能夠催生出更精彩的創意。雷維和莊任、以及管理着全球最優秀品牌的首席營銷官們，應當學習製造以及供應管理領域的一些企業所樹立起來的榜樣。

Third, creative teams and assets need efficient management. Teams need to work together in real time so that additional resources are freed to enable the companies to innovate and grow. IBM and Accenture both illustrate the point. Both have highly sophisticated people and resource allocation, and both employ tracking systems to monitor and ensure efficiency. This data-enabled monitoring has proved neither a threat nor an impediment to creativity. In fact, data have enabled a new set of tools leaders can use to nurture creativity among teams.
第三，必須有效管理創意團隊以及創意資產。團隊之間必須實時協同合作，以釋放出更多的資源，推動公司的創新和成長。這一點在國際商業機器公司(IBM)和埃森哲(Accenture)身上得到了體現。這兩家公司都擁有高度複雜的人員和資源配置機制，並都運用了追蹤系統以監控效率並確保高效。這種基於數據的監控系統已被證明既不會威脅，也不會阻礙創造力的發揮。事實上，數據使得一系列新工具的運用成爲可能，管理人可以藉助這些工具培養各個團隊的創造能力。

The cross-Atlantic merger has captured our imaginations because it is a global business development rich with personality and sex appeal. Now, the likes of Apple, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola are going to be handled by one big company. But the value of the merger will be tested by whether it ushers in the second golden age of advertising. It can do so only by merging the data and analytics of 21st century invention with the ideas and genius creativity of the first golden age of advertising, enabling efficiency and creativity to thrive side by side.
這起跨大西洋合併案激發了我們的想象力，因爲它是全球商業領域發生的一件彰顯個性與魅力的重大事件。從現在開始，蘋果(Apple)、寶潔(Procter & Gamble)和可口可樂(Coca-Cola)等公司將成爲同一家大型廣告公司的客戶。但該合併案的價值將體現爲新巨頭能否催生廣告行業第二個黃金時代。而新巨頭若想實現這一目標，唯有把數據、二十一世紀新出現的分析方法與廣告業第一個黃金時代的構想以及天才創意融合到一起，使工作效率和創意能力同時得到提升。