When we created Big in Japan we didn’t want to build an agency. The hourly or resource focused model didn’t appeal to me or my team. Instead we preferred a traditional software or software as a service model.  For example, Microsoft’s clients never ask, "how many hours did you spend to deliver Exchange, instead they simply pay for the value received. 

Sure, we got started pitching social media consulting services that seemed a lot like marketing strategy, but we facilitated that work by creating managed consumer products (i.e. blogs, wikis, podcasts and advergames). We sold our products/services based on valueEach time we retained the intellectual property rights reworking each to create something new. Today we have our own brand portfolio with titles like: egorcast, elfurl, frankenfeed, feedvault, instantfeed, qwikping, socialmail, podserve, fanpodcast, hresume, hiddentalent and most recently serviceguy. As our brand portfolio has grown so has our client list working with folks like FX Network, Lego, TechData, Claria, LogoWorks, TradeKing, Federal Reserve Bank, Mystic Tan, D Magazine and so on.

I have been spending time talking to a few agencies (traditional and interactive) and it is becoming clear they are headed in our direction. Agencies are more and more interested in marketing their ‘own’ products to their clients. They are also interested in incorporating ’social media’ into their offerings. Of course this is what we have been doing for the last two years. Time and time again we have tried to get agencies to sell our products/services to their clients without much success. As a result, as we have solidified our intellectual property through the use of the United States Patents and Trademark Office, we have come to the conclusion that we need to insert ourselves into the marketing process earlier than we have in the past. The question is: How?

Marc Brownstein, from the Brownstein Group, suggests:

Looking ahead, agencies should broaden their appeal to become as much content providers as idea generators. With the explosion of cable channels, websites, satellite radio and niche publications, content is running thin. Why couldn’t agencies specialize in generating it? We could create more shows (like the Geico Caveman spinoff), inspire more channels, capture eyeballs on sites with compelling content and publish magazines. Why not leverage our strategic planners, copywriters and art directors? The days of agencies relying solely on creating ads for TV, radio, print and outdoor are so over. Just ask any client.

Ironically, as agencies and clients are moving in our direction, we are looking for a business model that will allow us to become more like an agency. We need the delivery model agencies use so successfully without the traditional concept of compensation for hours worked or percentage of markup.  My current thinking is that we could either build a quasi-agency to support and sell Big in Japan products/services or we could buy or merge with an existing agency. There is an opporuntity to leverage our social media experience as well as our intellectual property.  My only fear is that we get gobbled up in something that is so complex we lose sight of what makes our business interesting…