Today, Scott Goodson, the Manhattan-based founder/CEO of StrawberryFrog (which has offices in Amsterdam and Sao Paulo, Brazil), joins MiC‘s parade of year-end pundits, offering both optimism and a wry touch of negativity.
MiC: What surprised you in ’07?
‘How quickly the major advertisers, like P&G, have opened their doors for modern agencies such as StrawberryFrog, and how many AORs are being awarded to these digitally progressive agencies versus the traditional advertising agencies. Case in point: Agency.com – not a traditional shop – winning the advertising AOR for Ikea in London.’
MiC: What happened this year that you applaud?
‘Facebook, Spock.com, CrowdSpirit.com.’
MiC: What happened in ’07 that dismayed or worried you?
‘The writers’ strike. I hate reality TV more than reruns. Ideas and great writing inspire me and other people into watching television. In the vacuum, it’s a step up for the Internet.’
MiC: What are you spying on the horizon for ’08?
‘G-phone from Google, since they typically tie innovations to advertising revenue, and their businesses succeed. Smart phones are the next big thing. They are media for innovative marketers. We’ve all done Facebook pages, and now it’s time to look at what’s been happening for the past decade in Scandinavia and Japan to understand what will come here soon. Outdoor posters with downloadable content from cool-looking bar codes, anyone?’
MiC: What do you see as the next big opportunity?
‘The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries. StrawberryFrog decided against opening an office in China, and instead we invested in an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That market is booming. So are India and Russia and Dubai. These are the big opportunities for marketers and agencies in the future.’
MiC: What’s the next big looming threat?
‘The next generation of creative minds is infinitely more creative than my generation. We were much more strategic. But these kids just graduating ad school are hybrids who can write TV spots and know how to optimize the web and viralize. They understand ROBO.
‘Also, there are only opportunities for those who stay the course and keep focused on delivering the best ideas. It’s better to cut the fat and keep focused on the culture and the talent who are pushing things forward. The economic recession in the US will shake confidence, the media will spread the woes – and clients will react.
‘In our case, this is typically a favourable time. We grew a lot during the last economic downturn of 2000. Clients go for greater value for money over big corporate agencies during tight budgetary times.’
