I understand the logic behind Advertising Age naming the Agency of the Year the consumer, but Jonah Bloom and his team’s logic at Ad Age is flawed. And my argument is best supported by the Viewpoint article Tim Williams wrote in the July 24, 2006 Ad Age.

Tim argues that agencies aren’t in the advertising business anymore. Rather, they are in the brand experience business. An agency must enhance the experience with a brand, not just the perception of the brand. As such, agencies just don’t think about what the messages say, but also how and where and to exactly whom they are delivered. They think about the pre, during, and post-purchase experiences. They agonizingly reflect on data and demographics segmenting target audiences while pondering and prescribing the best and most cost-efficient marketing strategies and tactics, both traditional and non-traditional, to reach those audiences. And overall, they are integrating the brand across all the available marketing channels.

Now, is the “consumer” doing all of this? No! Luis Portianksy, a marketing strategist for MWE, recently wrote the following letter to the editor of Ad Age:

“. . . Monkeys with paint will occasionally produce a pretty good picture – are they artists? In the main, consumers are generating content as a type of audition for some personal agenda. They are not trying to further the commercial goals of the marketing. Time chose ”you” as Person of the Year because of the social phenomena. You guys have more ‘splaining to do.”

I agree with Luis.