A Time to Build
Welcome to “Ideas and Opinions”. I plan on using this space to offer thoughts about the healthcare industry, marketing trends, some commentary on trends and technology, and anything else I think would be useful for marketers challenging the status quo. I hope you’ll check back from time to time. If you sign up for email updates on the home page, we’ll make sure to send you the occasional summary of recent additions.
As I write this first entry, I can’t help think how many people I admire have, in the last few years, announced they were starting their own ventures or joining startup marketing firms. I can barely go a week without seeing a LinkedIn post about the latest new agency announcing its birth. But why now, especially when our economy and indeed our society feels particularly unsettled?
In part, I think it stems from people realizing that, if the world can’t offer stability anyway, they might as well be unstable on their own than in a big corporation. But that’s only a small part of it; most of these founders and early joiners are doing something new because they want to build something new instead of repairing what’s old and worn. It’s a pioneer mentality: I can’t have the life I want in the old city, the old country, so I’m going to set out to find my own space.
And it seems that there’s demand for what they’re building: an increasing number of the MM&M top 100 is populated by independent agencies, despite the barrier created by holding companies contracting with large pharma firms, limiting their opportunities. The ongoing biotech boom offers the opportunity for new agencies to create offerings that fit the needs of emerging businesses that may be commercializing a product for the first time.
I hope Ratio can be part of that trend: we apply a mix of classic brand planning techniques, new theories about how consumers choose products, and technology that makes our work more efficient. We also aim to collaborate with other innovators to help clients who want to ensure the tightest bond between brand strategy and creative expression.
The past year has made me sure that many of the assumptions that drove our industry are no longer valid. We need to build for the world that’s emerging. If you agree, and want to build with us, we’d like to hear from you.
