Letter from SoDA’s Board Chair

 by Andrew Howlett, CEO of Struck, SoDA Board Chair

As a social introvert, I’ve always been good at social distancing, going so far as to quarantining for no particular reason, other than the fact that I don’t like crowds. These last couple of weeks have been something different. Coronavirus/Covid-19 has left a lot of uncertainty... globally, professionally, and of course at home with our families. SoDA means more to me now, than it ever has.

Over a decade ago, some of the best independent digital agencies came together to form SoDA. The desire was to collaborate, sympathize and share knowledge to not only better themselves, but better the industry. Events like the annual Global Member Meeting (GMM) have brought together the most senior people from our industry year after year, to share and learn. SoDA’s early presence at SXSW broke ground on the “un-conference” concept and helped to shape the way the industry shares more transparently and in a way that challenged the status-quo. The day-to-day, knowledge-exchange between members, bridges the gaps of the most urgent personal and professional issues we face as founders and senior leaders. And once a year, SoDA takes a comprehensive look back and shares the trends of the future, in what has become known as The SoDA Report. Over the years it has become a guidepost for tens of millions of people, agencies, brands and students, as they try to make sense of what’s happened and what’s next.

As the board chair of SoDA, it is my responsibility to write an opening letter to The SoDA Report. I began about a month ago, when the world was just starting to talk about Coronavirus, but it hadn’t shut down schools, events, sports, flights, restaurants and much more. I have since re-written most of the letter. It has given me an opportunity to reflect not only on my own journey, but the journey of our entire industry... where it’s been and where it headed. It’s also helped me to further appreciate the role that SoDA has played in my life, both personally and professionally.

It’s been almost twenty years since I started my first agency. My hair was all a single color, in other words, not mostly gray, and I can freely admit I had no idea what I was doing. My background and schooling had been in finance, so I really had no business jumping into a creative and technology agency. But I was young, entrepreneurial and always loved solving problems, regardless of the type or form they came in.

I’ve thought about a Chinese proverb I once heard that goes something like; 

Your twenties are for gaining direction. Your thirties are for gaining strength. Your forties are for gaining wisdom.

I would suggest our industry is hitting its forties. Or, as the theme of this year’s SoDA Report states, the “end of the beginning” of will later be seen as the first chapters for Internet technology and digital businesses.

The “twenties” (2000-2010) for digital agencies were about discovery. Like a 24-year-old college graduate, we broke onto the world stage full of energy. The sky was the limit, everything was possible and there wasn’t a rule that couldn’t be broken. Flash technology made websites come alive and mobile devices put them into our hands. The possibilities for digital creation were enormous and our groups were blazing new trails never before seen or even dreamed of! We could now reach audiences anytime and anywhere, but we needed direction. With so much potential, we needed to focus our efforts to where they would return the best results. That’s when we entered our thirties.

The “thirties” (2010 – 2020) in our industry were about gaining broader acceptance. As the digital marketing landscape matured, it settled down a little. We realized that to be successful, it needed broader acceptance with clients. It needed analytics not only to prove that it could hit its goals, but to set those goals higher and define them more tightly. Digital marketing began to see more programmatic and analytics driven products and information. And, it began to use them well. Now targets are narrowly niched, messages specifically crafted, and personalization has become critical. Finally, clients started pushing for more scale. Packaged and templated products created an increasingly unremarkable bland playing field. The creativity of our twenties seemed further and further away.

Now we’ve entered the “forties” of our industry. We’ve got more gray hair, (thankfully I still have my hair!). We’ve got scar tissue from battles fought; some won, some lost. Some of our colleagues have succeeded and others have failed miserably. But along the way, we learned a thing or two, in fact, we’ve taught the whole industry a thing or two. We gained wisdom by solving problems that were new and novel. And today, the industry is looking to us for guidance. We understand the significance of our energetic twenties, and how to use that creativity in directed ways. We appreciate the power of our analytical thirties, and now use data and services to power greater results.

So, regardless if we think we’re ready, or want to or not, it’s time we step into the leadership role. We have earned it. It was never handed to us. If we are complacent, and adopt the more traditional models that came before us, we will fail, and the industry will suffer. We can, and must, share our wisdom across our industry and lead clients. Having come of age we have the knowledge to guide and direct the future. We know the importance of the lessons we learned as we’ve grown and evolved.

Our early years taught us much and despite the challenges we currently face, I’m optimistic and excited for what’s next.  Keep taking risks. Don’t stop pushing the boundaries of creativity. Be scrappy and savvy. These next decades will be our very best yet!