Are you experienced?
Published by Nick Hall on 24 February 2010.It never ceases to amaze me how certain industries place such a high value on working with a communications partner that "specializes" in their industry.
The health care field, for example, is rife with this thinking. I know this because I have been part of many presentations at places like hospitals, and try as I might, I simply cannot dance around the fact that I have not done any work for a hospital yet.
Obviously the fact that I have been to a hospital (more than once) and know many other people that have too doesn't hold a lot of water.
As such, I do not entertain any RFPs from them anymore. I suspect they're cool with that.
I can understand the comfort level of working with a group that knows your industry as well as you do, but really, what's the usual outcome? From my experience it's predictable, cookie-cutter creative that never breaks any ground because it lacks the ingenious randomness that often comes from screwing conventional thinking and doing something completely different.
And really, shouldn't clients be looking to purchase skills and knowledge that they don't already have? Oh I know it's scary because it's an unknown, and there's likely not a "random element" line item on the checklist often seen at presentations (Experience; check. Nice hair; check. Ability to scare the shit out of me with great ideas I did not see coming; check.).
Our specialty lies not with a specific industry segment, but with being able to ask any client (regardless of industry) the right questions, and listen for the right answers. That, combined with equal parts strategic and creative thinking, is all it takes to produce work that really works. Anywhere, to anyone.