I have noticed lately that some agencies only have one style that they produce for all their clients. In some cases they even use the same photographer for multiple clients. Is this the result of an overzealous creative director or because the clients hire the agency for their particular style? I can’t say for sure but it has always been my philosophy that the approach should be unique to each client, not the person or agency that is developing the work. Then again, the fault might be with the clients that hire agencies based on past work they have done for other clients. I have seen this happen dozens of times when clients, especially they are doing their search through a formal RFP, want to see five or more samples of creative without asking for an entire case study including results or ROI.

There seems to be another trend that’s gaining traction; multi-faceted campaigns for a single client that targets a very specific demographic or a different campaign for each business unit or product line. The Martin Agency is making a killing at this approach with the best example being their work for Geico. Does it really make sense to utilize a reptile, caveman and a stack of cash as icons for a single brand simultaneously? I’m a big fan of Martin but this just seems like a blatant waste of the client’s almighty dollar.