Unsung Heroes

There’s a whole ‘nother hidden layer of information that never hits the blogosphere or twittersphere: gag orders, quiet deals, or the sucking sound of credit stealing brand managers.

One of the benefits of being an analyst is get opportunity to talk to folks behind closed doors –I hear that ‘nother hidden layer of information. I get to hear the secrets, learn about who’s shaking who’s hand and who’s in competition with who.

There’s always a story behind the story. What does that mean? When you see successful projects touted by large brands, there are almost always unseen vendors that are helping behind the scenes. In many cases, the brands want to take the credit for the successes, and when things don’t work out, sometimes the vendors get the shaft.

Who are some of the unsung heroes you may never hear about? technology vendors, PR firms, agencies, and even VCs.

Recently some PR pros told me the ideas they gave clients were rejected for months or even years, and eventually when they were implemented, it was somehow forgotten the ideas came from them. Or take technology vendors, I know who’s running some very high profile communities, but the vendor has a gag order not to tout their connection. Agencies: digital, brand, interactive, often do the heavy lifting for marketing campaigns, yet brand managers who sign the checks often get the credit. Or lastly, VCs connect, influence, and encourage deals to happen that you will never hear about –perhaps by design.

While maybe this is the cost of doing business (putting your client first and foremost) next time you see success or a failure from a large well known brand, always realize there’s an untold back story that doesn’t hit the press, and rarely hits the blogs.

Here’s a quiet 21 un-gun salute to those unsung heroes, shhhhh.

19 Replies to “Unsung Heroes”

  1. From those of us who act as “that man behind the curtain” making OZ look almighty and powerful to the outside world while avoiding the spotlight ourselves, thanks for the call out. There are many more of us out there than anyone realizes…

  2. Hi Jeremiah
    Thanks for the salute but, to be fair, it’s very much a part of the slings and arrows of being in a consultancy role (in our case PR).
    If a client’s story appears transparently manufactured by someone else, rather than by virtue of their innovation, excellence, vision, etc, then we haven’t done our job. Yes, ideas do get stolen, but hopefully the mutual buinsess relationships forged over time mean it’s a rarity.
    Believe me, come the PR awards, we shout our successes from the rooftops, but that’s not the same as muscling in on the client’s spotlight.

  3. In the case of agencies, it’s often smaller digital production shops that roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work, while the lead creative gets the credit.

    I have a solution for those PR people who want credit for their dormant ideas. If you have a flash of brilliance and your prospect/client rejects it, open-source it. Create a PR exchange where your great idea can be injected into the public domain and inspire others. You’re not getting paid for it anyway and you will get the credit you seek.

    What do you think?

  4. Hi. Just to let you know that added 13 of your blog posts to spotlightideas.co.uk Top 250 blog posts in advertising, marketing, media & PR.

  5. Jeremiah, Again, I love your posts and your ability to acknowledge how everything plays into success – individual, company, etc.

    With regard to Pete’s idea, we’ve been touting openess as a way to demonstrate your strategy and ideas which can create new business. Why wouldn’t this apply to PR – or at least some ideas that you don’t mind letting out. I can think of Todd Defren as a good example of this.

  6. CSalomonlee

    Always great to hear from you! It’s interesting, I see the larger ecosystem now. It’s actually fascinating watching from a perch as everything swirls around.

    I think they will want to let some ideas out –but some will need to be ‘monetized’ for other clients.

  7. Having worked on both the interactive agency and corporate site, I agree with this. BUT, I’ve also seen several instances of agencies completely exaggerating the extent of their role in a project in order to win awards. When a project is a success, everyone wants to be the clever person who drove it. When a project bombs, it was always the other guy’s idea.

  8. Having been both client and agency side for a long while, I *do* find that time wounds all heels, or most.

    The gender and credit taking discussion I will leave for another time and venue. ; )

  9. I really meant “time wounds all heels” — in the short term, you can overlook (or even lift) the work of an unsung hero. But over a long period of time, apart from being unethical, that behavior tends to catch up with one.

    Conversely, celebrating an unsung hero — for example putting the other guy’s name on the client deliverable/award application/spot bonus list, can sure go a long way.

  10. Someone once told me that the best reward for work well done was the opportunity to do more work. I think that reflects the attitude of most agency people. Clients pay for ideas, and while its nice if they give us credit, they pay for the work, so they own it. It’s work for hire. If we do good work, they will keep asking us to do more work for them.

    However, this dynamic has resulted in mis-perceptions among some of the role and value agencies play.

    Part of the answer to the problem is that agencies and clients need to approach and structure their engagements as true partnerships where both care about the success of the other. It’s not about claiming credit, it™s about collaborating for mutual benefit.

  11. While maybe this is the cost of doing business (putting your client first and foremost) next time you see success or a failure from a large well known brand, always realize there™s an untold back story that doesn™t hit the press, and rarely hits the blogs.

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