Agency Ecosystems

It started as a Venn diagram—then I took a step back.  Last week I attended a meeting with the leadership team at CM, and as each member of the team got up and talked about the things they were responsible for, I started to think about how experience design fits into the bigger picture within the agency setting.

Of course it has to intersect and overlap with insights, research and planning.  It also needs to be carried through to execution—the final experience, whatever that is.  But that's where I left the Venn approach behind.  Who knows? Maybe Dad's advice about "digging deeper" stuck with me.

So I thought about more intersection and overlap with things like development (front and back end) and media of course which is where it all gets served up—even if it's social.  And a "clover" was formed.

A clover cannot sustain itself. 

It needs to be fed, fueled.  It needs to be connected to something.  Technology is the stem.  The thought of technology isn't sexy.  Neither is a stem.  But—it's essential—it's the lifeline.  Agencies everywhere are grappling with how technology has influenced rocked their worlds, especially in the past 5 years.

But what is technology without something to ground it.  All of it—the clover, the stem—it all needs to be deeply rooted in things that will make it flourish.  Business, Brand, and User needs.  Nothing new here—but how often are we really successful in building from this foundation?  How often are our strategies and executions rooted in these objectives vs. being self-serving?

Each part is co-dependent.  Each part serves a vital function.  Take out one piece and the organism will either struggle on—incomplete or wither away and eventually die.

So, thinking holistically (and visually) this helps me understand the role of experience design in the broader agency.  It needs to play it's part—a clover that helps feed the organization which in turn serves and guides clients.  One that is co-dependent on many other things.  But at that intersection—where insights, design, development, media, and technology meet—that is where ideas come to life.  That is where pollination starts.  And maybe new life cycles begin.

Comments

[Cody Frew]

Hi David,
It's a beautiful visualization!

I'm curious to explore other ways to perhaps convey slightly more accurate relationships between the elements in your composition.

For example, why is it that the 'customers' is a root that is spatially as far as possible from the "Experience Design" leaf of the plant. Shouldn't these be more closely related, namely a direct feed without the need for the technology stem integrating it into other facets first?

Further, it may be more useful to show various intersections at play in a dynamic fashion, instead of one static intersection of ideas that serves as the center of the leaves...

I was thinking of maybe some kind of ivy structure whereby multiple stems drive from the dirt and contain multiple roots for each stem. These ivy vines could intermingle with each other at various points, showing the exchange of different types of ideas in different areas of the plant. The ivy could also be moving to convey the evolution of ideas and how it shapes the entire network of business and technology (but then, that would require a lot of work!)...if you wanted to get crazy, you could even indicate vine thickness to code for importance or popularity...

What do you think?

[David Armano]

LOL,

Cody—I like the ivy/vine concept. But I need to clone myself or hire someone to start doing the visuals for me!

Good point about the distance between customer etc. but the root metaphor is meant to stress the importance of grounding everything in these areas. Without deep roots here, everything else becomes compromised.

[Todd W.]

Why is did you call this an "agency" ecosystem? Seems like this describes a more generalized innovation pattern that isn't necessarily tied to outside agencies or consultants.

Not so sure I'd make technology the stalk or trunk or stem or whatever (a tree seems more sturdy, don't you think?). As I mull it over, it seems experience design would be the trunk with everything else branching off of that. But, as you say, everything is co-dependent, so perhaps there are strong arguments for moving everything around. To be successful, can any part be left out? Nope.

[Valeria Maltoni]

DA, I'm not sure I would want a clone of you, although maybe he, the clone, may visit more often ;-) I can see that the juices are flowing. I think you're onto something here because when the sun -- hey, where is your sun, BTW? -- hits the leaves, they in turn provide nourishment below to the roots through the stem. It's a cycle that goes both ways. I'd say that's what I like best of your metaphor.

[DA]

Todd,

good point—I guess "agency" came from the origin of how I started thinking about it, but it could be applied broader.

Valeria, the sun is shining there out of view—you just can't see it! :) Nice point about the cycle.

[dave davison]

David: I loved your digital experience parthenon when I found Logic+Emotion on Slideshare, but this illustration is absolutely the best.

We are exploring the opportunity to help widget/application developers, create new digital experiences and brands/products in the superheated Facebook Platform (today 62,500 developers growing at 10% PER DAY)

I would like your permission to use your Agency Ecosystems image as a visual tutorial of new business/product/service development, with proper attribution.

Also I have put Logic+Emotion on my feed reader and in a moment I will post on this image and the accompanying copy from L+E at Thoughts Illustrated. Your image is the epitome of what TI is all about.

Final appeal, can I make you a friend on Facebook?

[eruntale]

Hi David, greetings from a fellow blogger and student from Lima, Peru.

I totally agree with Dave about the IT part. And this diagram can also be applied to the development of any product as well. If I understand it correctly, the customer feedback goes into the juices, right?

It's a great methaphor, I love it! BTW, can I use it in academic presentations? I promise I will cite you as the author.

Greetings again, and bye!

[Kevin Keohane]

Recently I started sketching a similar "brand tree" where the essence is at the root and a range of stakeholders/touchpoints radiate from that. I quite like the idea of using a similar approach to investigate the agency 'flow' ... great idea ...

[David Armano]

Dave and Eruntale, you can use it as long as you source me. A link back here would be appreciated as well if possible. Glad it resonates with you.

[Lori Magno]

DA: I LOVE that image - I want it on a t-shirt!

[CK]

I agree with Lori...I think it's my favorite graphic yet (nothing against the bathroom men, I like them too). Great work--and an even greater view.

[CT Moore]

Where does the fertilizer come in? :)

[Chico]

This illustration is bland. The title, to begin with, is misleading(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=hpE&q=define%3A+ecosystem&btnG=Search) Your illustration is just about one organism when, as a matter of fact, a multitude of organisms, the environment, etc., comprise an ecosystem. A better illustration, and truer to your title, would be to assign your agency details to the elements that define an ecosystem: earth, bees, ants, sunlight, climate, weed, grass, trees, and so on and so forth. This would have been more intelligible (right Valeria?). Are you sure you are "digging deeper"?

[DA]

Chico, you are correct about the potential to blow it out, and the thought had crossed my mind to blow the visual out and show clouds, rain, other forms of life etc. But then I thought it would get too complex and I wanted to keep it simple.

Guess you'll have to use your imagination to flush out the true "ecosystem". My original title was going to be "experience clover"—maybe that was more accurate?

Sorry you feel it's bland.

CT,the fertilizer can come in anywhere you like. As long as it's organic right? Gotta be "green". ;)

[makethelogobigger]

Late again to another post, par for the course. (Green reference officially worked in.) ;-p

Interesting diagram, and a few touched on something that immediately came to mind. I know you have the consumers and customers as roots, but I wonder if it could be looked at another way. What if the dynamic was changed to consider the consumer as actually being one of those things which provide nutrients for the growth of the brand (plant).

The consumer experience and feedback is now responsible for providing growth through a positive user experience and WOM,(some sun and regular rain), or destroying the plant through a negative experience, (flooding/drought).

Ecosystems are fragile, so to, consumer attitudes towards brands. Both depend on many factors to grow successfully.