Randy Isaacson, Williams-Labadie

Creativity isn't just defined by the "campaign." Creativity needs to be applied holistically across all aspects of the clients' businesses. That can include improving efficiencies and coordinating sales messaging, as well as programming across an entire portfolio and ensuring new media channels are used effectively.

Clients want to clearly understand what they're getting for their money, whether that means level of experience, quality of thinking, or tangible deliverables. It helps to handle accounts from a project mindset—individual estimates perproject, with clearly defined deliverables and detailed billing that provides a breakdown of time spent on a specific project (even in agency-of-record relationships).

Most of our media channels are still purely "push" approaches, sending messages across broad channels and hoping to catch attention, which is pretty inefficient. Just look at the tiny response numbers we often get excited about. Web 2.0 and beyond has the potential to create a collaborative environment where customers can own and develop the brand story through their experiences.

The trend is moving from traditional marketing to collaborative marketing. This will allow customers to develop, own, and share the message. Communication needs to be more genuine, reality-based, and personalized in both what is said and how it's said. We're at the beginning of an aging baby boom trend that stretches for well over 25 years ahead of us. Millions and millions of healthcare consumers who need change will drive change. Every part of the system will become more individualized, and more clinically and economically accountable.

The Skinny

Chicago's Williams-Labadie is an integrated, full-service agency that stresses its expertise in delivering creative "digit." The agency is part of the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group.

Telephone: 312-222-5800

E-mail: information@willab.com

Web site: willab.com