Americans admire entrepreneurs, celebrating figures like Mark Zuckerberg and watching shows like “Shark Tank”. The allure of entrepreneurship is its potential to turn ideas into empires, surpassing even the fascination with athletes and celebrities. Entrepreneurial activity in the U.S., as per the Kauffman Foundation, has seen its fastest growth in two decades across various industries, with 34% of Americans now freelancing.
This surge is partly attributed to the Recession, as those who lost jobs or couldn’t find work created their own opportunities. However, this shift has impacted large corporations, with entrepreneurial brands increasingly outcompeting established players. Examples include craft breweries taking 17% of beer sales from giants like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors, and startups like Dollar Shave Club challenging Gillette and Schick.
The question now is whether large brands can adapt to compete with numerous smaller, agile competitors. Traditional advertising methods, like Procter & Gamble’s $2.4 billion campaign resulting in a sales drop, are ineffective against entrepreneurs’ innovative, budget-conscious strategies. Ironically, many of these large companies, like Coca-Cola and P&G, originated as small entrepreneurial ventures.
The challenge for advertising agencies is to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. Rather than acting as vendors selling a one-size-fits-all solution, agencies should behave like entrepreneurs, focusing on efficiency, agility, and results-driven strategies. TSC, for instance, operates as an “Agency of Return,” prioritizing real-time benchmarks and mobilizing freelance talent.
Entrepreneurial advertisers should treat every dollar as their own, avoid unnecessary expenses, develop strategies before tactics, leverage freelancers for efficiency, and continuously measure and improve their results. They should adapt to clients’ visions, link their work to the bottom line, and tie compensation to specific performance metrics.
In today’s competitive landscape, corporations need advertising agencies that embody an adventurous, entrepreneurial spirit. Those that do will drive modern business forward, turning the challenge of competition into endless possibilities.
