When I first moved to San Francisco, I loved being able to walk through the Marina with it’s big leafy trees and families milling about. Popping into the local liquor store, the meat market and the boutique grocery store with the freshest produce in order to accomplish my weekly shopping was a treat. I didn’t mind the extra time it took to visit each store and converse with the owner while browsing their wares. I valued that each vendor had a niche, and was committed to bringing me the best of their product, be it hard to find purple asparagus, that local Pinot Noir that isn’t carried in stores outside of San Francisco or even that San Francisco organic hand soap. I could hear Otis Redding in my head as I meandered around sidewalks. That lovely moment lasted about two days before the harsh reality of life kicked in and I became busy and distracted. There was a commute to work, a job that often required post work events and trying to remember what the gym looked like, all while keeping up with a social life in a new city. Convenience became the most important factor in my decision making process.

Our culture functions mostly based on convenience these days due to the harried and hectic lives we all lead. At any given time, work, family and friends are all vying for time and attention. There is so much competition in the world, so many options, that more than often we end up choosing services, products, stores and even brands based on accessibility and the ability to have the one-stop shop experience.

Agencies are starting to buck conventional thinking and do the same. No longer are big brands wanting to hire, vet and manage a plethora of agencies all focusing on one specified task, but rather would prefer to manage one team that can create, and execute an interactive campaign, from media buying, to creative design and social media. Integrated campaigns only work with integrated teams. Creative and Media working together can only lead to an increase in collaboration, unique thinking and stretch goals. It also takes away the blame game. When you work with multiple agencies, it’s hard to find the pressure point, or the problem when an idea or campaign failed. It was a massive game of finger pointing and pass the buck. With a fully integrated team there is no ability to run away when things get bad, and everyone shares the credit for exceeding expectations and happy clients.