Strategy - A unique concoction.

As agencies matured, they created silos/departments/profit centers whatever you call it.

The idea was perhaps to find better solutions, perhaps to earn more profits or perhaps to create a perception of largeness of knowledge base. But as they began to build larger and stronger walls of separation they started to drift and instead of moving closer to the solution lost sight of the goal till realization dawned on them that they are actually solution providers and hence need cohesive thinking and also need to focus on execution. The silos which were created earlier by them started haunting them and limiting their bandwidth. Then the talk of blurring the boundaries and integration took centre stage.

So what is the crux of the matter and what is the right path. To discover the truth it is important to think like the customer and not like the manufacturer. Systems and departments may mean a lot for the manufacturer to build efficiency but means very little to the consumer. The consumer ingests things together as a solution on not in parts. He cares less what kind of parts and pains have gone into making the concoction. After all he is paying for all that and hence has played his part.

To understand this further think of the manner in which an entrepreneur would think and go about his job. To start with an entrepreneur never thinks in silos. He simply has a goal to achieve and knows there are different means to achieve the end. Specialization makes the "means" appear as "ends". Hence goal clarity will drive unique marketing strategy as a unique blend of the various means. So if strategy is a concoction boundaries have to blur.