79. AI Screwed Up a Good Thing.
But for who?
Hello.
Took some time off the to spend time with a pet project that will (hopefully) soon see the light of day. More on that one of these day. I hope you’re well. Half-way through Q3. We are getting close to phoning in the rest of the year. Hang in there!
Headlines
AI Screwed Up a Good Thing.
But who had the good thing? Brands? Agencies? Prodcos? Seems like no one was happy. So who’s the big loser here?
Beats the bejabbers out of me. For me, my eyes have been peeled on one HUGE question:
How much will we charge for this?
Here’s where our brand person in charge of things like this starts hunting for the holy grail of billable sanity. The Magna Carta of Financial Wisdom that will bring these agencies to heel. And of course, we speak of…
Our 2004 Brand Rate Card for Expandable Banners.
This was the most AI-like thing we experienced before AI. Magical in the way they unfolded and transformed into wannabe microsites before our very eyes. And what could possibly beat a good old-fashioned Pointroll FatBoy.
Is there No Voice of Reason?
Well, actually, there is. This chap (Wesley Haar, ter), an occasional visitor to our fine neighborhood here, seems to be onto something. This is be a best case giant step forward to what I’ve had great experiences with - FIXED FEE engagements. Can’t wait to see it in action. These guys seem pretty comfortable leading from the front.
Here’s to the Secret Sauce.
Back when I ran a production company, we had estimating down to a precise art form. Like Renaissance painting, but with more spreadsheets and fewer beheadings.
We split projects into phases because clients love diagrams with arrows. We calculated how many “resources” (translation: warm bodies) were required, then combined labor and expenses into One Big Beautiful Bill. Ahem.
There was no markup. We had hourly rates, like a family recipe for sauce, and we never disclosed them. The client saw an “estimate,” which, if they said “yes,” instantly metamorphosed into an “invoice.” Ta-da!
Overages? Only if the client moved the goalposts. If we miscalculated, we’d just eat the loss, smiling through gritted teeth and telling ourselves it was “relationship building.”
Fixed Fee Kept Us Sharp.
Every day was a game of: Is the client still happy, or are they quietly plotting our replacement?
My business philosophy was simple: the best new business strategy is to keep current clients so loyal they forget your competitors exist.
One massive brand once asked us to do their early web work. We declined, believing we were too busy, and also because Kinko’s seemed like a natural fit for this whole “Internet fad.” They politely suggested that if we wanted to keep our other projects, perhaps we should reconsider. Translation: they saw value in the fixed fee work and wanted to extend it to other channels, including the “Internet fad.”
Now? Everything’s gone full Costco. Volume pricing, volume production, volume consumption. A wartime footing for cranking out marketing just for YOU. Task-level estimates? Quaint relics from a gentler time.
Summary
For discount agencies, the future looks like laminated rate cards. For premium creative shops, fixed fee is a viable option if clients can put the concept of “billable hours” in the sock drawer.
And if you want to hire the Nike of AI-makers, you’d better be ready to pay for that smug little swoosh. Because branding isn’t just a logo. It’s your ticket to being the great brand ambassador you know you can be.
Cube Chronicles - Overheard at Work
“Creative Director 1”
“Reminds me of a gem I heard years ago: “Let’s enjoy the fun of hitting this deadline.””
“Senior Director of Marketing”
“Even old school companies are being blunt. The CEO of AT&T just told his employees that loyalty is no more for the tenured, he’s judging everybody on performance. I think it makes sense, but I wonder if he knows that it goes both ways. Do you feel loyal to your company?”
“Manager”
“Do any remote marketing roles exist out there that aren’t all-day zoom meetings and/or all-day slacks? I’ve reached my limit. I’m a great worker and just want to crank out great work without the drama, the time-wasting, and the ADHD-provoking pings.”
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Thanks for the read! Apologies for typos and nonsense that is, well, nonsense.