For the third time, Ron and Ed welcomed back Tim Williams, one of the foremost thinkers about professional firm strategy and positioning. Tim thinks deeply about these topics, but has the ability to simplify and communicate complex topics to us and his audiences worldwide. We also asked him about his thinking with regard to generative AI and the potential impact on advertising and marketing.
Use these show notes to follow along with the audio.
Segment one:
If you are a professional knowledge firm, then Tim Williams book was written just for you https://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Professionals-Professional-Knowledge-Differentiate/dp/0470587156
You heard it here first. Tim Williams thinks that AI is the final nail in the coffin for timesheets. It’s a bold prediction but those that come true feel nothing but bold in hindsight.
Written in 2019 (wow!!!), Tim Williams article titled “Billing by the Nanosecond?” is something we suspect most of you will be interested in reading https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/billing-nanosecond-tim-williams
“When it comes to positioning we are looking for patterns and common threads in the experience and expertise of knowledge workers.” —Tim Wiiliams
“In the end there is still a lot of subjective judgement that needs to be applied in the work of an ad agency. [AI] is a riffing partner that helps explore possibilities and options.” —Tim Williams
Are there AI roles popping up in the advertising agency space? Yes. A few examples from Tim: AI artists spend their days with Stable Diffusion, Dall-E, or Midjourney; AI writers create simple paragraphs to plugin as copy.
Segment two:
“What is going to make AI so valuable to professional firms is not its ability to make us more efficient but its ability to make us more effective.” —Tim Williams
From Tim Williams, “For the Agency Business to Live, the Billable Hour Must Die” www.ignitiongroup.com/propulsion-blog/for-the-agency-business-model-to-live-the-billable-hour-must-die
Tim said this about ad agencies, but it applies to accountants and law firms as well. “Our business is anti-scaling. You can’t leverage a labor based business model.” —Tim Williams
Also from Tim Williams, “Price the Building, Not the Bricks” www.ignitiongroup.com/propulsion-blog/price-the-building-not-the-bricks
Segment three:
What’s happening with subscription in the advertising space? Tim preaches it everywhere he goes and dives into the details during segment three of the show.
Does Tim see any subscription fatigue in his industry? No because it’s not nearly established enough.
“The most interesting new examples of productization involve some form of AI [such as] prediction machines developed by PR firms.”
Ogilvy recently announced the AI Accountability Act. More here: https://www.shots.net/news/view/ogilvy-launches-the-ai-accountability-act
What’s the new magic work? “Experimenting with how AI can easily develop storyboards instead of sitting down and hiring an Illustrator.” —Tim Williams
Segment four:
“The way in which the agency business operates has become so reactionary. They talk about filling scopes of work as through they are fast food operators instead of providing thought leadership.” —Tim Williams
When it comes to leading brands in any industry, “It is the role of the leader to educate. Generally, what you are doing is educating about the category and not the brand.” —Tim Williams
“You must be boxed in otherwise you have no strategy. The four walls of the box are what, who, way, and why.” —Tim Williams
A big THANK YOU to Tim Williams for joining us today. If you loved listening today, check out his firm — Ignition Consulting Group — for LOTS of great writing from Tim. https://www.ignitiongroup.com/
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