https://adage.com/article/fletcher-marketing/why-agencies-are-obsessed-pitching-process-instead-talent/2543146

“Every presentation featured a proprietary process designed by the agency. A custom approach to identify targets, develop campaigns and optimize impact—with every step of the process powered by AI, naturally.”

“The key to these one-of-a-kind models is apparently finding the perfect combination of circles, squares, diamonds and triangles…Arrows abounded and ellipses are replacing circles as the unifying shape of choice among the more fashionable strategists.”

“The only problem is that it’s all bullshit.”

“A blind man could see the creative ideas were not developed via the agency’s so-called process, and anyone who’s ever worked at an agency knows that creativity comes from collaboration, not an assembly line.”

“And since most clients can’t differentiate between creative ideas without validation from testing, data has become the collective crutch for an industry governed by fear.”

“If a proprietary process really produced foolproof creativity, then every formulaic movie would be a blockbuster, every potboiler novel published by risk-averse editors would become a bestseller and every clichéd pickup line would work in any bar in the world.”