The big blog

Blogging is not exactly the new frontier. In fact, there are already more than 133 million blogs on the web, according to estimates by Technorati (a frequently cited source for this stuff). And if that doesn’t boggle (bloggle?) the mind, how about this? Around 175,000 new blogs are launched every day. That’s two new blogs a second.

And now Big has a blog, too. “Just what the world needs,” you may be thinking. “Way to jump on an already overloaded bandwagon.” An understandable reaction, perhaps, but to be fair, it’s a little less common for an ad agency to blog, as opposed to yet another self-appointed political pundit, junior-high-school diarist, or celebrity gossip wag. Still, we’re far from the first agency to enter the blogosphere. And we’re not even the first agency to put a blog front and center, right on the home page. So we have to admit, at least in terms of format, our Big website is not a big breakthrough.

Of course, we never meant for it to be.

Our goal was a different kind of breakthrough—an attempt to break through the barrier that a lot of websites put up between the agency and its audience, a barrier consisting of (for instance) time-consuming Flash animations and self-promotional raison d’être’s filled with lofty and abstruse sloganeering. Arrive at our new site and instead you’ll see our latest thoughts, in our own voices, unmediated and (mostly) agenda-free. That’s the beauty of the blog. If you want to hear our marketing pitch or read up on our background, you still can (start with What’s the big idea?), but there’s nothing in the way of your getting to know us first as people, as individuals with a wide range of interests, ambitions, and pastimes. Which is why we won’t only be writing about our latest projects, or even marketing in general—we’ll be writing about…well…anything. Anything that interests any of us, and may interest you, too.

So there, perhaps, is your uncharted territory. A direct connection to the heads (and hearts) of the people who make up an agency. Which, to be honest, is what our clients have always gotten, in part because our smaller size makes it easier for clients to interact directly with the folks who do the work, so there are fewer layers and stronger relationships. Our clients have told us, for decades, that they prefer this more personal approach. They say they get better work as a result. And enjoy the experience, to boot.