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Risk is Not A Bad Four-Letter Word

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

Being a resident of AdLand, we can think of and have heard plenty of four-letter words. Some nice, some mean, many that belong in the dictionary, and others that are worth a toss.

The word "risk," though, is not a four-letter word to avoid.

In business, especially today, risk has been given a negative connotation. Risk is now associated with uncertainty, and in some cases is viewed as unethical or impractical. The phrase "high-risk, high reward" has become obsolete. Since when does risk not have a place in business and, in our case, in advertising?

One economist did a study that determined that humans are risk-averse, meaning that if there were two paths, with Path 1 having more to gain and more to lose, and Path 2 having less to gain and less to lose, we would choose Path 2 more often. We are more comfortable with losing a little than gaining a lot. The same principle can be applied to advertising; businesses are more comfortable with working with the creative they know sometimes works, versus with creative they don't know would work, even if it presents the opportunity to increase effectiveness. Also, businesses are more receptive to working with big agencies and holding companies than small, independent agencies. It's the "tried and true" model versus the "new frontier" model.

Risk, or trying something different, has fallen out of the playbook for many agencies and corporate clients. The corporate marketers are weary of losing their jobs over a lackluster campaign, and the agency is in fear of losing a client. Both are understandable fears, but since when did the fear of losing business make AdLand conform?

It is a competitive world out there, and agencies are in the thick of being deemed winners or losers by the corporate world. Why can't the race be taken up a notch, and show corporate marketers some more exciting creative? Like the army that changes the battlefield, the agency that changes the creative (or creativity) would shift its chances of being the victor.

The business practices and advertising activities we do every day were once looked at as "risky." Before Omnicom became Omnicom, surely there was talk about whether or not such a model could succeed. Before agencies started to spin off practices to avoid conflicts of interest, there had to be buzz around the industry wondering if that would work. And since the rise of social media, AdPeople have been watching it to see if YouTube was indeed a viable viral marketing activity. Wieden + Kennedy continues to discover how effective that medium can be.

Now, like our earlier post, "Innovation Must Have a Point," the risk your shop is willing to take must be a calculated one. If a Bluetooth-enabled billboard doesn't make sense in your campaign, then think twice about it. We are simply advocating that risk is not a bad thing. It is what helps the industry grow and innovate. And we need it.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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