Mastering Idea Events: The Secret to Winning in a Post-AOR World
Idea Events are like fires for agencies. But that doesn’t mean the people you need to put them out have to live with you.
The advertising landscape isn’t what it used to be. Clients are bailing on Agencies of Record (AOR) faster than you can say “retainer,” trading predictable monthly fees for a chaotic buffet of unpredictable project work. Pitches, one-off campaigns, quick-turn concepts—agencies need to reframe how they look at these. These projects aren’t just odd jobs anymore, they’ve become critical Idea Events. High-stakes, short-fuse moments where concentrated brilliance is the only way to win the day. And here’s the kicker: most agencies we talk to are woefully unprepared to seize them.
I’ve been in this game long enough to see the tide turn. A Campaign US survey found that only 27% of marketers still rely on a single AOR, down from a majority a decade ago. Meanwhile, Forbes notes the tenures for AOR relationships that do exist have shrunk from 7.2 years to under three (Forbes, Jan 9, 2023). That’s not a trend; it’s a seismic shift. Agency revenue’s a guessing game now, and staffing? A nightmare. Too many creatives on the payroll and you’re bleeding overhead. Staff too few and you’re caught flat-footed when a critical Idea Event suddenly and unexpectedly lands in your lap and they want ideas Wednesday.
It’s about scrambling A-List creative troops in hours, not B-list in days.
So what do agencies do? They pull out their freelancer rolodex. A writer and an art director, the classic duo, get hired to save the day. But here’s the rub: those pairs don’t come cheap and aren’t always available or reliable. Agencies I talk to see freelance rates ranging from $2,000 a day for the duo (junior team) to $5,000 a day for the duo (rock stars). For a five-day pitch sprint, that’s $10,000-$25,000—per event. Say you’ve got 10 pitches a year (not uncommon for a hungry shop). That’s $100,000-$250,000 blown on freelancers with no guarantee they’ll nail the ideas. Two brains are better than one, sure, but traditional freelance is still a Vegas roll and requires a prayer or two for on-strategy work.
We have a better way. We build relationships with agencies in order to recalibrate how they attack these mission-critical Idea Events. Picture this: instead of two freelancers, you get four world-class Ideasicle Experts, working virtually, churning out ideas like a creative SWAT team. Why four? It’s our experience that told us, but is also verified by Harvard Business Review who says small teams of 4-6 blow pairs out of the water for creative output, thanks to diverse perspectives and the interplay between them. And virtual? That’s the secret magic potion. John Suler’s “Online Disinhibition Effect” is but one proof point—the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online means people are bolder and more fearless online. Bold can be bad for stoking social media vitriol, but great for creativity. The more fearless, the better. For more on how virtual idea sessions are better than in-person brainstorms, click here.
deploy concentrated brilliance only when needed.
Think of Idea Events like a virus hitting your bloodstream. Your body doesn’t waste energy keeping a T-cell army on standby 24/7—it waits for the threat, then unleashes those killer cells to swarm the invader, fast and fierce, before they drift back into the blood flow. Similarly, you don’t need the fire department to live in your house with you. You just call them when there’s a fire and boom, there they are.
That’s Ideasicle X: four world-class Experts, summoned at the exact second a pitch lands on your desk, attacking it with precision, then dispersing when the win’s secured—no bloated payroll, no idle hands, just victories.
Here’s how it works. With IX Original, agencies run their own idea projects on our platform—they can recruit the team of four, upload briefing materials, and then have full visibility into every idea as it’s posted, which means real-time course correction, as necessary. With IX Concierge, we handle the heavy lifting, but you can still peek in as an Observer if you’d like to follow along in realtime. Either way, on a moment’s notice you’re armed with massive, concentrated firepower—four A-list creative minds—for a fraction of traditional freelance costs.
Better yet, a careful mix of these two services over the course of a year can help the agency fine tune their approach to critical Idea Events.
Want proof? Plug your estimated numbers into our calculator below. Ten freelance events at $10,000 each? That’s $100,000. With Ideasicle X, it might drop to $60,000—same number of jobs, better talent, more ideas, less wallet damage.
Click image for calculator.
Save money. Win more. (and probably live better, right Walmart?)
Idea Events are the new life blood of advertising. Win them, and you don’t just get a project—you get a foothold into the brand and some momentum. A pitch next Wednesday? Our Experts drop a dozen concepts by Monday, you refine Tuesday, and you strut in Wednesday with a few winners. Clients notice. Word spreads. Suddenly, you’re not just surviving the AOR apocalypse—you’re thriving in it. Seriously, try our calculator today and run the numbers for yourself. Then let’s talk about your next win.
Because in this new era of project work, if you’re not winning the critical Idea Events, you’re not winning.
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post like this. Will’s bio.