17198: TGIF = Terminating Groups Inside Fiverr.

 

In 2023, Fiverr ran the campaign depicted above, and Advertising Age spotlighted the work with a headline reading, “Freelance marketplace Fiverr tackles AI job fears in new campaign.”

 

Almost exactly two years later, Reuters reported, “Online marketplace Fiverr to lay off 30% of workforce in AI push”—with the Fiverr CEO declaring, “We are launching a transformation for Fiverr, to turn Fiverr into an AI-first company that’s leaner, faster, with a modern AI-focused tech infrastructure, a smaller team, each with substantially greater productivity, and far fewer management layers.”

 

In other words, clients can decline crowdsourced cheap logos and choose AI-generated cheap logos instead.

 

Fiverr can cheaply revamp its campaign too, as depicted below.

16669: Hello, Dalí!

Superside moves from Frida Kahlo to Salvador Dalí, offering its cheap design services to marketing visionaries. Talk about delusions of brandeur.

16668: Super Sewer Sells Stereotyping & Stealing.

 

According to Wikipedia, Superside is a subscription design service that provides design at scale for enterprises and scale-ups.

 

The Superside website boasts:

 

The better way to get design done

 

Get creative that performs. Plug into world-class design talent powered by AI to make your team faster, more efficient, and scalable.

 

A more likely description would be Superside is a crowdsourcing freelancer outhouse, undoubtedly taking advantage of desperate creatives willing to work for minimal hourly rates or miniscule project fees.

 

Sounds like a lazy solution for brands with no desire to hire a White advertising agency and/or no funds to launch a White in-house studio.

 

Superside claims to offer world-class talent—meaning its roster probably includes Victors & Spoils castoffs.

 

And while the talent is powered by AI—whatever that means—the illustration for its advertisement (depicted above) could have been rendered via AI, no? BTW, did anyone check with the Frida Kahlo Corporation for copyright approval?

 

Then again, cultural appropriation never considers the rights of the appropriated.

16471: WorkReduce CEO Hoping For Reduced Sentence…?

 

Adweek and Advertising Age reported on WorkReduce CEO Brian Dolan being arrested and charged with solicitation of a minor—and the former illustrated the story using Dolan’s PR portrait, while the latter displayed his mugshot.

 

WorkReduce has already dumped the executive and is searching for a replacement. Maybe they’ll utilize their own staffing platform to identify candidates—after all, there are probably plenty of potential predators in the Adland database.

 

Wonder if Dolan’s initial alibi was something like, “Hey, I’m just hunting for interns.”

 

16344: How Fractional Work Programs Fracture DEI Programs.

 

Advertising Age reported on The Associates—a program at R/GA that invites former employees and freelancers to work at the White digital agency for an annual minimum of 20 weeks. Whoop dee damn doo.

 

For starters, there doesn’t appear to be anything new here—the initiative feels like an IRS-friendly permalancer scheme. It’s no secret that White digital agencies operate with a different staffing structure than White advertising agencies. That is, White advertising agencies employ the minimum number of bodies, bringing in freelance help when necessary. In contrast, White digital agencies employ fewer than the minimum number of bodies—these firms have freelance support at their beck and call 24/7. The simple reality is White digital agencies are project-based enterprises—where workloads wildly fluctuate with no rhyme or reason—making it nearly impossible to maintain consistent, regular employees.

 

Secondly, given the recent mass layoffs at R/GA, the place has effectively created a vast pool of available talent. Hell, they might as well take advantage of the former workers—probably doling out lower rates in comparison to previous salaries—while hyping the maneuver as an innovation.

 

Finally, The Associates further diminishes the opportunity for authentic diversity in Adland. Drawing from an exclusive network of familiar faces prevents progress by shutting out newcomers, ultimately demonstrating corporate cronyism.

 

R/GA once declared they were “throwing out the traditional playbook for [DEI]”—yet it appears they’ve officially resumed utilizing the traditional playbook for systemic racism.

 

In closing, it’s worth noting that Ad Age illustrated the story with a royalty-free stock photograph (depicted above), underscoring how employees have become generic, interchangeable drones.

 

R/GA Launches Fractional Work Program For Agency Alumni

 

The Associates program promises a minimum of 20 weeks a year of work to former R/GA employees and freelancers

 

By Aleda Stam

 

R/GA is launching The Associates, a program for the agency’s alumni that invites them to work at the agency for a minimum of 20 weeks a year.

 

The Associates program is a type of fractional hiring, in which an employee is hired for a period of time, but without the constraints of project-based work, like freelance, or the permanence of part-time work.

 

The program was created in response to the rise in project-based client requests as a way to better manage skills, financial impact and headcount, according to Tiffany Rolfe, R/GA’s global chief creative officer. She also cited the rise in flexible work culture as people adopt—or are forced to adopt—freelance lifestyles.

 

“There was a need for a model for a workforce that gives more flexibility to employees, that also gives flexibility to our clients, so we can adapt to the changing needs that they have,” Rolfe said.

 

The Associates debuts months after R/GA laid off an estimated 15% to 20% of its U.S. employees. This was at least the sixth round of layoffs in the last three years for the Interpublic Group of Cos. shop. Last week, IPG announced that the holding company’s total headcount decreased by 1.2% through the first half of the year.

 

The program’s name came from the agency’s name—the A in R/GA stands for associates. (The R and G come from the names of brothers Richard and Robert Greenberg, who founded R/Greenberg Associates.)

 

‘Clients want consistency on their business’

 

R/GA said that through the program it will gain access to a diverse talent pool across disciplines that is familiar with the agency and its clients without having to worry about the expense or hassle of onboarding full-time employees.

 

“There’s challenges with onboarding employees into new projects, which might take a little while to get them accustomed to it, and clients want consistency on their business,” Rolfe said. “But it gives stability to employees.”

 

Employees in the program will have access to the agency’s office space, hardware such as computers, and the same software technology as full-time employees. Rolfe also touts the program as a way to offer access to workplace culture, agency events and learning and development opportunities.

 

Associates are eligible for the same type of benefits as full-time employees including health, dental, vision, supplemental life, short-term disability, long-term disability and retirement savings, according to the agency.

 

Similar to freelance employees, Associates will sign NDAs and have non-compete clauses in their contracts for certain R/GA clients, and they can float among different accounts.

 

Associates are paid based on the work they do (hourly or weekly, part-time) and at the end of year are compensated for any unused time. Specific salaries were not disclosed.

 

The Associates initially launched in June and now has 10 people participants. The agency is opening several more roles in the coming months, and Rolfe expects Associates to grow further into 2024 as client needs dictate.

 

While The Associates is an R/GA-only pilot program at the moment, Rolfe sees applications for parent Interpublic Group of Cos. and the industry at large in the future as client needs change.

 

“We don't think this is something that should just be an R/GA thing,” she said. “We actually think this is an approach that the whole industry needs.”

 

Fractional is the new freelance

 

These fractional employment terms are just another way for a company to say freelancer, and might not be beneficial to employee or employer in the long term, according to Sasha Martens, president of industry recruiting firm Sasha the Mensch Inc.

 

“In the U.S., sometimes we lay people off and ultimately that’s a short-term decision that’s not beneficial for the company or the person because a lot of institutional knowledge gets lost having to rehire and retrain somebody else,” Martens said.

 

Martens cites Germany’s Kurzarbeit policy as a more beneficial tact to take. The policy, which Germany implemented during the 2008 financial crisis and the early stages of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, is a social insurance program that has employers reduce their employees’ working hours instead of laying them off. The policy was one of the main reasons Germany was the only G7 economy to avoid a rise in joblessness in 2009.

 

Martens believes policies that favor fractional employees could “open the door” for having fewer full-time employees. “There does seem to be a driving interest to lower full-time headcount in most corporations to offer fewer benefits,” he said.

15983: Taking Notes On The Erosion Of Adland.

 

The following is an actual job listing for a freelance assignment:

 

Position: Note taker

Location: City of Chicago

Status: Freelance

Estimated Duration: 6 hours

Starts: 00/00

Rate: $50/hour

 

Job Description:

Our client is seeking a Note taker to help with a meeting.

 

They will provide lunch!

 

Location – Downtown Chicago

Start – 9am

Duration – 6 hours

 

You’ll be responsible for taking meeting notes for a 6-hour facilitated meeting with their IT group (12 people). Ideal Note taker would have prior note taking and/or copywriting experience.

 

If you feel you are qualified for this position, please reply directly to this email with a link to your portfolio (if applicable) and attach your resume. Tell us why you are qualified for this opportunity (2-3 bullet points, including your strengths/skill set as they pertain to this role), and let us know your availability to interview or start.

 

We apologize in advance if we’re unable to connect with you in person regarding this position. We get quite a few responses, but we are committed to reviewing and evaluating each applicant’s qualifications.

 

Wow. While Adland is definitely not diverse—at least in the area of racial and ethnic representation—it has diversified in terms of opportunities.

 

A note taker? Someone with prior note taking and/or copywriting experience?

 

Granted, lots of copywriters are relegated to taking dictation; that is, catering to the whims of account people and clients. But to designate “note taker” as an official role with background requirements is kinda sad.

 

Anybody else remember when note taking was among the basic responsibilities of account people?

 

Just noting it.

15711: Adland Economy Goes Boom.

 

Advertising Age published a long and laborious report on the perceived “Booming Freelance Economy”—and later announced U.S. advertising employment fell in January 2022. Well, sure, the stories are related, as job losses will spike self-employed numbers. Yet labeling the scenario as booming is misleading. More bodies desperately seeking gigs ultimately drives down standard payments and day rates, which have shifted to hourly wages doled out for actual time worked.

 

On the flipside, operating remotely has blurred the boundaries between professional and personal, where all employees are expected to be on call and online 24/7. In short, the free agent environment is not booming—it’s dooming.

 

Most outrageous is that the first Ad Age piece spotlighted increased marketing and promotions from talent platforms and staffing companies. That is, the enterprises gouging jobless people are profiting—while perpetuating the underrepresentation of minorities in Adland. For marginalized groups, glooming is looming, blooming and zooming.

 

Booming Freelance Economy Fuels Ad Battle Among Job Search Brands

 

Fiverr, Upwork and CareerBuilder are flooding social media and TV with new advertising

 

By Adrianne Pasquarelli

 

January is traditionally a period of career change, as workers evaluate their current jobs and often begin searches for new employment. This year, amid a continuing “Great Resignation” and pandemic-induced demand for more worker flexibility and career fulfillment, job changes are occurring at a breakneck pace. The transitions are fueling demand for talent platforms and staffing companies such as Fiverr and Upwork, which are dialing up their marketing to seize on the trend.

 

“There has been a growing interest in flexible work from both companies and individuals, and the pandemic has accelerated that in all sorts of ways,” said Barry Asin, president of Staffing Industry Analysts, which covers labor market trends. “We just did this giant experiment in flexible and remote work and companies that were previously resistant to that have realized that it actually works and it’s opening up a whole new labor market.”

 

Companies including freelance talent marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork, and traditional recruiting sites like CareerBuilder, are flooding TV and social media with new advertising as they try to capture a piece of growing demand. Upwork recently hired Melissa Waters, formerly global VP of marketing at Instagram, as chief marketing officer as it boosts its ad cred. Fiverr, fresh on the heels of its first Super Bowl spot last year, has been on an acquisition spree that includes last year’s purchase of Working Not Working, which connects freelancers in creative jobs to potential employers.

 

Even business-to-consumer marketplaces such as home services site Thumbtack, which connects homeowners with contractors, are investing in marketing with the recent hire of Amanda Reierson as head of marketing. She came from Farmers Insurance, where she was involved with digital marketing.

 

“These marketplaces are popping up because people are in a one-click-world. And marketplaces, from a digital perspective, enable more of that one-click-world by making things like a pro available for hire without having to talk to someone,” said Reierson, who is planning significant headcount growth for her marketing team. “That’s the root of why a lot of these marketplaces have popped up because now we have the digital technology to match people with whatever product or service you need.”

 

Growing gig economy

 

Both workers and employers are responding—and the so-called “gig economy,” worth $1.3 trillion in the U.S., is exploding. In 2020 talent platforms grew 25% year-over-year in gross spend volume, compared with 20% growth in 2019, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. It found that large organizations are using such platforms as resources now more than ever, with 22% of big employers using such sites in 2021 compared with only 14% in 2020. Talent platform sites like Upwork and Fiverr are not nearly as large as traditional temporary staffing firms, representing just 3% of the $392 billion global staffing industry. But the platform startups are growing and could reach $15.1 billion in gross revenue this year, SIA found.

 

“These guys are spending a lot of money on marketing—there’s a network effect and they want to be the winners of that networking effect. They’re willing to spend advertising dollars to make sure they’re the biggest,” said Asin.

 

The pandemic shifted career requirements for many workers, who began to place a premium on location flexibility and shifting hours rather than things like foosball or free beer. A survey last year from Working Not Working, called “Adland Careers Now and in the Future,” found that over 50% of creatives want to switch career paths.

 

“It used to be people who got laid off were the only ones freelancing, but that totally changed,” said Justin Gignac, co-founder, noting that COVID “added an incentive of people going ‘Hey, what do I want to do with my life, what are my priorities, what am I willing to tolerate with a job?’ The things that people were attracted to before—the jig is up. All that stuff that used to be the perks are not the perks anymore.”

 

Moving beyond word-of-mouth marketing

 

In the past, Working Not Working, which counts brands such as Apple, Google and Airbnb as its top clients, has primarily relied on word-of-mouth to grow its platform to 1,000 high-level creatives, ready for roles including anime directors, photographers and illustrators. Employers pay an annual or monthly membership fee to access Working Not Working’s pool of talent. Yet this year the company is focused on expanding its talent pool, and that means doing marketing for the first time, Gignac said. It will run its first marketing campaign, a short film that will run on digital channels such as YouTube.

 

“We were whispering about our brand for so long—now we have the opportunities and we feel an obligation,” said Gignac.

 

Waters left Instagram for Upwork earlier this month because she saw a chance to grow the 20-year-old brand beyond its low awareness at a time when talent marketplaces are all the rage. Upwork, which has a robust in-house team that works with outside agencies, debuted a national campaign in November. A series of films, “The Perfect Fit” campaign focused on how Upwork can solve talent gaps for businesses. It’s the latest in what Waters expects to be a heavy marketing investment this year—particularly at a time when revenue is also growing. In its most recent quarter, Upwork reported a 32% rise in revenue to $128.1 million.

 

“We will be leaning into marketing,” she said, noting that Upwork is rolling out new product lines as well. “Because we have single-digit awareness, we have such an opportunity—so much headroom to grow not only how much people think about us and consider us, but also for people who know and love us to be able to introduce them to our portfolio of products.”

 

Fiverr, a public company that started in Israel, has continued to pour more into marketing since going mainstream last year with its first Super Bowl ad. While the company isn’t planning a 2022 game day spot, it is “investing significantly” in marketing such as TV, according to Duncan Bird, VP of brand marketing and digital.

 

The 2021 Super Bowl spot positioned Fiverr as a resource for small businesses by playfully referencing the Four Seasons Total Landscaping company used in Rudy Giuliani’s infamous press conference during the 2020 presidential election aftermath. The ad “exceeded expectations,” Bird said, especially because Fiverr ran a social media campaign in conjunction with the Big Game spot. It followed that ad with a campaign called “Something From Nothing,” which shows how people can follow their dreams into reality. This month it is expanding that campaign into out-of-home advertising, including digital ads and hand-painted ads in New York City. Fiverr is also experimenting with influencer marketing and podcasts.

 

“We are always trying to experiment with our marketing and make sure we are learning—that is one of our great skills as a company, that we don’t just find something and keep repeating it,” said Bird, noting that the majority of marketing is done internally. “We want to be the poster child for this is the way to work.”

 

So far, the strategy is paying off. Fiverr reported third-quarter revenue of $74.3 million, a 42% increase over the year-earlier period. The company reports fourth-quarter earnings in February.

 

Getting creative

 

Traditional online job listing sites like CareerBuilder are also trying to remain top of mind with fresh marketing that taps into the new mindset of job seekers. The brand recently ran a campaign called “Let’s Job it Up” designed to recruit around the “Great Resignation.” It was the first marketing push in at least two years, according to CMO Kristin Kelley. She said all of the job movement has put a strain on talent acquisition organizations to build awareness. Now, CareerBuilder has to be more creative with job descriptions, adding video and using TikTok and other social media to market the brand. The company is tapping Instagram influencers, like a female truck driver, and using ploys like contests as well as QR codes in cinema ads. Later this quarter, the company plans to roll out a new initiative called Colab, where candidates who are not on LinkedIn can network and get resume guidance.

 

“The job of a place like CareerBuilder is a mathematical equation—we have to keep awareness levels high because candidates aren’t exclusive to any job board, they will apply to the jobs served in front of them,” said Kelley. “It’s incredibly important that CareerBuilder be seen,” she added, noting that “we are maximizing the avenues around us to get the word out.”

 

Of course, the marketing blitz may be short-lived. That’s because experts expect an eventual shakeout as some marketplaces gain ground over others. In addition, rising advertising costs could result in a pullback by some brands that will be unable to invest as heavily in customer acquisition.

 

“In 2020, the cost to advertise went down quite a bit and talent platforms were very opportunistic on that and invested heavily to drive brand awareness—a lot of enterprises were simply unaware of what talent platforms are and that has been a huge driver of growth,” said Brian Wallins, research manager at Staffing Industry Analysts. “I expect that to subside to some degree because the cost is bouncing back up.”

15110: Digitas Launches Global Search For Freelance Help.

 

 

 

Here’s an indication of how bizarre the job market in the U.S. advertising industry has become. Digitas is seeking a freelance VP project manager—to work for its office in India. Hey, why not? With Zoom, it’s possible to operate in a different country and time zone as a VP-level hired gun, managing projects on a project basis. And take social distancing to the extreme too.

12026: Whines Of A “Veteran” Writer.

Digiday published a puff piece titled, “Confessions of a journalist moonlighting as a native ad writer: ‘I’m not proud’”—an interview with an alleged “veteran freelance writer who has written for top women’s magazines and other national publications.”

Slaving on native advertising is such an angst-ridden struggle for the writer. When asked why she/he is doing it, the suffering scribe replied, “It would be called debt. I’m getting $500 a day. It was the same as a [journalism] job I had a couple years ago. And the reality is, it’s a whole lot easier. I’m doing a job, and I’m not dealing directly with the client. I feel like I’m writing in a vacuum.” Um, $500 per day sounds like a pretty sweet deal for even a “veteran”—especially when there are plenty of entry-level writers who would do the job for less. What’s more, a millennial worker would probably not do much worse than the “veteran” in terms of content quality. It is native advertising, after all, which the “veteran” called “the lowest common denominator” of assignments.

When asked why she/he doesn’t want byline credit on native advertising, the “veteran” remarked, “Because it’s not work I’m proud of. It’s not anything remotely interesting. But I was at [a major news organization] and didn’t put my name on many stories. If I were writing stories for dumb women’s magazines, I wouldn’t want my name on many stories, either.” Gee, perhaps the long-time freelancer is a tad burned out and disillusioned with her/his career. Native advertising sounds like the perfect way to slide along and pay the bills for this hack.

Another peculiar statement from the “veteran” read, “I’m getting too old to make a living from my body, so I’ve got to make a living from my pen!” Is she/he a prostitute on the side? And is she/he still actually writing with a pen?

In reference to the state of freelancing, the “veteran” whined, “I despise it. It’s not worth my energy. They’re paying much less money for stupid stories. The Daily Beast is paying $300 for an article. It’s offensive. That’s what the Internet has done.” Ah, yes, the evil World Wide Web has squashed all the opportunities for old school writers who pine for the days of print. Sounds as if the “veteran” must accelerate the efforts on her/his blockbuster screenplay or Great American Novel pronto. Do the rest of society a favor and help a 20-something escape their Starbucks barista gig to take over the terrible $500-a-day purgatory of native advertising.