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Applying ‘Moore’s Law’ to talent – why agencies need the under 30s

By Russ Lidstone

April 3, 2014 | 4 min read

The other morning, after my daily Central Line commute to Tottenham Court Road accompanied by the latest Elbow offering (don’t judge me), I stepped into the agency lift and switched off my beloved 160GB Apple iPod. Deciding that the new Elbow album was worthy of a second hearing, I tucked the iPod away safely in my bag in preparation for the return leg some hours later.

Russ Lidstone

My 160GB iPod holds up to 40,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format and holds up to 25,000 iPod-viewable photos plus up to 200 hours of video. It’s a technological wonder.

‘iPod. Love it. Very old school’ commented a ‘20 something’ intern (no names mentioned) who joined me in the lift, as she peered with some disbelief at my prized two-year-old Apple device.

Old school?!

This, as well as a potential ‘career limiting move’ by the unnamed intern, is Moore’s Law in action.

Moore’s Law, for those not familiar with it, is a theory that (I’m paraphrasing) assumes processing power in technological devices will double every 18 months, whilst the physical size will effectively decrease. Cool things become outmoded.

As someone that grew up with vinyl, worshipped at the altar of Walkman, embraced the CD and mini-disc revolutions, it’s no surprise that I love my iPod.

Given that iPod sales declined by 52 per cent last year (iPhone sales increased of course) and revenue for online music streaming services such as Spotify top US$1b, there is clear evidence of the shifting marketing sands; Moore’s Law is alive and well.

Whilst we all know about the pace of technological advancement, this was a genuine reminder for me that our marketing context changes daily and hourly, and that without stating the obvious, our industry has to continue to adapt to thrive in this environment. Who would have thought 2 years ago that the revolutionary iPod could be considered ‘old school’?

But equally importantly, this ‘lift episode’ was also a powerful reminder that the marketing and communications industry needs to ensure we have a strong influx of talent and aptitude from the under 30s, as well as different cultures and different backgrounds – in order to see the world from a range of perspectives including ‘post-digital’.

The IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) has made great strides in bringing a diversity of young talent into the communications industry through its Creative Pioneers scheme. At Havas we’ve raised our game too – we run regular paid apprenticeship schemes with the IPA and Enternships, we run a market-leading graduate scheme and partner with tech accelerators to ensure we’re exposed to people who may not think that advertising offers a career for them.

We have 25 nationalities represented across our 250 people and have hired for 23 positions in the last couple of years that hadn’t existed in the agency before. Some of our best hires in recent memory have come from our internship or apprenticeship schemes. But of course there is more that we can, will and should do in this era of high youth unemployment.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt by strengthening our engagement with and commitment to young talent and aptitude – it’s that we need this fresh perspective to help us all grow, learn and provide a different filter. Whether it’s in the digital arena or social purpose, whether it’s in design, tech, social media, project management, PR , account handling, creative or strategy – we need that ‘iPod challenge’ day in, day out.

In fact I’ve come to the conclusion that Moore’s Law also applies to hiring talent: The potency of insight and competence doubles every 18 months, whilst conversely the age of the talent decreases.

Now back to that Elbow album…

Russ Lidstone is CEO of Havas Worldwide London

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