September 21, 2004
upstreaming
I’m very interested in what is called “upstreaming”; one of those pesky buzzwords currently en vogue.
“Upstreaming” basically means moving up the value chain.
As a cartoonist, a good definition would be “upstreaming” from selling $25 cartoons to newspapers, to selling million-dollar movie ideas based on your cartoon character. Or in my case, “upstreaming” from showing free cartoons on the net, to selling my advertising services to one of my readers who has a business needing sold to a large audience.
The whole frickin’ advertising businesses is currently going through a turbulent upstreaming phase at the moment.
A lot of the things ad agencies are used to selling to their clients are not nearly as rare or valuable as they once were. And the people in the cubes doing the work are finding themselves less and less valued.
An art director I know was laid off from Ogilvy's in New York about 2 years ago. He’s had a very hard time. His current situation is a total disaster. He’s 40 years old. Before the layoff his career had been less than spectacular.
Forget to upstream and you end up like him: middle aged and crashing on a friend’s couch in The Bronx.
Posted by hugh macleod at September 21, 2004 2:21 PM | TrackBackGood point. Don't ever presume your current position is stable, or that your market is indefinite. If you're not petrified of losing your job every day, you're probably already unemployed.
Posted by: Justin Kownacki at September 22, 2004 6:42 PMYour insights would be a lot easier to take, Hugh, if they weren't dripping with condescension for those who haven't reached your level of "success." That art director who got laid off probably feels bad enough already without seeing his sad story splashed for all to see on some website. Stop looking down your nose at everyone. The view may not be as nice, but at least you'll gain a better perspective. After all, there but by the grace of God (or Lee Clow) goes you. . .
Posted by: Kasper Hauser at September 22, 2004 8:19 PM