Heard About Communo?

According to their release, “Tech startup Communo is using a collaborative model to help small businesses, ‘solopreneurs’ and agencies scale their businesses by sharing talent and resources so they can bid on large projects and win new business.” In a nutshell, you can  sign up to either procure added talent for your existing agency, or make yourself available to be hired by an agency.

Coincidentally, Communo CEO and co-founder Ryan Gill (at left) spoke at the AMA Puget Sound meeting June 18 on the subject: “Is the advertising/creative agency business model dead?”

The Communo model is a membership-based community of carefully vetted marketing and creative pros who give and get work within a sharing economy, according to Gill. Once approved, and for a low monthly fee, members can begin receiving projects to bid on, without having to maintain expensive office space or a large staff.

Members include a variety of marketing pros: web designers, computer programmers, graphic artists, freelance writers, social-media experts, photographers and video-production crews. A total of 43 different disciplines are represented.

Seattle is one of several markets across North America targeted by Communo. In his remarks, Gill will note the recent closure of Creature and the imminent closure of Wexley School for Girls as indications of problems with the current agency model. Other targets for the virtual community are Vancover, B.C., and Toronto.

“The on-demand economy is disrupting a number of long-standing industries,” Gill said. “First it was the taxi industry and then the hotel industry and now it’s the marketing industry.” The 2018 goal is to have 1,000 member first, representing tens of thousands of employees. Communo currently has about 300 members representing more than 1,000 employees.

Interested? Email Patrick Orr, VP growth and marketing for Communo, at patrick@commun-o.com or call 613-483-2691.