• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 29, 2012

If you’re a gamer, you'd like working at PHD.

The Omnicom media shop is installing a global “operating system” for internal communications and client planning that utilizes the same type of technology platform used by so-called massively multiplayer online games, known as MMOs. The platform will be fully deployed by Jan. 1, 2013, the shop said.

According to Mark Holden, worldwide strategy and planning director of PHD, the new platform, called Source, is designed to facilitate better collaboration and communication among PHD staffers worldwide and allow employees to share ideas across client teams -- not just within them.

At the same time, it’s designed to maximize employee output and could be seen as a sorting tool for the human resources department.

For employees, the new system will give them a different way to shine. They will be ranked by the system, depending on their input, and career advancement will depend on those rankings, said Holden. Just like the commercial games, the scores of the players -- or in this case the rankings of PHD staffers worldwide -- will be displayed for all to see.

“Over the last year, we have become increasingly fascinated by the power of game-experiences to encourage full immersion,” said Holden. “Play culture has been shown to take engagement higher,” he added. “Source is our attempt to leverage this in order to tap into the rich potential of the PHD collective mind."

The platform has been in development for two years at a cost of millions; it is said to have been one of several key influences on Unilever’s recent decision to award the shop the bulk of its global communications planning assignment. The consumer goods giant spends upwards of $6 billion on global ads annually.

Mike Cooper, worldwide CEO of PHD, stated: “Implementing a gamified system is of huge benefit to our clients, with the best thinking rising to the top. It also fosters strategic planning and promotes the function by implementing it into daily activity.”

PHD teams will have complete access to the work and tools necessary to do work on their client assignments and limited access to other client projects. As an example, Holden noted that a team might solicit ideas agencywide for a particular brand. The system provides a way for all clients to chime in. “We really believe this is the next-generation system for client planning,” Holden said.

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