The headline of this article is not correct. Razorfish is not turning away from big ideas, it's turning away from the wasteful, deafening practice of guessing at one big idea, dropping it and guessing at the next. The Razorfish approach shows more respect for both the audience and the brand. A great idea can still build from a small base, and in fact, the audience's sense of discovery will enhance their loyalty. This method is good news for marketing managers that want to work in one place for a long time.

ClickZ: Razorfish Disses the Big Idea, Pushes Iterative Model, 2010-Aug-2, by Zachary Rodgers

Razorfish has created a new design practice with the premise that marketing execs should give up on big ideas that produce mostly one-off campaigns. Instead, it's asking clients to embrace an iterative test-and-learn mindset that gradually refines a website or marketing effort over time. And that goes not only for direct marketers, but big brands as well. …

“Without question agile was an important reason why Bundle.com is now flourishing and innovating," said Jaidev Shergill. "And we continue to take customer feedback in order to constantly improve Bundle.com.”

Selling the approach hasn't been easy. Some clients have balked at the process, insisting that their contracts specify delivery dates for specific capabilities – for instance, the ability to let users post to Twitter straight from a website. That fixed approach goes against the whole Agile outlook, said Crump. "To take an iterative approach you have to believe that list of things that go along with your big idea or your campaign, much of that is wrong and it's going to change," he said. "The reality still is there's a lot of inertia."