Where is the bipartisanship in advertising?
I’ve been hearing this word a lot in American politics. Don Trump has brought his petulant reality show flair into the White House and I’m hooked with a big tub of popcorn. Sans 3D glasses. I’ve started to pay attention to the dynamics of how a 2-party system functions (or dysfunctions in this case) and what effects it has on US economy and the world in general. It got me thinking… are we so far off in our own fractured relationship within the advertising industry though? What I mean is the relationship between the ad agency and the media company.
There was a time when advertising agencies and media companies shared the same offices and sang drunkenly shoulder-to-shoulder at the same Christmas parties. So what changed? While I’m sure there were numerous reasons why ad and media folks needed to split away from each other at one time, there has never been a better time for us to rethink that decision. When the divorce happened – I suspect it was the ad agencies that started to stray – we inhabited a communications space that was not affected by these two factions living in silos. The clients wanted to get the best deals on media buy, while sourcing out the best agencies that create work best for their brands. Somewhere further down the line, digital accountability entered and the agency model split again into separate camps; digital and traditional agencies. And then a third split into social media agencies. The media firms stayed their course, now enjoying a new revenue stream in the digital space which became exponentially more relevant to their business model. Everyone’s happy with their piece of the pie, right? Uh no. Not so much.
It is digital consumption that has inadvertently changed our industry’s fate. As more and more people felt comfortable consuming information via online, the needle shifted to the importance of creating more compelling stories outside the once-traditional mediums. Nothing wrong with that; it’s called progress and moving with the times. The issue arose from ownership. Who lay claim to this fertile oasis? Media companies create the ‘space’ for the stories so they feel they should take the lead. Agencies are the storytellers so they feel they are best equipped to dictate how a brand should speak. Thanks to companies like Facebook and Instagram, who dominate information consumption, social media companies want to be the pace car. After all is said and done, you end up with an elephant and a donkey (that’s an American politics reference, stay with me) who keep spraying and braying over each other. And nothing gets done. The result is a disconnect of brand custodianship with no unified voice and purpose. Big data aficionados will have you believe that the compartmentalisation of communications poses no problems. Each piece of work/content/ad/coupon serves its purpose and reaches its intended target – both goal and person. Yet if you think of brand affinity and recall, I still believe the global brands that are being holistic are the only winners. And for the most part, it’s the same brands who were kings before all this messy paella was created.
As a creative, I approach these topics because I want there to be a lesson within my fellow creative community, regardless of whether they are at the top of their game or feel like a small fish in a big pond located in the middle of no man’s land. The issue with what is happening in our industry impacts our (creative) relevance and duty to genuinely helping brands grow in an ever-saturated comms world. I’ve had conversations with more than one head of a media company who tell me that they would love to do more exciting content with richer storytelling, but they cannot find the right talent interested in them. Their clients are willing to pay for it but they just don’t have the resources to do it at times. I’ve had conversations with creatives who say they would sooner become street poets than join a media company over a sexy ad agency with a foosball table and an after-hours beer fridge. I’ve had conversations with independent ad agency (creative director) owners who want to work with media companies on approach but just don’t trust them. Reality check: media companies need good storytellers to get better credibility with talent, sexy agencies aren’t producing sexy work anymore and small independents need to change the narrative with the other side in order to stay relevant in the long term.
So here’s the lesson:
If you are an agency creative who thinks they have more to offer, you are at a greater advantage to approach media companies with your skillset. Set your ambition with what you want to achieve if you move from agency world to media world. Have content experience (better yet start a YouTube channel) and show how your experience adds equity to the media company. It’s not happening enough trust me. It’s still the Wild West.
If you are a (small) media company, embrace another small independent ad agency as your PARTNER. Most likely they want to be that size because it gives them freedom to choose what they work on. This is not a way to buyout overheads and consume the company into your own. That’s how the mistrust occurs. Vice versa, independent agencies should be more proactive in having honest conversations which highlight the mutual benefit of working together. They need each other to compete head on with the network agencies.
And lastly, it is not so much a lesson to big agencies as I am just a creative in an ocean of Omnicoms and WPPs, but rather a request to my respected creative peers and leaders: help break down the barrier between media companies and yourselves quickly. You cannot win a battle where the client is talking to media companies separately and setting the agenda before the brief even arrives at your agency office. The most content agencies are ones where they are enjoying the fruits of their combined labour.
Peace.
