GETTING THE MESSAGE
In a world where there are too many media options for brands, media agencies are an important filter and help clients zero in on the best channels to hit their target audience. So is big or small best?
Conventional wisdom has a habit of changing over time and that’s certainly true when it comes to marketing. When it comes to media agencies, it has fluctuated between independent shops and full-service agency departments over the years. So what’s the best option for clients? And does independence from a creative agency make a difference?
“There’s definitely a desire for creative and media to work closely together for a combined solution for the client,” says MBM’S Sean Mccready. “I don’t think there’s a massive drive for physical integration as much as effective collaboration. Clients want simpler reporting lines as it can be hard work for them to manage competing agencies. If anything we are seeing media agencies take more of a lead in the communications process because we understand the audience and increasingly complicated media touchpoints.”
MBM won Agency of the Year titles at The Beacons in 2014 and 2015 and offers a range of specialist media skills – particularly focused on the digital space. At the other end of the spectrum, FCB, which won Agency of the Year in 2016 and 2017, prides itself on its integrated offering, claiming that it can be both a specialist when required to work with a client on media only, or a full-service agency that can work closely with its creative and PR teams. But Lassoo’s managing director, John Baker, is sceptical of ‘full-service’ claims and says there’s no substitute for true independence.
“Any agency that tries to tell you they can do everything well is being misleading. It’s
analogous to restaurants. When the menu is too long and diverse I immediately become sceptical of the kitchen’s ability to deliver well on everything. The risk is you end up with solutions that are only as strong as the weakest link … Ultimately it’s about what is best for the client and the mix of talent that collaborates on their brands. There was a lot of talk of re-integration but as is often the case with these debates, it was led by those with a vested interest in this occurring. This seems to have waned a bit more recently with clients seeing the benefits of the independent voice around the table.”
Excelling at being a specialist also means being really good at collaborating with other agencies and other specialists.
“The crucial thing is to ensure this is being done within a clearly understood strategic framework. It takes quite a bit of discipline by clients and agencies to do this,” admits Baker. “With the way the market is operating, it’s really easy to get trapped by the immediate business objectives. Project work therefore requires more discipline, which is a good thing but having a longitudinal view enhances the ability to deliver on short-term goals.”
Lassoo has integrated PR/ content and digital into its “traditional” media agency activity. And the natural next step for them as an agency – and for many of its competitors – is moving more overtly into the customer nurture space by working with clients in developing and optimising their owned media channels to
be across the whole customer lifecycle. Technology, data and content enable this, Baker says.
Richard Thompson and Alex Radford recently announced a new digital consultancy business, Future State Consulting. Radford, who was general manager of digital media at Dentsu Aegis Network, and Thompson, the chief executive of KPEX, will depart their roles this March. Their aim with the new venture is to support clients from strategy development right through to delivery by providing the leadership, strategy and tools businesses need to succeed in the digital economy, which is an increasingly important part of the media landscape.
They say clients have long told them that full-service media agencies are really good at the doing, but don’t have the time or resource to get senior staff deep into client’s businesses.
“I think you’ll see the smartest clients working with a tight set of specialist agencies and consultancies to get the best knowledge and experience available,” says Radford. “Reintegration [with creative] would serve no-one’s best interests other than the holding group’s bottom line!”
A great digital campaign in the media world will touch around ten separate specialist divisions (ad ops, programmatic, tracking, data, dash boarding, social, SEM, SEO, digital strategy, and attribution) so investing in talent to ensure that you have the best team in each area is vital to ensure that the machine works.
Radford reports that both iprospect (digital marketing specialists) and Amnet (the Aegis Media Trading Desk) have grown immensely over the last two years with clients focusing spend on performance. Programmatic buying and selling of advertising, real-time bidding, automation, and the buying and selling of digital media is changing the media buying landscape – and client expectations – rapidly.
Many of the media agencies are developing specialist service areas such as analytics consulting, SEO, and content creation, and extending the depth of resource amongst their digital teams – moving well beyond simply being media planning and buying agencies.
As an example, iprospect (part of the Dentsu/aegis group) started working with a larger retailer running just their search marketing, but over time was able to demonstrate better knowledge and skills across a wide performance spectrum and were appointed their digital media agency.
Media agencies have long been senstitive about being seen as an admin function or implementation partner, rather than an integral strategic partner. Media buying is certainly becoming more automated, with tech platforms allowing clients to buy it themselves, and some sophisticated clients have moved some of that digital and programmatic capability in-house. But in a complicated world, working with people who can help simplify it and get your message out there more effectively and more efficiently is worth its weight in gold.