Making brands more distinctive

What is the future of the client and agency relationship.

The purpose of creative agencies has always been to communicate singular thoughts to a mass group of people.

And this is for two reasons. One, a singular message has more chance of getting through. Secondly a singular action has more chance of being carried out.

You’d expect that in our ever more complex world that there would be a great call for simplicity. Sadly not. The big consultancies are entering the market, digital delivery is used in place of good advertising and the democratisation of photography, film and content has devalued some traditional agency services. Complex is now a virtue. Indeed, confusing complexity is a business model for agency competitors

So our constant battle with clients is convincing them that simplification of their offer to something that is singular, memorable, stand-out and actionable is always the right course of action. Yet clients are bombarded with the latest platforms, algorithms and formats so that being behind the curve, confused and inconsistent is perceived as a management norm. It’s difficult to sell simplicity when the herd is charging towards the next unknown.

In addition, there is a generation of marketeers who have never commissioned nor worked with an agency. They have no need as they can create content with partners (or in house) then define their audience and deliver the message to them at the click of a button.

As the tech companies, data houses and consultancies move into the agency sector the traditional value of agencies – creating powerful simple messages – becomes less relevant. Reporting complexity and making thousands of tiny optimising tweaks is becoming the new currency. Not powerful simplification.

So how should agencies act in relation to clients with these twin threats of hyper personalisation and client-side control? 

Agencies need to take a leaf from their own book:

Simplify their offer. It must be about insight that leads to better ROI through creativity. The medium or latest tech is irrelevant. If the tech comes first then your simply not a creative agency but a reseller.

Use their consultative skills: there is vast experience in agencies. This must be used to help develop clients’ strategies from the ground up not just at the pointy, advertising end.

Sell creativity not process: aligning an agency to the language and methods of technology may well make an agency look likes its competing with big data but all it is doing is kowtowing to tech’s influence.

Agencies have to identify and communicate their value to clients: experience, breadth of knowledge, independence from media, understanding the bottom line. If we’re not helping clients beat the competition than we’ll just be fighting over scraps.