However, it is the agency’s job to lead, not merely to service.

Thanks for your comment. Have a great weekend.

- Greg

In my experience many of these big, very demanding clients tend to be brand managers in their mid to late twenties – certainly in the consumer sector. Could it be that many large consumer brands are being stewarded by people who perhaps don’t have the experience to demand anything other than what the agencies are already doing? Yes, these brand managers are often executing a strategy set higher up, but nevertheless they seem to have a lot of freedom in how they implement it and are usually the ones who deal with the agency.

An area where this is not the case is the pharma sector – I’ve always been struck by the age difference between brand managers working on pharma brands versus consumer brands. The pharma sector is a very technical and sensitive area and presumably for this reason, companies put their brands in the hands of more experienced managers. Fundamentally though, it is a similar role – to take the brand forward.

With respect, there is an obvious answer to your question. There is a lack or perceived value.

- Greg

–pam

Thanks for your input.

- Greg

In addition, most traditional marketing service firms are focused on the wrong thing…creating better interruptions when the consumer has shifted their desires to having conversations. In a world where we can all of us can zip through your ads with our TiVo’s, nuke them with spam blockers or avoid them all together with subscription or content on demand, agencies should be focused on creating better connections, conversations and communities. But, they’re not.
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This is one area of heavy activity. It’s also important to remember that the holding companies own research companies as well (i.e. Milward Brown is owned by WPP). So again, integration of skills is a major issue.

- Greg

This is another very valuable post! I have read recently a forecast that in the next ten years ad agencies will stake on developing proprietary research technology as compared to outsourcing it (probably to just a few global vendors). Do you consider proprietary, or just better, research technology also a differentiating factor that can help an ad agency command higher margins?

Stan

Thanks. One of the strange things is that it’s a common practice among ad agencies’ biggest and most successful clients.

- Greg

I once worked for a large, family owned company. The president was, in all honesty, president by birth. But he was very successful due in large part because he worked his way up through the company starting as a sales rep far from the corporate headquarters. He learned about his company in the trenches and had the respect from everyone in the company.

Thanks for the article.

–Greg