The cobbler’s kids may be shoeless but agency restructure isn’t what took them.
It’s easy to talk about how GroupM’s consolidation is systemic of agencies not respecting the power of brand, but it goes deeper than that.
Brand is only as powerful as what’s behind it and the ease at which agencies are consolidating is a sign of the industry’s lack of distinctiveness in how it thinks and operates.
Agencies like GroupM’s have great talent and potential.
However, when everyone buys and sells agencies, especially in media, on cost – the name on the door and the offering inside matter less.
I don’t know if it was always this way, but having been lucky enough to start my career at Mindshare in London, I’ll always fondly remember the philosophy, thinking and people that name holds.
The rumour is that while ‘GroupM’ is changing to ‘WPP Media’, the agency brands will stay distinct as client teams. However, beyond names, when someone sits across agencies, where does the philosophy sit? Half and half football game scarves don’t sell as well for a reason.
Scale gives perspective and efficiency but it takes away uniqueness – just ask anyone who runs a food court. Algorithms benefit from consolidation more than people and, for the moment, we’re struggling to reconcile craft and technology. The agency model has to adapt, but that’s been a truth since it’s inception. We have to build, philosophically clear cut.
I have no doubt the industry and more clients will swing back to finding the unique magic in an agency philosophy, and a lot of the great people now leaving WPP this week will be part in that change from the ground up.
Nostalgia is particularly dangerous in today’s advertising industry, but the faded JWT mug on my kitchen shelf reminds me that an agency is more than costs and overhead – it’s thinking, beliefs and a rallying spirit.
For now, the cobbler’s kids are waiting for their parents to remember they’re in the shoe business. Hopefully this happens soon, as rallying behind incremental cost savings and technological realignment doesn’t have the same ring to it.
It’s why New Classic exists as well, because I believe today’s best ideas are going to come from the ground up, with a good, distinct strategy supporting them. It might only be one part of the puzzle, but its a part I’m proud of.
