How creative agencies can thrive in a post-pandemic reality

Much has changed for the ad industry since the world—and along with it, the global economy—was turned upside down in 2020. Across the industry, businesses have struggled to adapt to slimmed-down budgets, slashed headcounts and shifting client needs, all of which prompted the question, raised by Ad Age Associate Creativity Editor I-Hsien Sherwood in a recent story: Why is the creative agency model floundering?

“With higher demands from brands, decoupled production and shifts in media spend, creative agencies need to reinvent themselves,” says Paul Sluimers, business director at Ambassadors. “Brands are pulling more and more of the creative production process knowledge in-house, and that’s knowledge that used to live within agencies, production companies or even post-production companies. It’s up to creative partners to still be of service during that transition.” For this month's Spotlight, we posed that question—plus what the industry needs to do to fix it—to the people with the deepest insights on the subject: the Amp community.

The struggle to connect

Whether or not the industry is unanimous on something being inherently flawed within the creative agency model, everyone working in advertising today can agree that things have taken a turn since the onset of the pandemic. “In the last 18 months, we’ve seen a new agency paradigm evolve for how brands connect with consumers with end-to-end messaging,” says Eddy Prado, co-founder of Admazing. “The smaller independent shops—HUGE, Decoded, etc.—have re-ignited the landscape with an understanding of the power in agility, data and gut instinct, operating with a higher level of integration.” Prado argues that larger agencies can’t operate with the same level of agility in meeting brand needs and may also be mired by an outdated fee- or time-based model, yet another barrier to agility.

“The future is all about responsiveness,” says Movers+Shakers CEO Evan Horowitz, echoing a similar viewpoint. “Connecting to the current conversation is huge for brands as they want to work with partners that listen to culture and react quickly, but also create moments that become a part of culture.”

That nimble, culture-centric approach necessitates a movement away from the decades-old way of doing things for ad shops, formerly centered around big launches and splashy TV spots. But contributing to the larger conversation and being an active participant in current culture may be a tougher task today than in years past. “In the digital age, collective experiences have been replaced by individual experiences, which means that people no longer watch the same thing at the same time,” says Jalila Levesque, head of global communications and partner at FRED & FARID. “The digital era encourages non-linear consumption of content, so much so that the only collective shared experiences there are today are the big sports events. This is a real issue because brands by definition are symbols of shared experience—they are identity markers. This breaks down the power and role of brands in everyone's life.”

An environment where talent thrives

Access to talent may be another weak spot for larger agencies with rigid hierarchies. “Where the traditional agency model has failed is that it lacks direct access to talent; brands have realized that all of the overhead and middle management takes away from the creativity,” says Jouke Vuurmans, chief creative officer at Media.Monks. “As the fragmentation of media accelerates, modern brands want seamless access to a diverse pool of talent who can help them meet audiences wherever they are.” Vuurmans points to changes made within his own agency—the launch of their integrated brand—as an example of the type of shift required to meet clients where they’re at today and prioritize access to creativity. “That direct connection with specialized skill sets, and the collaborative spirit that it engenders, is imperative to building the integrated and agile model that brands need to engage meaningfully with audiences across a growing list of channels,” says Vuurmans.

Keeping that spirit of collaboration thriving requires greater attention to the talent itself, too. All creative agencies are built on the individual creatives who comprise them, and properly looking after that talent is as imperative as any other component of agency operations. “We need to get serious about how we build and foster talent development and bury the brand of ‘agency life,’” says Jon Judah, president of Huge Southeast. “This means providing the mobility, coaching and transparency that enable a creative shop to bring the full potential of its people to a brand’s challenge.”

As a field largely made up of creatives, an environment where those types of people can thrive is critical. “We need to support a whole new model that celebrates the artist and ensures they are respected and supported, and as freelancers they aren’t hidden behind the scenes,” says Elliot Gerard, managing partner and head of creative at HEARTLENT Group. “It's vitally important to create a respectful environment for our creative team that gives them the space to do what they do best for each individual project and thrive with us.”

The weight of overhead and hierarchies

There may be nothing wrong with the creative agency itself or the creatives who make them up, but rather, the processes and structures that, with today’s client expectations and needs, could impede the work they put out. "The speed, information, data and changes that are so obvious around us are great opportunities for brands to connect with people, but the model we operate in holds us back,” says Andrew Harper, executive creative director at PMG. “We constrain people with titles that limit and stunt them, and we have processes that are slow and precious for deliverables that are fast and disposable.”

While the needs for breakthrough creative built on solid strategies and skillsets are as great (or greater) than ever, the approach to execution and delivery may need overhauling for many agencies still operating within a traditional model. “The era where a brand can break through solely with a 30-second TV spot is dead, but I’d argue that creativity is actually more important in today’s highly fragmented, noisy world,” says Andy Berkenfield, CEO of Duncan Channon. “The agencies that harness creativity to solve client business problems—and are nimble enough to keep up with where consumers are online and in real life—will thrive.”

For those who can maximize available technology—in listening, testing and tracking—and adapt their processes to harness that power, the opportunities are great. “It's not like 30 years ago where you produced a campaign, trafficked the creative and had to wait weeks, months or more to get an idea of performance or resonance,” says Lauren Nutt Bello, president of Ready Set Rocket. “Digital channels allow creative to be launched and reactions measured in minutes. This poses such a huge opportunity to think about creative testing as a ground level tool to validate the big idea before a huge investment is made.”

A need for focus

Size aside, the shops with clearer focus and stronger specializations may fare better in today’s leaner, meaner market than those trying to be everything to everyone. “I think an honest approach with your clients is important, as well as embracing your agency’s DNA and sticking to your strengths,” says Gian Carlo Lanfranco, co-founder and chief creative officer at L&C NYC. “If you are good with earned media campaigns, then that’s why the clients will come to you. It’s better to home in on your core strengths than to put out mediocre work because you’re doing too many things.”

Being a go-to for something specific—whether it’s a hypertargeted audience, media specialty, region, etc.—may provide a leg up on those competing for clients of all kinds. “Many traditional creative agency models shun focus, overindexing on generalization rather than specialization. The result is diluting your company’s capabilities and discouraging subject matter experts joining or staying at an agency,” says Oliver Dore, technology partner at Work & Co. “Being focused helps clients gain clarity around where to invest in third-party experts and understand how your agency teams can best hook in and collaborate with their in-house resources, which are, in many cases, expanding.”

The way forward

The creative agency is an integral part of the ad industry’s entire foundation, and it isn’t going anywhere soon. But its traditional iteration may need some tweaking to continue producing work that works for clients, and both retaining and fostering its talent. For Noel Cottrell, chief creative officer, Kansas City, at VMLY&R, the solution can be boiled down to a simple principle. “Those who are succeeding have built offerings their clients need. ‘If you build it they will come’ is the only successful way forwards,” says Cottrell. “Stop waiting for the phone to ring; get building.”

What they build should and will look different for every business, but the overarching need seems to be greater agility, better use of technology and data, and strategic decision-making. “The intersection of creativity and business analytics is the future of our industry,” says Adam Von Ohlen, chief creative officer at Two by Four. “As creatives, we need to make sure we are connecting the dots across the entire user journey in a meaningful, additive way, both from a creative and an analytical tracking standpoint.”