In the US there are a number of agencies using Basis by Centro. For clients that pay for outcomes, incrementality, and value, I’ve seen agencies focus on automation and digitisation in really intelligent ways.
For clients that prefer to pay on an FTE basis, the incentive for agencies to digitise unfortunately isn’t there, so apathy and inertia reigns. How have agencies adjusted their operations to meet the needs brought about by increased digitisation? In short, it’s my hope that brands and their agencies have re-solidified their shared purpose to drive results at a time when the world has seen more change than ever. For a mattress retailer, we must remind them that being honestly smart in advertising helps get the right message to the right person to help people get a great night’s sleep. At Goodway and CvE we talk about our purpose of making all ad spend honestly smart, but link that to the client’s purpose as well. Agencies that were able to both pivot quickly and think ahead about how the pandemic will change how brands are bought and considered have done very well. Much better than internal marketing departments, actually. Fortunately for agencies, they have a strong history of pivoting quickly. That could be in terms of the type of support or in terms of remuneration model or payment terms, but willingness to change and adapt has been a central theme. More than ever the pandemic has necessitated not just adaptability but also extreme flexibility. How has the pandemic shaped the role and work of agencies? From what I’ve seen, agencies that deliver clear value on outcomes and incrementality have weathered this year very well. This prompted more brands to bring more functions in-house than they had before and rightfully question where they were getting value and where they weren’t. While brands have always been cost-conscious, this year brought cost-consciousness to a new level. The independent agency community has unsurprisingly benefitted with this context. Brands have always hoped for commercial appreciation of their business model, but now it is as mandatory as is the demand for agility. How has the relationship between brands and agencies changed in the last year?īrands are increasingly on the hunt for partners that deliver value, speed and quality and this has separated the wheat from the chaff in agency land.
The real opportunity lies in the challenges that agencies are facing, which I discuss toward the end. However, the ongoing digitisation of media and rapid shift towards DTC has enabled marketers to bring more in-house, which is what will finally force agencies to truly adapt. Agencies continue to invent new revenue streams and marketers are inventing new ways to avoid them.
However, it is perhaps worth some in the agency business reminding themselves who they are an agency for, namely the brand and marketer, not a media platform or themselves. Plainly speaking, I see the current nature of the agency as a honed, more extreme version of what agencies have been since media and creative separated 20+ years ago. How would you describe the current nature of the agency? In this exclusive Q&A, Jay Friedman (pictured below), president of Goodway Group, tells ExchangeWire about how the nature of the agency as an entity has been shaped by this dramatic year. With a global pandemic sending industries across the globe screeching to a halt, companies have needed to be more innovative and more open to change than ever before. This is the environment we strive to create, representing the culture we've built together.If 2020 has taught businesses anything, it has to have been the need to be adaptable. You shared that overall, your experience was positive and you found collaborative teammates who supported you. For example, we began Summer Fridays last year and continued in 2022 after a theme of burnout emerged from honest responses in these surveys. This feedback is analyzed by leadership, the senior team, and the people experience team, and ultimately decisions are made to improve the employee experience. Each survey is administered through a third-party platform without access to individual identities. We emphasize the importance of feedback because it's the best way to know where we can improve! Throughout the year, we offer multiple avenues to share feedback anonymously through surveys such as quarterly pulses, team health assessments, and the comprehensive annual engagement survey. While we encourage the entire team to address concerns directly or provide feedback, we recognize this cannot be applied to every situation or communication style. Goodway does take pride in being a transparent organization that encourages direct conversations to resolve issues that may arise in the workplace.
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