Media, creative and data are inseparable. Let’s stop pretending you can split them up and achieve the same results
Agencies should be mastering the holy trinity of data, creative and media. Because, as Nick Cleaver argues, while clients can achieve results with a disparate group of agency partners, it’s not as effective as media agencies also being really good creative shops, and vice versa.
In a world where a Microsoft study tells us people are so bombarded with messages and that we now have an attention span less than that of a goldfish, it is more important than ever that we use every tool at our disposal and all our ingenuity to capture people’s elusive eyes and minds.
But sadly, this doesn’t appear to be the case, as many CMOs are discovering as they hunt for better outcomes and partnerships where they can harness data and creativity to better connect the medium, message and moment.
The Forester Wave report on global media agencies published in May provided a stark reminder that in this age, where people are becoming more challenging for advertisers to reach, the separation of media from creative is making that challenge even more difficult with “competing agency factions and disintegrated campaigns”.
“There’s an emergent group of agencies now very competently managing data, tech and creativity but there are still surprisingly few that have invested in a full performance-based media capability (besides ourselves, I can think of only a couple of others)”
Okay so you wrote an opinion piece to say that you’re a good business, makes sense.
It was the integrated advertising agencies who pulled apart the “holy trinity” in response to the success of true independent media agencies and they are responsible for current situation. Their re-badged agency media departments worked in relative isolation of the creative output of their host agency to the detriment of their clients.
True media independents worked hand-in-glove with the top creative talent at Mojo, The Campaign Palace, Gough Waterhouse, Begg Dow Priday, Foster Nunn Loveder etc. Total integration.
Nick Cleaver is absolutely correct. The evolution of the advertising agencies’ media departments to “independence” and beyond, went way too far way too quickly for their own good. They never should have left mother’s apron strings for the good of the clients. Should have left well alone, that’s the bottom line and Nick wouldn’t have had to explain all that again. Still it’s tough to stop evolution when it’s propelled by the need for revenue growth and market share.
Alan Robertson, formerly partner with Dennis Merchant of Merchant and Partners.
Well, sure, you can build out each of those capabilities, but will you be able to fulfil on them as good as a specialist?
Then, if you don’t have the business to sustain one of the functions, do you keep that unit going?
Great piece Nick…so true.