The empire strikes back: Big agencies return independents' fire

By Brendan Coyne | 10 July 2013
 

Independent creative agencies have raised the game in recent years but the best of the networked agencies have responded. Now they are muscling their way back onto the big accounts.

A couple of years ago the local agencies were setting the creative pace. But the multinationals have made “a tremendous effort” to strike back and raise the bar, according to pitch doctor Colin Wilson-Brown.

Darren Woolley, his opposite number at TrinityP3, agrees. “They have made a real effort to rebuild their profile. They are now on more consideration lists and clients with those agencies are more likely to stay [with them].” As a result, he said clients “are talking about network agencies more ... often spontaneously”.

Whybin TBWA and DDB are two examples cited. Clemenger Melbourne has traditionally been strong but the Sydney unit is now resurgent. Woolley also notes the move by Publicis Mojo to appoint Grant Rutherford as ECD as a signal of intent and cites the contrasting fortune of Saatchi & Saatchi – from an aborted move to buy The Monkeys “at their lowest ebb” to rebuilding and winning St. George bank – as another example.

“What the independents have working against them is global alignments,” he notes, pointing to Nokia's locking in of JWT. “So they need to offer something different to give them an edge [when it comes to big accounts]. If they don't have that it makes it hard to compete.”

However, he says there are always exceptions to the rule and there are “a lot of network agencies not competing at that level”.

Paul Bradbury, CEO of Whybin TBWA Sydney, says from his experience, the independent agencies that were harder to beat a couple of years ago are “being knocked out earlier” or not invited to pitch for the big deals.

“In terms of the bigger pitches in town we are definitely seeing that. It tends to be the larger agencies – DDB, Clems, M&C. Clients want a seamless, integrated campaign. Bigger agencies tend to be bigger-resourced to deliver that. Not many agencies can [deliver everything] so multinationals are enjoying the benefits. It's definitely a trend I'm seeing.”

But Clemenger Melbourne CEO Peter Biggs disagrees.

“It's still the same. Australia is full of terrific agencies. Whether independent or networked we have always come up against the best in the country. There is no change for us. It's a shape-shifting industry, not so much indies are hot and networks aren't [or vice versa]; it is jumbled, or mercurial. Whether agencies get hot is dependent on talent and leadership.”

Clemenger group chair Robert Morgan agreed – both with the pitch doctors and with Biggs.

“It waxes and wanes. I don't think there has been structural change to industry ... although there was a time when you couldn't win awards unless you had a funny name. One or two of the big agencies have got better and one or two smaller agencies have gone off the boil. But that will change.

“We all have to get better and grapple with new and different channels and adapt to change. The best ideas win.”

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