SCOPEN presents the results of the second edition of the BEST AGENCY TO WORK FOR Study on creative and media agencies in South Africa, which identifies the most attractive agencies to work for, for the professionals who currently work in them. The field work was carried out between the months of July and September 2023.
In this edition, a total of 200 professionals have been interviewed (155 from creative agencies and 45 from media). The sample is higher among professionals from Johannesburg (73.5%), with greater female representation (58.5%) - higher in media agencies - and the average age is 44 years. On average, they have been at their agencies between 7 and 8 years and more than 7 in their current position. Management positions have the highest representation in the sample (a third of them are CEO/Partner/MD).
The key factors that most influence an agency change are Professional Projection/Learning (51.1% - almost 26 percentage points more than in the previous edition) and Salary (41.5% - 10 pp more vs. 2022). Aspects such as Company/Organizational Culture (17%), Professional Team/People (11.9%), Client List (9.6%), Creative Quality (8.9%), Hours -Home Office, Flexibility- or International Network (both with 8.1%) are mentioned less.
Among the six tangible aspects suggested, the three most important that influence preference of one agency over another are Location & Access (27.3%), Work-life balance -working remotely and with flexibility- (23%) and Benefits -other types of remuneration- (21.8%). Among the intangible aspects, Respect -how employees think they are perceived by their leaders- (27.5%), Credibility -how employees perceive their boss/leaders and the company- (23.5%) and Pride -Value of work, image of the company in the industry- (17.5%) are the three that stand out.
In South Africa, the satisfaction of professionals working in their current agencies is high, with an average recommendation level of 8.8 out of 10, and an NPS of +57.3. Only 13.7 of the professionals interviewed declare their intention to change agencies (certainly or probably). If they did, they would mainly change to a client company.
Cesar Vacchiano, CEO of SCOPEN Global, says… “Across all markets we see that due to the uncertain times we live in, most agency professionals (43% in South Africa), are not thinking of changing agencies. Among those thinking of changing, the vast majority want to move to a client company. It is a big problem if agencies are not attractive for professionals in our industry, as without outstanding talent, agencies will lose relevance for marketers.”.
Joe Public achieves the top position among the most attractive creative agencies
The 10 creative agencies leading the Best Agency to Work for 2024 for South African professionals are:
#1 Joe Public #6 GREY
#2 Ogilvy #7 M&CSAATCHI ABEL
#3 TBWA\ #8 Promise
#4 Accenture Song #9 Grid
#5 VMLY&R #10 FCBAFRICA
Joe Public maintains the position it achieved in the last edition, as the most attractive agency to work for among creative agency professionals. This is mainly, because of its first position (much higher than the rest of the agencies) in the Top 10 ranking of independent agencies. Ogilvy and TBWA\ reach second and third position (being first and second in the Top 10 of Group Agencies). Among the Top five in the global network agency ranking, we find Accenture Song, which achieves fourth position, not having appeared in the Top 10 previous edition, and VMLY&R, which rises two positions (it was 7th in 2022). We also found two significant rises from Grid and FCBAFRICA, both of which appeared in position 17 in the previous edition, and now reach positions 9 and 10 respectively.
Mindshare achieves first place among the most attractive media agencies
Mindshare reaches first place as the most attractive media agency to work for (it was in fourth place in 2022), followed by The MediaShop (first in the previous edition) and phd (which rises one place). In the Top 10 we find four significant increases: CARAT (which goes from tenth to fourth place), OMD (from 11 to 6), and Publicis Media and UM (which go from 16 to 7 and 10 respectively).
The 10 media agencies in the #BATWF 2024 are:
#1 MINDSHARE #6 OMD
#2 The MediaShop #7 PUBLICIS MEDIA
#3 PHD #8 Metamedia
#4 CARAT #9 Starcom
#5 Wavemaker #10 UM
