Marketers: Agency Ecosystem Management

In the past few years, there have been a large number of companies and brands examining their agency operating models in light of a number of key factors including the increasingly complex operating environment for marketing, budget pressures and an overarching need to simplify what has become, for many, a complex ecosystem of agency partners often with overlapping remits.

There is no single recipe for success when building the optimum Agency Ecosystem with key challenges (and opportunities) as follows:

• The balance between the number and type of multi-disciplined and specialist agencies to work with

• Finding the right model for specific requirements – both organizationally and financially

• The balance between in-housing and external support

The IAS works alongside Marketing and Procurement in a collaborative manner to shape and put in place the optimal model taking into account multiple influences and trends that impact on how marketers make decisions about the best possible partnership set up to deliver against specific organizational challenges and needs.  Key considerations as follows:

• Growing marketing complexity

• Changing contexts for partnerships

• A changing environment

• Key trends – simplicity, integration, agility and performance, transparency, creativity, learning and growth

• Balancing single discipline agencies vs multi discipline agencies within the ecosystem

• Changing remuneration and engagement models

• In-housing and talent