Rewind 12 months and all the talk was of the media shop as the pivotal client partner, controlling not only the media budget but areas like branded content, consumer insight and digital strategy. Some were even talking about a return to ‘full-service’ agencies, with media shops hiring creatives.
But in 2009 media agencies have often had other matters - namely, new business - on their minds. Nokia, Unilever and Hewlett-Packard were among the global accounts up for review, and there were plenty of regional and local briefs too. Many of the pitches, grumbled agency executives, were price-squeezing exercises. So much for the media network being the client’s favoured partner.
If anything, though, these trends should be hastening the pace of change. Hiroshi Harada, COO of Dentsu Asia, explains that decreasing profit margins on media income mean agencies must offer strategic counselling and creative services to clients to remain relevant and competitive.
And amid the incessant pitching, there have been examples of success. Mindshare in particular has been broadening its services. In Singapore, the WPP agency has developed campaigns and online initiatives for Tiger Beer and Nissan. In China, it picked up a tourism brief that included branding work.
Mark Patterson, GroupM’s CEO for Asia-Pacific, says that the agency’s offer now covers anything from “banners to break bumpers”, including microsites, online video, TV shows and on-ground events.
So is GroupM setting up creative departments? “It’s been tougher to invest this year. But we now have a base of expertise to help clients develop and shape creative ideas,” he says. “We’ve learnt that like-minded experts in specialist areas work best with proximity to each other. If that’s a department, so be it.”
Not everyone is so gung ho. Cheuk Chiang, CEO Asia-Pacific of PHD, says that while the line between creative and media agencies has blurred this year, he is cautious about shouting about his agency’s creativity. “There is creativity in what we’re doing,” he says, pointing to content platforms including Hewlett-Packard and Star TV’s ‘Space’ initiative. “But it’s not in the traditional sense. While our output has been stronger, it’s still not the same as that of a traditional or creative agency.”
That view is echoed by Jeffrey Seah, CEO Southeast Asia, Starcom Mediavest Group. “You can call it creative services, but it’s more about the content that is needed for a very diverse communications landscape. We design the communications and the thinking, but we won’t build it.”
So should this be an end to talk of a return to ‘full-service’ agencies? Harada indicates that it should. “We don’t think established advertisers would clamour for the media agency to evolve into a full-service agency. They are likely to continue to engage the creative agency as their main brand strategy and communications partner,” he says.
Indeed, says Harada, creative agencies are likely to step up their media planning expertise. It makes for an interesting 2010.
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This article was originally published in 17 December 2009 issue of Media.