I’m sure you all have been reading about the move to take agency work and move it in-house. We’ve seen it first hand with the agencies we represent on the agency new business side of our business. On the surface, it appears to be a logical thing to do. Save money, control the team, keep them focused, get things done quicker. All that is good and I’m sure to some extent true, but the realities of what’s happening in today’s marketplace on both the agency and the marketer side, suggest that the value of a move in-house isn’t sustainable long-term. The marketer’s world is changing. They are working with thinning ranks. The demands placed on them are greater today than ever before. The requirements to... Read more →

Just read an article about traditional agency search firms and how they are being squeezed because they haven’t adjusted and changed with the times. You, the marketer are changing, your needs are changing in how your managing your business and your agency relationships. Unfortunately these traditional search consultants are stuck.  It’s probably why AAR Partners sold to WINMO.  They just can’t make the money they used to make. It’s a little sad because their model, for the most part, is still locked in the early days of advertising. Here’s the way it was:  Big marketer hires big agency to do everything for them under a big retainer for multiple years. With some marketers “breaking stuff up” and looking for the best-in-class in specific areas, it... Read more →