Money, Money, Money - Must Be Funny in the Rich Man's World
As a brand - when you hire a big agency, where is your money really going?
Category
Business
Reading Time
3 Min
Date
Aug 23, 2023
I am not the first or last to think or say this, but large AORs, agencies of record, are a bit ineffective and needlessly expensive. Brands sign on for a long-term contract, essentially marrying a creative agency after a several-month Hunger Games-like RFP process, and expect everything to…work out well? Why? Because they’ve been around the block a couple of times? We all know that sustaining long-term success takes more than a few tricks.
Take a scroll on dating TikTok or 90-Day Fiancé, and you’ll soon get stressed out why marrying a stranger is usually a bad idea. So why are we treating our business decisions the same way?
“That’s how it’s always been done.”
I’m not here to “wage war” on anyone in the industry, but I want to point out how absurd it is to invest millions when it will likely be mismanaged. The fluctuating economy has made multi-year retainers nearly impossible for big agencies to keep profitable. Brands should be flustered with paying an enormous price tag that exchanges hands from one agency to at least two or three smaller ones for the same job to get done (and I’m not talking about agencies of different disciplines like media, influencer, design, content, etc.). With shrinking profits, agencies fire or lay off employees, burn out their top doers, and try to supplement with freelancers whenever possible. If not that, they siphon the project off to another small agency under a white-label contract, which, yep, you guessed it, ends up hiring another even more minor team to handle or finish the project more often than not.
That’s a pass-through of about two to three groups of middlemen between the brand and the actual producer of the final deliverable.
Why is that happening? Turnover is real, and replacement on a deadline is very costly. Hours, days, and weeks are wasted. Agencies can't hold onto the best talent because the way people work is changing. The old guard is barely (and begrudgingly) adapting to a new wave of workers who disagree that coming into the office is always productive. Workers tire of dealing with egos and wasting hours on meetings that could have been an email. Some old-school execs of all ages wonder, “But if I don’t stand over their shoulder, how will I know they’re working?” or worse yet, “Where will I go to escape being around my family all day?” Fair, but your private dilemma isn’t anyone else’s responsibility. While most agree that meeting in person can be super helpful for collaboration, it’s not a blocker for productivity or excellent work.
The best of the best eventually decide to bet on themselves and move on to another agency, perma-lance, or start their studio where they’ll do great work at a lesser cost and with a much better attitude. And history tells us that a better mood from a talented creator nets out a better result. If that weren’t the case, user-generated content wouldn’t have become a lucrative vertical.
Before I digress any further, the point of this short article is to remind and empower you to pause and consider who’s the best advocate, not just a performer, for your business needs. Frankly, that isn’t always the same person.
Whether you’re a company that nets $2 million or $200 million annually, consider what you’re paying for and how pleased and grounded you feel about the partners you've chosen to evolve your brand.
Remember, you are the company you keep. What is yours saying about you?
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