Fluid Networks

The Next Agency

Model?

Trevania Henderson

I believe the traditional agency model is really

obsolete.
We are competing to see
can
create
the DDB
Keithwho
Reinhard,
Chairman
Emeritus,
Worldwide
best horseshoes.

I believe the traditional agency model is really

obsolete.
We are competing to see
can
create
the DDB
Keithwho
Reinhard,
Chairman
Emeritus,
Worldwide
best horseshoes.
The big agencies know they have to change;
the old agency model is dead.
Chip Bergh, President & CEO, Levi Strauss &
Co.

I believe the traditional agency model is really

obsolete.
We are competing to see
can
create
the DDB
Keithwho
Reinhard,
Chairman
Emeritus,
Worldwide
best horseshoes.
The big agencies know they have to change;
the old agency model is dead.
Chip Bergh, Group President, Global Personal
Care Procter & Gamble

The threat is if agencies don't look at the model

and explore new
Brian
Perkins, Vice President Corporate
forms of connection and
collaboration.
Marketing
Johnson & Johnson

I believe the traditional agency model is really

obsolete.
We are competing to see
can
create
the DDB
Keithwho
Reinhard,
Chairman
Emeritus,
Worldwide
best horseshoes.
The big agencies know they have to change;
the old agency model is dead.
Chip Bergh, Group President, Global Personal
Care Procter & Gamble

The threat is if agencies don't look at the model

and explore new
Brian
Perkins, Vice President Corporate
forms of connection and
collaboration.
Marketing
Johnson & Johnson

Change, Change or Change: Options for the Agency

Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO
of the Future
Publicis Groupe

I believe the traditional agency model is really

obsolete.
We are competing to see
can
create
the DDB
Keithwho
Reinhard,
Chairman
Emeritus,
Worldwide
best horseshoes.
The big agencies know they have to change;
the old agency model is dead.
Chip Bergh, Group President, Global Personal
Care Procter & Gamble

The threat is if agencies don't look at the model

and explore new
Brian
Perkins, Vice President Corporate
forms of connection and
collaboration.
Marketing
Johnson & Johnson

Change, Change or Change: Options for the Agency

Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO
of the Future
Publicis Groupe

What comes
next?

What comes
next?

Hypothesis:
Fluid networksboth of
specialty agencies and of lone
rangers
are the most effective partners
for clients in the new
marketing universe.

DISCLAIMER
I have a strong personal bias towards the fluid
network.

Core Questions

1. The fundamental situation:

Whats driving change?
2. The new norms:
Why is change possible?
3. The framework:
How does it work?
4. The promise:
Does it really compare?

Question 1

The Fundamental Situation:

Whats driving change?
The old-fashioned supertanker
model is
already dead.
Clients want smaller
collections of people tied to
nimble, innovative, evolving
structures that can
shape
and mould themselves into
whatever form is needed to
best solve
their
problems.
Karina Wilsher
Managing Director, Fallon

The Fiscal Crisis

This is an extinction level

event.
Nick Denton, Gawker Media

The Digital Revolution

An ad campaign ten
years or so ago used
the line, The
internet changes
everything.
Its more true today
than
ever before.
Chip Bergh
President & CEO,
Levi Strauss & Co.

Marketing Today

The shouting is all

over
The role of marketing is
changing
from an Outbound
perspective
(shouting longer and louder)
to an
Inbound one (listening
carefully to
more people).
Eric Goldman, Principal,
Gossamar

Creative Today

No boundaries
means no pre-set
solutions
Creativity is a much broader term
these
days, as it encompasses
everything from a
media strategy to a product
development
cycle to the content strategy on a
Facebook
page.
Agency Evolution Report

Question 2

The New
Norms:
Why is change
possible?

In the new network,

its all
about the
brains, not the
box.
Juniper Networks ad

Work Today

Dialing it in has a
whole new
meaning
Creativity and ability once
trapped in the agency
space has
been set free.
Brian Fling
President, pinch/zoom

Wheres the talent?

Risk-taking, ideagenerating senior

creatives break out
I had the dream job. The corner
office, 175
people reporting to
me, a company at the top of its
game. And it was soul deadening. I
felt
like a princess trapped in a
golden cage.
Karen Dawson
Former EVP, ECD, Digitas

Wheres the talent?

Gen Y work to
live,
not live to work
Creativity has a ten-year life
span.
Sir John Hegarty
Chairman and Worldwide Creative
Director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Virtual comfort

Electronic
collaboration is
the norm
The generation coming
up, they dont want to be
fully employed.
Michael Conrad
Former Vice Chairman and
CCO,
Leo Burnett Worldwide
President,
Berlin School of Creative
Leadership

Virtual connections

The cloud
supports complete
collaboration
People are constantly
collaborating with
each
otherthe goal is to stay
independentto keep enough
food on the table not to have to
go work for one of these
companies.
Drew Jones
Co-founder, Shift 101

Question 3

The framework:
How does this work?
A few people who are very
talented at
getting the best
creative out of others, plus
some administrationthats your
agency.
Shaun Abrahamson
Founder & CEO, Colaboratorie
Mutopo

Specialized. Nimble. Media agnostic.

Cost-effective. These are the
watchwords
of the new marketing ethos.
Answering the call: a burgeoning
crop of fluid networks,
organizations anchored by a few
strategic thinkers and/or
creative leads,
supported by a virtual army of
ideators, creators and producers of
every ilk.

Club Hegarty

If I were starting an agency

today, it would be like a club.
Wed have a core
group
of 20 and then 100-200
freelancers flowing in and out.

Sir John Hegarty

Chairman and Worldwide Creative
Director
Bartle Bogle Hegarty

Victors & Spoils

There are ways to control the

selfaggregating group; you
use the people who
create
value.
John Winsor
CEO, Victors & Spoils

Question 4

The Promise:
Does it really compare?

The best agencies will

still
have the best
people, the
best
ideas and the best
culture.
Karina Wilsher
Managing
Director, Fallon

Strong, committed
client relationships
This is the perfect idea for me; I
get a diverse
set of skills and a
good price point [and]
someone
who stands between me and the
talent.
Theresa Kaskey
Marketing Manager
John Hancock Financial Services

Earned client trust

I am very interested in someone who

strategically understands the
essence of the
company. They need
to take the time to
educate
themselves and really listen to what
we are saying.
Rebecca Peterson
Vice President, Corporate
Communications,
Alkermes

Global Reach
Local Knowledge
We give you the ability to
rapidly build teams with
the best in the
world.
John Winsor
Victors & Spoils

Dedicated teams.
Honestly.
My clients never have questions
about people
shifting, whereas at
big agencies it is always a question:
Are you going to bait and switch? One
of the key value propositions I offer is
that I am
going to be working
on your account.
Maureen Suda
Principal, Suda Communications

Spirit of collaboration
You can build [a strong team] pretty
quickly if
you get the right
people. If you have worked with
someone before, you have instant
credibility. If
you havent, they
will challenge you until you
satisfy them that you are good at what
you do. That happens at big agencies,
small agencies
and on your own.
Joleen McFadden
Senior Account Director, RAZR Marketing

Culture

The stronger the culture, the less

need
[there is] for structure.
Keith Reinhard
Chairman Emeritus, DDB
Worldwide

No bureaucracy

Creating new paradigms for the agency

of the future,
we are abandoning
bureaucracies in favor of handson,
down-and-dirty work, and were hiring
fellow
exiles to help us. The allure is in
the chance to work
directly with
the decision makers without internal
politics and to see our work produced
instead of
reviewed, edited and
ultimately deemed too risky.
David Sklaver
former President, Wells, Rich, Greene

A fraction of the cost

We have found the cost is about

25% of the old model.
John Winsor
CEO Victors & Spoils

Up-to-the-minute expertise
I know there are agencies that do it all, but I am not sure I am getting the
best, especially in areas like digital where everything is moving so quickly. I
want someone whose life it is, who has to stay
current because it is
their bread and butter.
Sara Sampson
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development
Incentium

Open to innovation
The agencies that push the
envelop and
do the best
work are the ones that are
constantly in flux, change
every day. If
you arent
willing to do that. You arent
anywhere. You have to
reinvent yourself all the time.
John Winsor
CEO, Victors & Spoils

Different has already been

donewhatever the model, it is
bound to become obsolete if it
doesnt
constantly evolve and adapt to
constantly changing demands.
Carlotta Brentan
Account Executive, Saatchi & Saatchi