Ten steps towards bridging the brand-agency divide

The article argues that clients are increasingly disenchanted with their advertising agencies, but the agencies still think they deliver.

Ten steps towards bridging the brand-agency divide

Alain Thys

Once upon a time, marketing was easy. Business growth and ad-spend seemed to correlate. Big brands had big budgets, so big agencies helped to spend them. This often resulted in big parties on the French Riviera.

But as the brands kept spending, the marketing trade industrialised. Agencies became budget processors, turning marketing cash into 30-second ads, and each generation of admen worried a little less about whether their work actually made money for their clients.

And then media consumption splintered. Tech-savvy consumers with DVRs ad-zapped, and the ones who didn't just...

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