As our very unscientific, but experience-driven graphic shows, the desire for more/better creative options drives the client to "augment" their Agency of Record with Specialist Agencies (think an interactive agency or a direct marketing agency) with the idea that the AOR will play a lead role and the Specialist Agencies can augment those capabilities where the AOR isn't quite "Best of Breed".
The marketing becomes schizophrenic, with every agency's creative team "interpreting" the idea in their own way and the brand taking a massive bashing on the nose for it. The client comes under fire from management for the amount of time they're spending managing their agencies and the brand experience and messaging across channels is a chaotic mess.
Something's gotta give...
Thus the retreat starts. The client begins to yearn for the days when they had one key agency contact instead of forty. They long for the days when they saw one concept executed across multiple channels. Sure, maybe the innovation in each of those channels wasn't the best. And maybe they only saw three concepts instead of twenty, but the whole thing was just so much easier with one agency.
And thus the return to the AOR...
What does that mean for you?
As the pendulum swings back toward an all-in-one AOR solution, you need to ensure your agency is as prepared as possible for that eventuality. Many agencies today don't have a Media capability. That's a problem if you're hoping to be a one-stop-shop for your clients. Some agencies can't provide CRM services, or integrated reporting and analytics for their clients; that's a problem.
Get the system. Be the AOR. Own the future.
Schedule a Demo and let us show you how bright the future really is: