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Scopen 2023-2024 data shows a slight increase in the number of key industry professionals working exclusively with integrated agencies. However, markets such as Portugal, Argentina, Chile and Brazil are joining others in a firm commitment to consolidation.
In an ideal world, there would be a team to ensure cohesion among the various players and that everything happens at the right time, said César Vacchiano, president and CEO of Scopen.
“But the reality is that marketing departments aren’t as big as they once were and are often under-resourced. This makes managing integrations even more reliant on agency staff.”
While clients want to be in control, with so many different institutions involved in the ecosystem, the challenge is maintaining control of the portfolio while ensuring the overall message remains consistent across all platforms.
Professional institutions continue to rise
The need for a variety of digital experts in content performance, creative content, and social media channels means the variables can quickly multiply, and how to bring it all together is a challenge that keeps clients up at night.
With the rise of specialist agencies – including digital platforms, advertising agencies, media agencies, digital agencies, PR agencies and more – Johanna McDowell, CEO of Independent Agency Selection (IAS) and managing partner of Scopen Africa, says there is widespread anxiety among business leaders to identify what kind of experts they need.
“Often, each new industry expert that comes along brings unexpected challenges, forcing clients to consider their value before there is data to prove it,” she stressed.
McDowell noted that for each specialty, analysis is needed in addition to activity reporting.
“In the ‘gold rush of specialization,’ it’s easy for the essence of a brand to get lost.”
Integrators make it all work
Both Vacchiano and McDowell noted from Scopen’s research that this revolution requires an integrator to make everything work.
“We can see from Scopen’s research that when marketers seek out integrators, agencies have an opportunity to grow together,” said Vacchiano.
“There seems to be an increasing number of clients choosing to work exclusively with integrated agencies, especially in South Africa, where the number is currently very small but plans to increase that to around 20 clients in the future.”
McDowell added that as things stand, marketers work with an average of 15 agencies, an untenable situation.
“In South Africa, the role of ‘integrator’ often falls to creative agencies, but they are not necessarily the best people for the job because they are more focused on their core objectives.
She continued: “It would be better and more obvious for media organizations to be integrators.
“They know what the channels are and can see the big picture. However, they are less likely to track whether all the information is correct and coherent.”
Finding Unicorns
Bottom line – clients are looking for unicorns; individuals or groups who are responsible for ensuring the brand message is cohesive, things get done on time, and money isn’t wasted.
Vacchiano, like McDowell, believes there are a lot of “unknowns” across industries right now because new platforms, marketing technologies and marketing opportunities are emerging at a breakneck pace.
“Globally, clients are talking about risk a lot more than they used to,” McDowell said. “Is it because of the economy?
“Of course, everyone wants to make sure they get the most bang for their buck, and that’s what’s driving the integration process.”
Marketing teams must perform their duties; they must ensure they know how to perform their duties; and they must have the right team in place to perform their duties.
This is outside their normal scope of work, making them a knowledge-rich but time-poor group that must trust agency personnel and their systems.
McDowell believes that even though AI has great potential, marketing is still a gut-based business.
“It’s an art and a science, and no machine can currently replicate the standard that a human can do.
“We’re not there yet, and until we are, marketers and their individual agencies have a tough job finding consolidation unicorns.”
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