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Agency Internal Branding
Why do you think agencies have been so bad at realizing their brands internally?
Australian advertising agencies are currently struggling to realise their brand internally for many reasons. Most of
these reasons are a direct result of increased financial pressures throughout the industry. Increased ROI scrutiny from
both clients and parent companies has resulted in agencies trying to please too many people, and in doing so they have
lost sight of who they are and what they stand for. As some like to say, 'If you don't stand for something, you will
fall for anything.'
Another result of increased financial pressure is a distinct change in leadership teams and their management style. The
agencies that have moved more toward a New York style, bottom line focused approach have left themselves little room to
understand or express themselves. In some instances, the charismatic leader had been replaced with the coffee drinking
bean counter, and these types are only interested in how many beans, not what color they are or why they are different
to other beans.
Some of the smaller agencies that are overtly getting it right, like SMART and interactive agency OneDigital are being
rewarded for understanding and having conviction for their brand. The agencies getting it right have avoided the
temptation to prostitute their brand in an attempt to bring in more business, and are being run by strong characters
that embody their company's brand values with passion and charisma.
Why do they need help in this area?
If agencies don't develop their own brand, they will be misunderstood by the market and consequently undervalued. This
can cripple an agency's relationship with its clients but more importantly, this misunderstanding will result in
conditioning clients to an unfavorable understanding of the industry itself.
The Industry is suffering from 'sameness syndrome'. Big multinational sameness. Differentiation is becoming much harder
and so the less skilled and less committed are putting their own brand second to that of their clients.
Agencies must put their own brand first if they want clients and staff loyal. Clients are more likely to be generous
and loyal with an agency they respect and understand, and staff are less likely to continue to be part of the notorious
agency to agency recruitment roll-over if they feel they belong to something other than just a company name and a desk.
People in general are seeking more meaning from their work and work relationships. 'Sameness' is rarely a quality that
provides this meaning.
What are the keys to helping agencies 'walking the walk' as well as 'talking the talk'? (We call this 'walking the
talk')
In order for agencies to effectively 'walk the talk', they need to do 3 things:
1. Know what the 'talk' is. This is the typical plumber with leaky pipes scenario. Agencies have the majority of tools
at hand to fully comprehend the complexities of their own brand, however these tools are only rarely used internally
and this is almost never done in a fashion that leads to innate brand comprehension.
2. Make the effort without fear. I have been talking with an agency for 2 years about developing their people. There is
always something that prevents them from turning the focus back on themselves. Perhaps they are afraid of what they
will find? The short term sacrifice of billable hours and possible disruption pays long term dividends in the way of
client loyalty and trust, and a decrease in staff recruitment commission.
3. Invest intelligently in people. Most agencies forget that your people are your brand.
Training has evolved. Instead of sending people to Rogen, Aim or other training companies that help people communicate
more effectively, agencies can now engage specific communication development groups that achieve high level
communication development in away that is specific to that agency and its brand.
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