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Are Big Agencies Dumb?

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

AdLand is littered with different business models, from small independent shops to huge holding companies stretching across every creative discipline. All these models exist because they are able to compete in the marketplace and show value to the businesses that demand their services. Naturally, as agencies are awarded with more work, they grow. But how much can the agency grow before it gets "too big," if such a problem exists?

George Parker from AdScam believes that not only does that problem exist, but that is one of the biggest problems in our advertising world today.

Parker, a 40-year veteran of the profession, wrote an article for Business Insider about BDAs, which are loosely defined in his piece as "Big Dumb Agencies." It is an interesting view. He goes through the decades of agencies re-inventing themselves to serve the market, and each time they reverted back to their old forms shortly after. He then explains how all the "revolutionary talk" we are hearing today isn't new at all. When JWT finally changed its name to those initials, it announced a shift in thinking. BBH created BBH Labs (since marketing folks always look for ways to create products they can own) and it failed. Then he explained how crowdsourcing actually dates back to the ages of the Gladiator, and gusto for that activity will eventually tire out. Finally, he talks about the changing models of agency compensation with the changing of advertising activities. He said straight out that trying to develop a formula that bases agency pay on the performance of the marketing techniques is almost impossible. It is too difficult to weigh all the elements in the marketplace.

Holy substance, Batman! It is great to see a thorough history of the agency world, but discouraging as well to see that we're entering (it seems) the next revolution in AdLand, and we're walking in the footsteps others have left.

As for the big agencies? Well, we found a kindred spirit in George Parker; he, too, believes that the big agencies and holding groups are simply too big for innovation and too bogged down to be efficient. For AdLand to look at those groups to lead the industry to change is stepping everyone up to be behind. To bring his title into the mix, Parker says that the bigger an agency gets, the dumber it is, meaning that the agency becomes more inefficient and makes it more difficult to satisfy the client's needs.

But we think that Parker does a good job admonishing the agency world, for we agree that there are BDAs around. We feel that the blame should be spread out; Big Dumb Agencies serve Big Dumb Clients. The BDCs are the ones that employ BDAs and refuse to invest in the smaller independent agencies with new ideas and ambitions. When you are trying to show the Powers That Be that it's time to change the same environment that made them so successful, it is predictable that change is going to be slow. Parker is right to blame the big agencies as part of the problem, but businesses too need to recognize that working with the same groups with the same people will not garner different results. Isn't that called insanity?

What are your thoughts? Please read Parker's article, and let us know what you think.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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