"A senior marketer at a major WPP Media client told me recently they're thinking about shopping around for a new agency. That, in itself, isn't surprising, especially after WPP's new CEO Cindy Rose, publicly admitted the company had "lost its way". What stood out was why they're considering the move. It's not about chasing AI breakthroughs or assembling yet another full-stack planning and buying setup. It's something more fundamental - and harder to fix: the people."
"Because while AI and data dominate the holding company narrative, the harder truth is it's still about the people, specifically the ones talking to clients, translating their needs and hopes into something a machine can use. Without them, there's no story worth telling and no work worth executing. That's true for small clients as much as it is for the biggest ones."
Clients are increasingly evaluating agencies based on the quality of client-facing people and service rather than technology or AI capabilities. Limited payment leverage makes service and execution critical for mid-size clients seeking value. Client-facing staff translate client needs into actionable briefs and usable inputs for machine-driven tools. Execution and coordination across capabilities provide a quiet competitive advantage for holding companies. Retaining senior client leaders and client owners drives business continuity and stability during mergers or pitch processes. Power inside holding companies has shifted toward those who run client relationships and coordinate cross-agency capabilities.
Read at Digiday
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]