This Digiday piece about the shuttering of agency brands is another wakeup call in a series of wakeup calls about how badly the advertising industry has marketed itself. Look at this quote by an unnamed CMO:
“'Caring about agency brands mostly indicates you’re paid too much and are a ‘Mad Men’ nostalgic dinosaur at this point,' said the CMO, who added that 'creative still matters a lot' but marketers don’t need to pay more for a particular agency’s brand."
It's true that marketers don't need to pay more for an agency brand. But it's also true, as this CMO should very well know, that people don't need to pay more for a particular car, handbag, bottle of wine, fragrance, laptop, wristwatch, university degree, bicycle, yoga mat, cup of coffee, or law firm. They do so, in no small part, because of the brand.
Whether or not certain legacy brands are relevant in the current marketplace is another question. But what is not in question that agencies should make investing in their own brand as much their clients'. That doesn't make one a "dinosaur"--it makes one a smart marketer. #advertising #agencies #brands #creative
https://lnkd.in/ecQJ-a-7
