The Update: How agencies are transforming to retain their right to win

MARLA: What agencies have been able to do

is leverage thinking across a number of different clients

and the great thing about agencies, I would say, this is like...

they just figure it out.

So, whether it was production

or any sort of solution that needed to be done,

they just came together.

TARA: In this episode of The Update

I speak with Marla Kaplowitz

about why marketing partners

are more important than ever

and what agencies are doing to deliver

even more value to their clients.

I’m curious; you've talked before about the pandemic basically being a hyper catalyst

for helping agencies to focus on what they do best

which is really, solving clients' business problems.

So, curious what you're seeing there...

how that's coming to life?

MARLA: So, I see it coming to life in a few ways.

The first is: it's really improved the client agency relationship.

You don't have to focus on the minutiae.

You're focusing on the most important problems

of the day, and what are the strategic business challenges

in ways that agencies can be provocative

and really help marketers embrace the risk-taking

to really kind of get through these crises.

The next area is new business.

People had to suddenly do virtual pitching but it's also streamlined the number of meetings.

There’ve been far too much dragging out of new business pitches

and let's focus on what's most important in understanding

the dynamic of the partnership

that could come to life as well as the work that can be delivered.

And then, the last is in the area of work

in terms of working remotely

streamlining the way that it gets done.

We now also have the access to greater talent

so you don't have to focus on geography, and that opens up

the possibilities for diversity, equity and inclusion,

not just in terms of your work environment,

but also your work product.

TARA: One of the biggest challenges is, as you mentioned, the incredible volatility

in the advertiser and agency situation, which is a little bit unlike

occasionally in the past when people rose and fell together.

What are you hearing from agencies?

What's the spectrum?

What do they want your help with?

MARLA: Yeah. I mean they have wanted our help.

So if you go back to the beginning with COVID,

they immediately wanted our help with

what do we do?

What is the kind of message that we should be putting out?

So, we did some research early on.

almost every week we were doing research

to kind of gauge consumers

and where the sentiment was around

brand messaging

as they were working with marketers.

We also had agencies trying to figure out

what is this remote working look like?

What kind of policies need to be put in place?

So, we were helping them understand not only what the 4A’s was doing,

but also connecting our community

and making sure that we had people sharing.

This has been a moment where people have focused on collaboration over competition.

No one is trying to go it alone.

Everyone is trying to support one another.

I think that's so critical, especially when we talk about DE&I.

TARA: One of the things that we hear people talking about

is the doubling down on marketing as a profit driver

versus a cost centre,

and the need to ensure greater confidence

in the economic return on their spend.

What are you seeing in this regard?

Are you seeing any adjustment

in terms of how people plan and buy during this crisis

in order to address that issue?

MARLA: So, I've never looked at marketing as a cost.

I've always looked at it as an investment.

I think the challenge has been for

companies – and typically people who are not in the marketing

function – viewing it that way.

So, there's always been this need to demonstrate results.

What's the ROI?

The problem over, I would say, the last call it 10 years and especially the last

several years, is that the focus

continues to get shorter and shorter

and no one is focused on the long-term.

So if you're a public company, you've got quarterly results you have to deliver on.

If you are a retail business, you are looking at daily receipts.

So this hyper focus on the short term

has taken away what marketing really does

and that is about building over time.

I do see that this crisis, these crises,

have allowed the C-Suite in

most companies to focus in on the CMO and the role of the CMO

because marketing is front and centre right now,

and I do hope that that shifts the perception

for the non-marketing functions in organisations.

TARA: What do you think are the biggest areas

that agencies need to prioritise accelerating in

to really support their clients

and make the most of this particular moment?

MARLA: There's new habits that have been created.

There's new skills that are needed and so we need to lean in

and agencies

the advantage there is,

how do they make sure that they're helping the client

lead the thinking? How can they work with them

to partner with them on their goals;

to get there, but to make that happen quickly?

So, the work has many... many have been behind

so they need that external perspective

and there are many studies that have been done showing that

if you go it alone,

it will take you much longer

than if you bring in external partners.

and that is the advantage

and agencies do have proven ways of delivering that work

and will continue to support marketers in that journey

and the digitisation of that customer experience.

So the companies that had been prepared,

and had been doing the digital transformation work,

and really making sure that they had digitised

their entire customer journey,

their supply chain,

were well prepared.

There are many that are catching up right now.

And that's also an area where agencies can help support that.

New business really pivoted

and you could see how that's been streamlined

and I hope that that's here to stay.

TARA: DEI has been a priority for Google for quite some time

and the good news is I think we are making progress,

but the challenge is that it hasn't been anywhere near the pace

any of us hoped

and so this is a moment of great acceleration.

So, you've highlighted the call to the industry

to use this moment to improve diversity and inclusion

and specifically, I think, racial injustice and we share your passion for that.

What do you think?

Is this an opportunity?

Is it a challenge?

What is the 4A’s doing to move this forward?

MARLA: I think it's been a challenge for a while

and now it's a real opportunity

to move

to true action

and that has to be focused on accountability.

So the 4A’s has always been supporting members

in trying to drive those, whether it's the work of our foundation

and MAIP, our Multicultural Advertising Intern Program,

that's been around for 47 years.

The 4A's announced a partnership

with 600 and Rising, which are 600... over 600 Black professionals

within agencies that have asked for what we view as 12 very basic actions

that focus on accountability and transparency.

And we've always tried to support our members

in making sure that they can

provide guidance and move forward when it comes to diversity,

equity and inclusion.

And now

it is more important than ever that we get this right.

TARA: Well, I feel inspired by the insights

and motivation that you're sharing

and hopefully our audience does too.

Do you have any final thoughts for the group?

MARLA: Yeah. I think we've talked so much about we're in this

significant moment of change.

2020 will be remembered

for a lot of things and we're only halfway through.

I just would really urge everyone to use this moment

as who you are as an individual

as a leader, on how you can support the change

that you want to see, not only in your community

but in your organisation.

It's a

tremendous time of transformation and that can be really exciting

as long as you view it in a positive way.