RBM: "Under One Roof" Philosophy Officially Dead - Scott Neslund - MediaBizBloggers

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Last week's Advertising Week events in New York may be remembered for many things but it may mark the official end to agencies claiming they have all resources "under one roof" for whatever a client needs in their marketing programs.

"Under one roof" was such a popular phrase among agencies that wanted to capture a client's total marketing budget but then the landscape became more fragmented and consumers became more in control of the messages they accepted. Agencies could no longer claim to do it all given the expansion of services in the industry and the evolution of new technologies to engage consumers.

For a while the major holding companies tried to apply the "under one roof" philosophy to the total resources within their portfolio of agencies but that approach has not taken off with advertisers given several high profile failures in the marketplace.


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Now, agencies and advertisers talk about "collaboration" and "partnerships" as the new model to achieve marketing success. At several Advertising Week panel discussions agency CEO's and company CMO's talked openly about not only collaborating with other agencies but also with the media companies in order to create ideas.

The old model had a lead agency at the center of a client's marketing activity. The new model has agencies as the spokes on a wheel with the client at the center and the number of agency spokes can be few or many depending on the client's needs.

No doubt the recession has helped push agencies into this era of collaboration whether they wanted to make the jump or not. With reduced revenue growth and profit margins many agencies needed to focus on their core capabilities versus trying to support side services that were never competitive in the marketplace.

This trend away from "under one roof" is good news for the advertising industry in general. Clients have more choices in their agency services and the ability to customize as they see fit. Agencies big and small can find opportunities with advertisers and offer significant value for what they do best in their field.

Social marketing is a good example of how this trend is impacting the industry. Advertisers are looking for help in this space and they are working with all types of agencies to create successful platforms. Social has become one more spoke on the wheel versus becoming one more room "under the roof."

Kudos to clients who successfully ripped off the roof of the old model and congratulations to the agencies who recognize there is more to be gained from collaboration.

Scott Neslund is CEO of Red Bricks Media. He can be reached at sneslund@redbricksmedia.com.

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