Is thinking ‘big’ always the beau ideal for agencies? It creates siloed departments, internecine cultures and prevents innovation from flourishing. Here’s why agencies should be thinking ‘small’ instead…
THE BIG AND SMALL OF IT
One of the first questions posed to the leader of any business, agency or otherwise, is generally one of ambition. What do you want to be in one, two or five years* (*if you are lucky enough to operate on that timescale)? The answer usually involves some kind of response with the word “growth” in. Because progression and growth, ideally exponential in nature, are baked into the way we see the world and the businesses we operate. If we have an A (progression), we must have a B (growth).
Now the standard definition of B is to be BIG: big revenue, big departments, big client base, big systems, big swagger. Most agencies want to be in the league of BIG. After all, who wants to be the 101st biggest listed company on the London Stock Exchange, or a top 11th billing agency. Scale is a sign we have made it. That things are working. That we have a reason to puff out our corporate chest a bit.
That may be the case in many businesses but can be misleading for agencies. No one doubts the success that scale has delivered the networks. The Publicis “Power of One” strategy has contributed to a steady five-year increase in share price for the French holding company. The market for scale remains, as larger clients seek to make savings and strip out complexity (echoed in work done by the IPA and their 2020 report, The Future of Brand and Agency Relationships). But for businesses with the same ambition and fewer resources, there is a curious trap. Because it turns out that ‘small big’ businesses aren’t really primed for continued success.
Why so? ‘Small big’ too often carries the trappings of scale without the benefits. Offices become “villages,” and a “chief” finds its way into every department role as agencies mimic corporate structure. Overwrought processes drain motivation and diminish accountability; silos creep into organisations and complacencies embed themselves. Suddenly the problem in front of you belongs to someone else on the floor above. The problem is that this attitude fails to drive real growth. Thinking you are big ends up being the biggest handbrake on being big.
This is a particular issue with creative agencies, whose cultures are by their nature tribal – it’s unsurprising that companies splinter as loyalties divide (remember those old family tree posters that Campaign used to produce?). Back in the day, one famous larger agency divided itself into four mini-agencies, each a different primary colour. The ensuing competition between business units and cultures was way worse than any industry spat on the front page of the trade press.
While we want to make big work for big clients, what if big continues to be best served by thinking small? Small starts with putting the client problem on the table, then proceeding to tackle it with few of the logistical and bureaucratic barriers that stymie progress at larger agencies. At a time when technology is forcing us to change so quickly, small adapts and anticipates. Small recognises your staff and your clients at the front door. Small is compact and resilient. Small – it could be argued – is the ideal way of operating. And without the ambition of ‘small’, frankly our industry looks very different. It’s the small, disruptive businesses who attract young, hungry talent thanks to their non-corporate beliefs, culture and ways of working, exactly the kinds of people we must rely on tomorrow.
Now is the moment to put the premium back into small. Think about it: the best independent shops and boutique hotels have a quality and service that is often better than their behemoth identikit chain relatives. This ‘boutique mentality’ inspires loyalty in customers. And it’s something that all larger agencies should be channelling into their service/offerings with their clients. Too often the buying conversation with clients is driven by the prices and capabilities of the behemoths. Doing fewer things makes you more valuable to work with, not the other way around.
So, here’s to the “big small agency”, to growing the right way, not any way, and to protecting the things clients love about our teams. This may not fit with every management theory, but it has the benefit of being true to how us humans behave. Cast your mind back to Bernbach’s 1959 ad “Think Small” for the VW Beetle. This was the age of the Chrysler “muscle car” with their big litre engines, cavernous chassis and horsepower to boot. Perhaps the agency that can hold onto the power of small gets to win, even in the age of massively spec’d up global rivals.
Jason Cobbold is CEO of BMB.
