From service provider to sparring partner: collaboration between B2B companies and agencies

Low esteem for marketing, creativity and strategic-creative consulting - this can be concluded from the planned budget cuts in industrial marketing as described in the latest study by the Bundesverband Industrie Kommunikation e.V. (bvik). Is the German industry thus dealing a death blow to the agency world, or is it rather harming itself in the face of global competition? The evaluation of a Worldwide Partners study (1), which Ingrid Wächter-Lauppe recently had the pleasure of presenting in Straubing at the bvik event on the topic of "From service provider to sparring partner: cooperation between B2B companies and agencies" (2), suggests the latter; but read for yourself her conclusion on the event and the discussion about future opportunities for agencies.

Farewell to agencies? The business team of the future? A review

The bvik event at Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH was extremely interesting, as it dealt with the new tense situation in B2B marketing and the future of agencies. First, Michael Ibarth, Marketing Director of Sennebogen, and his colleagues presented the impressive marketing achievements of the internal department, lead agency and special service provider. Professor Dr. Carsten Baumgarth from the HWR Berlin spoke from the bvik study (3) on "Agency - Company". I then took a look at global developments in the fragile web of companies and agencies. The study of our Worldwide Partners network in cooperation with the CMO Councils (1), despite many similar results, showed significant differences, perhaps the most important: Internationally, marketing is not seen as a cost factor, but as an investment that should ensure long-term growth. Does this mean there is hope for agencies after all?

Swansong No. 1: The classic full-service agency is dead...

...was one of the theses at the general panel discussion. All participants unreservedly agreed with this statement: no agency can deliver the full range of services anymore. The agency lifecycle requires constant renewal, and agencies are practiced at that. Full service agencies are thus becoming full thinking agencies and/or collaboration facilitators. Some particularly trendy ones may only be sailing under new flags, but others have plenty of experience with networking and the (not always) smooth orchestration and integration of specialty service providers. The two company representatives on the panel reported that they are increasingly taking on collaboration tasks themselves, becoming the "kit greaser" for the armada of specialty service providers. Since even being a kit-smearer requires specialized skills, they have expanded their in-house departments accordingly.

Swan song no. 2: The pure advertising agency is dead...

...everyone agreed that this type of agency has not existed for a long time anyway: almost every advertising agency also offers digital services that go beyond banner design, just as almost every digital agency lists creation or brand building as a service. It's a pity that the actually beautiful term "advertising" has become so old-fashioned! Maybe the collected advertising agencies could use their creative heads to find a new "sexy" term as a replacement. The terms "creative agency" or "idea agency" have been buzzing around for a long time, but unfortunately all too often they are associated with either the strategically underdeveloped "wild bunch" or the B2C agency that produces expensive TV spots in order to win an industry award. 

In general, creativity does not seem to be as valued in the German B2B industry as it is elsewhere in the world, where agencies that deliver top creation continue to be in demand among companies (even those that have large in-house agencies). The CMO Worldwide Partners global study notes an equally strong outsourcing trend in live events and creative, in addition to the insourcing trend in content and online services. A panel discussion at the recent Worldwide Partners meeting with global, internal and external agency heads from Disney and Lego, among others, underscored this global tendency to use and value external creativity. However, creativity is not understood as the piecing together of images from databases, but as the development of new ideas and the supply of impulses in all areas: for business ideas, business processes, products, services, attitudes and culture, right up to unusual but therefore effective communication design. Interpreted in this way, creativity is also appreciated in this country. For example, Kai Halter, Director Marketing of ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co.KG, in his closing statement on the podium, described the agency partner as ideal, who provides impulses and with whom ideas can be developed together.

Long live the small, agile specialist!

Both the studies and the discussion indicate that agencies that are specialized and can act quickly as a "fire department" have a future. Whether this is rosy remains to be seen, as agencies are having to bow to budget cuts and cost pressures with price reductions that B2B companies have already rung in against a backdrop of dimming growth forecasts.

Long live the creative business team!

According to the bvik study, classic management consultants are practically never commissioned by the marketing managers surveyed. Such consulting firms usually fly into companies via the CFO with promises of cost savings (and, incidentally, with completely different hourly rates). In the opinion of the agency representatives, however, marketing managers would benefit from strategic partners with a real understanding of business, who can overcome operational and industry blindness and who, together with the brand managers, can creatively develop value-creating solutions, tap into new earnings potential and secure long-term growth. There are some agencies that can do this, albeit far less than the many agency consulting offerings suggest. These experts have strategic skills, are familiar with digital data management and transformation, and are creative to boot - a strength that enterprise and IT consultancies tend to lack. Consulting firms are even said to be the gravediggers of all creativity (4).

Agencies are the better consultants for marketeers because they are attuned to brands and their customers, as W&V writes (5) and the CMO-WWP study suggests with its emphasis on customer centricity as the most important success driver. This allows them to become a "trusted partner." Some refer to this type of agency as a lead agency, a term that was the least controversial during the panel discussion, but whose commissioning hardly plays a role from the perspective of German industrial companies, according to the bvik study. The CMOs in the global CMO Worldwide Partners study, on the other hand, expressly want partners who will work with them to achieve their ambitious business goals.

Long live the dream team marketeer - agency,...

...which sees itself as a joint value creator and growth driver. On the topics of budgets, growth and value creation, the biggest difference between international and German attitudes became apparent. This discrepancy was still discussed animatedly during the break. Globally, the most important task of marketing is seen in securing growth, therefore, despite adverse circumstances, no budget cuts are envisaged, but rather investments are made in growth-securing and growth-driving measures. "Value creation and just no missed opportunities" is the motto of global CMOs. In German industry, on the other hand, the all-dominant motto at the moment seems to be cost-cutting. However, this means that opportunities are being missed on a massive scale, especially since competition is increasingly being decided by marketing. 

Quality in products and service has made German industry successful, but now it risks squandering the competitive advantages and successes of the past by cutting back and weakening marketing. I see the most urgent task for a German dream team marketeer - agency in convincing the respective C-suite that marketing is essential for survival, especially in these difficult times, and that the highest quality in marketing is an investment that pays off because it creates value and an edge in global competition: Then both - marketing and agile agencies - will have a bright future.

And now the self-promotion or rather the sparring partner wish song

We, Wächter Worldwide Partners, have a strategic understanding of business, we are experienced networkers and collaboration champions, and we know how to use creative internal or external, analog or digital communication to develop revenue sources, build new markets and write success stories. We Create Business. We would love to become sparring partners for more marketers and develop ideas together for a bright, secure future.