The new agency guard: It’s strategic, relevant and fast

Opinion

In the era of ‘everything change’, what does it take to thrive as a new agency guard? Charlie Oscar’s CEO has the answers. 

Every few years, there’s a significant shift in our industry, driven by a change in consumer behaviour, which is primarily influenced by new technology.

If you’ve been here for long enough, you would have seen the internet era, the ‘year of mobile’, the app economy, influencers, and so on.

If you’re new to the industry, let me tell you – what you see in marketing today has little resemblance to what you’ll see in five years.

The era of ‘everything change’ 

We are currently in the era of ‘everything change’, which is powered mainly, but not exclusively, by AI. We now have three seconds, not 30, to capture the attention of our audience. 

Consumers are influenced far more by people than by brands. And AI LLMs are the new target audience brands and agencies need to communicate with and capture the attention of.

Moreover, video content can be created without the need for a camera. People rarely click anymore. 

Brands need the guidance of a fast, relevant, lean, strategic partner. What they don’t need is a slow incumbent paralysed by legacy.

The advancements and democratisation AI has to offer are leading to a total shift in how businesses can operate. Much like the internet, AI will be in every department, in nearly every company – it’s just a matter of timing. 

When there is such a significant change, an industry can be disrupted. And this new guard is ‘eras ahead of the curve’. 

As it works across the business and builds teams, departments, and products, the new guard naturally considers how AI can make it—and us, the industry as a whole—better and faster. It has AI agents conducting analysis, making predictions, and reaching out to creators, while also writing its corporate strategy (CEOs like me are not entirely redundant just yet, though).

However, it isn’t just about AI

To be an agency fit for the present, not just the future, the new guard understands that it needs to be both relevant and strategic, yet also agile. If not, it’ll fade away just like the old guard.

Nearly all marketing execution can be done in-house. Brands no longer need agencies that solve purely execution and activation challenges. Agencies need to be guiding partners. Agencies need to bring an external perspective and a strategy. 

That’s why consultancies have thrived over the last decade, while agencies have struggled. Helping brands solve complex problems, identify opportunities, and take insight from other categories or markets. Being a true strategic business partner is an invaluable asset.

But the consultancies are missing something agencies have in abundance. The reality of execution. It’s always better to take advice from someone who’s been there and done it, rather than someone who can (or prompt ChatGPT to) write a decent GSlides presentation.

Then, there’s relevance

Sometimes, the market undergoes such rapid changes that brands feel left behind. A great example of this is Social Creative. 

Meta has updated its AI algorithms, leading to a significantly increased demand for social-first content from brands. In this instance, any agency with relevance in this space is in huge demand (whether the team is using GenAI or not).

TikTok Shop is gaining momentum rapidly in the Western world. It’s guaranteed that this will breed a raft of new start-ups in the agency space, providing expertise and execution. In fact, they already exist. 

The future may favour the bold, but it also favours the fast. 

Brands compete for attention with everyone. And that’s not just their peers. They’ve got three seconds, not 30, to win the attention of potential customers.

Moving at full throttle is now an imperative. The new guard has abandoned the bureaucratic working methods of the large two-week SLAs for launching campaigns. 

Measurement also plays an essential role

Brands now rely on their agency partners to provide them with the data and actionable insights they need to move at pace. The new guard is attuned to this with marketing science and MMM modelling abilities within the team. 

The new guard is fast, curious and flexible, with no legacy. Technology-led, it has marketing science at its core, ensuring that it’s culturally relevant and truly data-driven. And most importantly, it has a full-funnel approach. 

It’s never been better, or worse, to be an agency. It just depends on which side you’re on. 

James Connelly is the founder and CEO at Charlie Oscar