How a culture of collaboration can strengthen advertising agency-client relationships

Despite efforts by brands and advertising agencies to introduce more diversity into their creative teams, the reality is that in-house marketing teams are generally at a more advanced stage of their careers or planning to switch roles in 24-36 months.

Of course this is part of the value of agencies to brands; they bring deep experience with the brand after many years of working together as well as industry knowledge that they lack. In this way, agency team members are vital assets to brands in advising, providing insights, and challenging strategic discussions. Nonetheless, most brands are probably not thinking of the aspirations of future agency team members. They want the advertising agency to bring the specialist expertise and talent they lack in a way that will foster creativity and brand growth. .

This will need to change as more GenZ (people aged between 12 and 27 today) enter the workplace and start to dominate future ad agency teams for several reasons.

Firstly, there are already GenZ people in most agencies and over the next decade this will accelerate considerably, particularly as more of the ‘ad agency stalwarts’ leave the workplace. This means that now is the time to get behind a hiring strategy that not only embraces GenZ talent, but that understands the nuances in the ways that this generation wants to work.

Secondly, while it has been discussed at length over the last decade what Generation Z want from the workplace – more flexibility, more money, and to work with companies whose values align to their own for example – our research for the IPA explored ad agencies and their clients in more detail. What we found was not only more specific to the media and advertising sector, but it also shone a light on an unexpected finding in the way that agencies and clients should collaborate in the future.

GenZ are quite specific about their desire for more in-person interactions. Scarred from entering the workplace during the pandemic years, they don’t want to come to the office just to take calls virtually. They want to engage with real humans and foster genuine connections and learning that cannot be achieved while working from home. They are also more eager to learn and gain multiple, cross industry, skills and experiences than any previous generation. Role modelling within the agency but also by building client and stakeholder relationships beyond project delivery.

Thirdly, while agencies may be keen to embrace the multi-dimensional talents of GenZ, unless they do so in collaboration with their brand clients, then they risk churn. This is neither good for the agencies, who are already facing a diminishing talent pool, or the agency-client relationship.

It has never been more important to include these junior team members in strategic meetings, despite their seeming lack of expertise to be there. Unlike previous younger generations, GenZers expect to be involved in most strategic engagements with the client. They feel that they can bring a fresh perspective to brand challenges and growth, and they desire broader and more general experiences; prioritising diversification of skills and experiences early on in their career and shunning the current paths of specialisation like SEO, planning and creative.

This ‘I can do anything and everything’ generation are more likely to be confident and bold, standing up against working for brands that do not align with their values.

Joining the dots

Younger generations collaborate in different ways. Gone is the era of the water cooler conversation. Young people have grown up as digital natives. They embrace change, making them ideal team members for a new world of advertising and marketing. They adopt new skills and emerging tech fast, which should be viewed as a positive addition to the team dynamic. 

Brands play a pivotal role in nurturing marketing and advertising agency talent

Clients may not be overtly focused on helping to nurture future agency talent, but the reality is that they do need to support their advertising agency partnership to foster relationships based on a culture of continuous learning, development, feedback and innovation. Without this, agencies may not be able to avoid churn and brands cannot ensure they have the most successful and creative agency partnerships, securing the future of both businesses.

Clients and agencies that collaborate to help this generation learn through role modelling, cross specialist experiences and deeper involvement in strategy, will be able to build trust and foster the most effective agency-client relationships. They will also ensure that, through broader diversity, creative outputs appeal to the next generation of customers too.