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Chief
They’ve been sacrificed at the altar of efficiency.
Chief
The whole point of what we’re doing is to establish the brand in the mind of the consumer. There are a lot of ways to measure how people think about you.
Compounding factors.
Clients shifting from retainer to project basis makes it hard to scope perm staff.
After a few purging and rehiring cycles post-COVID, agencies opted for contractor heavy models.
Said purging and lack of hiring has led to an oversaturated freelance market with people scared to move jobs.
Result? Stagnation.
CD 1 is correct. While I wish it were different, here is some more perspective. Unfortunately, we are now in an era of permanent change in marketing services. In an era of “hyper personalization at scale”, AI & algorithms are simply going to become a bigger part of how marketing gets done. It’s the only way to get all the different “versions” of everything that is now required on the quick timing and costs that clients are willing to pay. Most pieces of communication last for only a short while in the market, so the investment in developing and producing them has to be super efficient. Some creative/media/experiential boutiques will always be hot and fashionable, but basically I see most organizations in our industry learning to do more with less people. And the clients are expecting the “productivity increase” to be passed along in lower compensation. Agencies are starting to push harder on the notion of faster better outcomes should mean more profits for the agency, but clients have typically won those debates in the end. In AdAge last week it was reported that procurement people are now showing up at marketing and advertising trade conferences…
While I obviously wish it were different, It has become harder (in the eyes of clients) in many cases for us to provide enough “added value” to support higher wages and staffing. For much of the advertising output, what once required legitimately “magical” writing or art direction or production skills can now be done well enough (at least by the standards of many clients) by many sources (or by AI) for less.
While it is not exactly the same thing, this is what has happened to a lot of industries; lots & lots of companies can now make quality architectural designs, interior decorating concepts, pro level photography and graphics in short amount of time and very efficient cost. The employment in the movie/TV studio industry in Southern California is a fraction of what once was, even with more programming getting made. It’s gone to a free lance, shoot where it cheapest, high efficiency model.
Offshoring.
E1 - BS. Offshoring was becoming an issue before the pandemic, let alone before the anti-RTO push.
Less AOR accounts from clients
+ Lower budgets for most clients
+ More fragmentation for media channels
= more pressure on each individual agency
to deliver returns for holding co’s
experimentation with AI for great efficiency
= More layoffs as a result
= More competition for fewer jobs
= Lower pay for few jobs available
Yes but the actual answer is: interest rates
Sad but true
Have you not been paying attention?
I’ve bee hearing this question for the last decade.
Good comments, but can't ignore that the "do more with Less" and making everything about EBIDA is driving so much of this. The use of AI and cutting costs to offset revenue loss or stay competitive is what all the top companies care about.
Theyre offshoring creative jobs now
Its also Q4 and agencies are trying to make financial goals so spending has tightened.
In the UK?
1. Too many agencies in the UK
2. Ai - although I suspect this isn't as much as people would make out.
3. rise of in-housing
4. the economy is trash so client budgets are being cut
more agencies x less work x more expense = less jobs.
Because an employers market is a companies wet dream. Why hire more when your employees are so scared to lose their singular job, that they’ll do an entire additional roles job as well?