Over the years, I’ve heard the anxieties and frets from agency owners about the big consulting firms going after more and more ‘ad agency clients.’
Looking back, first it was the fear of digital agencies raiding agency clients and now it’s with the Accenture’s, Deloitte’s and Bain’s of the world. You can almost hear a collective ‘Oh Shit’ from agency principals.
I’m intrigued at how fear can take over one’s mind, so it was refreshing, in a recent CEO Stars session with some of the top agency leaders in the country, to hear one agency owner, upon discussing consulting firms, stand up and say: “Screw them! We’re going after their clients.”
The pros, cons and differences of consultancies versus ad agencies has been a well-written topic over the past three years and can be argued either which way you choose.
However, this agency owner decided to do an about face and fight. While this agency’s proprietary pin-point strategy to do this was shared with CEO Stars members, the idea of any agency going after the vulnerabilities of consultant firms is well-founded.
Consultant firms are hired mostly by company CEOs, promising to streamline and improve their business. This leaves the CMO wrangling with data collection and creative execution – all elements necessary for the communications of the brand.
Understanding this and other competitive weaknesses, along with bolstering your knowledge about the business, gives permission for any agency to fill the gap between what an ad agency does and what a consulting firm does.
I applaud our CEO Stars agency member for taking a stand and going for it.
If you see a company working with a consulting firm, go after it. There’s a huge gap that needs closing – and only you can do it.
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