There are signs that once again change is coming to the ad agency business.  Like new fashion trends and the season’s hottest colours, expect changes in agency structures and models to look a lot like the old ones.

As in the past, the change is being driven by marketers. Coordinating integrated communications is still a problem for marketers.  Many of them currently work with 20 or more agencies but are beginning to pare down rosters and are looking for agencies to lead the integrated communications process.

According to an Avidan Strategies poll in the US, 51% of the 1,900 respondent companies had already reduced the number of agencies they employed and another 44% were expecting to make cuts.  It also reported that 69% of advertisers expected to reduce the number of digital shops they work with and 48% the number of creative agencies. Recently, J&J scratched Mother, Deutsch, Lowe and Martin Agency from its global consumer products list.

Agency accountability continues to be a priority for advertisers but they also realize they can do a better job of aligning their in-house and agency teams.  Forty-six percent of respondents say traditional agencies are still struggling to integrate digital into their model; 36% believe agencies are making progress in acquiring digital assets but are having difficulty integrating them into the agency.

In a Forbes article about the study, Avidan’s founder stated that agencies need to become proactive and experiment with different business models, and make measurement and integration an essential part of their offering.

How agencies are expected to accomplish all this is not clear, but what the study does show is that there is the opportunity for an agency structure that offers better integrated communications to clients by managing all disciplines – both inside and outside their agency families.  

It sounds a lot like a traditional full-service agency with an outsourcing twist, doesn’t it?