There are rumors in the market from time to time that clients are stepping up their digitization. Given the variety of services and specialties that exist within digital, is that possible? After all, digital is a term for brand presence, messaging, interaction, or commerce through connected touchpoints.

Asking one agency to handle all your digital is like asking one agency to handle all your non-digital marketing and communications, as a former marketer has said anonymously. We all know the latter answer. However, according to some experts, there may be a ‘lead’ branded agency.

MediaNews4u.com asked a handful of clients and agencies: Have marketers generally consolidated digital mandates that previously worked with 8 to 10 digital agencies? Is consolidation of spaces feasible? Is your situation ideal?

Aniruddha Haldar of TVS Motors, Aparna Tadikonda of Interactive Avenues, Arjun Bhatia of Matrimony.com, Hareesh Tibrewala of Mirum, Karthi Marshan of Kotak, Kartik Sharma of OMG, Pratik Do of Performics IndiaSabyasachi Mitter from ngaonkar and Fulcro Weighed.

Several agencies we spoke to showed a trend toward consolidation, but clients highlighted challenges in making it happen.

many digital buckets

Arjun Bhatia, Chief Marketing Officer, Matrimony.comrefutes the notion that brands have worked with “8 to 10” digital agencies to date.

“I don’t think companies were using 8-10 digital agencies at any point. No one can be an expert in all areas of digital, so it becomes difficult to work with just one or two.” he adds.

Aniruddha Haldar, Senior Vice President – ​​Marketing, TVS Motor Companydivides its broader digital marketing mission into three parts.

“I’ve found that our relationship takes three forms,” ​​he explains. The first is what he calls “super specialist” partners, who provide cutting-edge capabilities in specific areas (ML, AI voice, etc.). The second is an ‘anchor’ partner who co-owns the brand’s performance and work on the diverse yet well-understood aspects of digital marketing. “Finally, any enabler or innovator who is doing a lot of exploratory and experimental work in a specific digital competency he is a partner.‘ he adds.

Within each space, today we have to work with multiple agencies. Is there a trend towards consolidation?

Karthi Marshan, President and CMO of Kotak, said:sarcasm, “I think buying has become monogamous, especially in terms of performance. So everyone sleeps with everyone.”

On the question of whether integration is feasible and necessary, he advises in another way. “We’re still in high school, so I can’t recommend it. It’s better to go on a lot of dates and learn from different experiences before committing.”

Four to five years ago, each brand considered hiring a dedicated digital agency for each digital requirement, but built an internal team to coordinate between these agencies. Sabyasachi Mitter, Founder and Managing Director of FulcroBut this had its own set of problems, he adds, with individual activities being siled into their own echo chambers, diluting the impact of the overall digital strategy and brand.

“What characterizes the current season is consolidating with a handful of select agencies with more strategic KPIs that are more in line with brand marketing ambitions.” Note mitter.

Integration: Intention or Tendency?

With so many options to choose from, clients would do well to reflect on the current chaotic consumer journey. Kartik Sharma, Group CEO, Omnicom Media Group India, said:

“Some marketers believe that having multiple agencies will lead to higher creative output, and while this may sound somewhat true, multiple agencies without a unified macro It’s important to note that it also means that a person is working on a brand: the way they see the business and its goals is not beneficial to the brand.” he adds.

Hareesh Tibrewala, Co-CEO, Mirum Indiaagrees that brands are currently consolidating digital mandates primarily with single partners.

He adds:Integration is very feasible, especially if you are working with a network agency. Leading agencies can pull in capabilities from other parts of the network to create a unified team capable of handling a client’s entire digital mandate. ”

Sharma says forward-looking global businesses are leading the consolidation of digital needs. “We are definitely seeing more brands adopting an integrated and unified view of their business goals today and we hope to see this trend spread further. ” he points out.

He cites two reasons for consolidating services. “To build and grow a brand as a whole, it’s important to have a holistic understanding of the brand and the client’s needs. It’s not just digital. It’s a place to work and help you effectively manage your time, effort and resources.”

Multiple agencies on board can also pose challenges for reporting and ROI, he notes.

The head of OMG India admits that specialists like technology and specialty-focused agencies offer their own unique set of USPs, but still have the big picture in order to synergize seamlessly. We urge brands not to lose sight of

While consolidation is the goal, it states that the association of multiple institutions is the current reality. Aparna Tadikonda – Interactive Avenue, EVP (South).

“While the marketer’s intention is to consolidate and is heading in that direction, the fact is that it is still a multi-agency association thanks to agency capabilities and expertise, especially brand and performance. Many agencies invest in demonstrating their bundled expertise, but it takes a while to build trust with clients.” she explains.

Tadikonda stresses that integration works very well for brands, both from a consumer journey perspective and from an efficiency perspective. “But it has to be done right, so we need to build a new engagement model.‘ she adds.

Pratik Dongaonkar, AVP, Performics India, Marketers previously worked with multiple partners based on specialized skill sets such as SEM, SEO, and social, but often ignored the overlap in skill sets across the partner ecosystem. pointing out.

he explains, “This resulted in inefficiency, duplication of skill sets, and wastage. However, this scenario has changed significantly over the past few years, with marketers playing a larger role within their organizations. ”

Agencies are bringing integrated capabilities to the table, he said, with marketers taking responsibility for making their businesses more efficient and consistent.

Dongaonkar adds that brands are increasingly looking to partners who can own KPIs across their business, and are looking to one partner who can work together across all digital channels.

what’s next?

When asked about the special needs of consumer brands in digital and the number of agencies needed to meet them today, Kotak’s Marshan said: Too many. “

Indeed, while the need for integration is acknowledged, there is recognition that the ecosystem may not yet be ready for integration.

Tadikonda is “It’s not about the number of agencies, it’s about the different stages of the user journey and seamlessly integrating the solution, be it messages or communications. Typically it will be one or two.”

In today’s non-linear consumer process, brands need to cover all bases. Batia of Matrimony.com.

“In my opinion, it is important to have one mainstream digital agency that can work with you on your overall digital strategy from both brand (long term) and performance strategy (short term/sales). , you also need to develop relationships with an agency or two, for example, some industries may require a lot of influencer content, so you may need a partner who can scale across platforms. Yes, but other industries may focus more on app install performance or SEO/SEM campaigns, so you have to pick and choose, but keep it manageable.” he observes

full black miter addition, “In an ideal world, having a single agency that brings best-in-class capabilities across digital services with strong strategy and planning capabilities would be the best option for brands. In the agency landscape, this is a bit utopian because not all agencies are equally good at all digital services.”

Instead, our agency network provides a single point of service through our lead agency, coordinating the capabilities and skill sets of our local and global network agencies. He observes that some large independent institutions are also creating their own networks of professional partners.

batia underline, “Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field, and no individual or agency can claim dominance across the field. You have to keep experimenting with advertising solutions and scale the ones that work well, and for this you may come across niche providers who are very good in certain areas and may give you disproportionate returns, so your competitors will We’ve tried everything, so we can’t just happily rely on one or two agencies.”

Every brand/consumer set has different needs, which can lead to a diverse set of needs and a growing number of partners/skill sets. His Haldar of TVS Motors said:

“But a clear vision of a digital roadmap that aligns with consumer and business goals leads to chasing new partners and new fads, or worse, getting used to one partner and missing out on the next big thing. We can prevent this from happening.” he guesses