WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.880 The agencies that will win going forward 00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:05.920 no longer try to take agency from their clients. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:08.360 They're trying to give agency to their clients. 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:13.680 We're joined by Ernesto from BCG and Ross from Known. 00:00:13.680 --> 00:00:15.000 Thanks both for being here. 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.280 Ross, you've described this moment as agency 3.0 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:21.160 That is the future of marketing effectively. 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:22.400 Just explain what that means. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.480 Well, I think everybody here at Cannes this 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:30.720 year knows this might be the last one of its kind because everything's changed. 00:00:30.720 --> 00:00:32.200 The playing field is leveled. 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:34.680 New powers are rising up. 00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:40.040 And so the opportunity to redefine the landscape has never been greater 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:41.280 than it is right now. 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:45.840 Now we have what I think of as the emergence of agency 3.0. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.320 And if I were to characterize it, it would be that the agencies that will 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:53.200 win going forward no longer try to take agency from their clients. 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:56.240 They're trying to give agency to their clients. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:58.480 And I think that's a really critical distinction. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:00.080 And just explain what that shift means. 00:01:00.080 --> 00:01:02.480 How does that play out in, give us an example. 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:05.760 It means enabling and empowering your clients, 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:11.400 the brands who you work for as an agency to be able to see and do all the things 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:16.480 we're supposed to be able to see and do as marketers in 2025 and beyond. 00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:21.360 There are so many tools and so many instruments that make our ability to do 00:01:21.360 --> 00:01:26.080 marketing more predictive and precise and more effective and more efficient. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:30.000 And so many of those things can be done by marketers themselves. 00:01:30.440 --> 00:01:34.480 It's redefining the role that agencies play in the ecosystem. 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.200 Why you need an agency has changed. 00:01:37.800 --> 00:01:42.000 So, Ernesto, when you're advising clients, what do you tell them about how to engage 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:42.920 with this process? 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:47.240 So there are a couple of complaints I hear from clients. 00:01:47.320 --> 00:01:52.640 The number one is that working with an agency very often is like working with a 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:53.320 black box. 00:01:53.320 --> 00:01:54.400 You don't know what's happening. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:59.200 So we're helping clients take back some of the control, as Ross was saying, 00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:03.120 so that they can understand what's working versus not working. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:04.440 What are the best practices? 00:02:04.680 --> 00:02:05.960 I would even go further than that. 00:02:05.960 --> 00:02:10.640 I would say misaligned or perverse incentives have created the biggest gap 00:02:10.640 --> 00:02:13.800 we've seen ever between agencies and clients. 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:19.000 And it's leading to an opportunity for independent agencies to rise up and bring 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.520 agency back to the clients, let them see and understand and 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:27.280 appreciate everything you do for them and help them win as opposed to optimizing 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:29.040 for your own outcomes as an agency. 00:02:29.040 --> 00:02:32.720 Ernesto, for you, looking ahead, what are the trends you see coming? 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.120 Well, one trend that I'm seeing is that 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.200 independent agencies, or like say the smaller ones, 00:02:38.200 --> 00:02:41.560 surprisingly are gaining share compared to the big ones. 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:46.520 Usually when an industry is maturing, you see the bigger players consolidate 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:47.400 more and more. 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:49.560 But in the world of agencies, 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:51.320 the smaller players are actually gaining share. 00:02:51.320 --> 00:02:53.280 So that's an interesting trend to observe. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.400 Well, Ross, Ernesto, thanks so much for joining us 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:57.840 in this version of Cannes. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:02:58.960 It's been a real pleasure. 00:02:59.080 --> 00:02:59.440 Thank you.