Integrated Vs specialist: its the marketing agency debate that colours FindGood towers many an afternoon – but what should you base your marketing agency search and selection on and what do you need to consider?
There are many pros and cons for each side and naturally, the scales are constantly swaying.
A fully integrated marketing agency, that is, a large team of professionals, can offer an array of skills with a host of experts all pulling their expertise together under one roof. A selection of specialist agencies on the other hand can provide specific, niche knowledge in one area, offering demonstrable passion and creativity within their area or discipline.
Yet both integrated marketing agencies and specialist marketing agencies are highly capable of acting as an extension of your in-house team and can equally add value to your brand.
We appreciate diplomacy isn't always very helpful when it comes to making businesses decisions, so here are just some of the different arguments for each...
For: Integrated marketing agencies
Matt Henkes from Marketing Tech News argues that, according to recent research by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), 85% of companies consider campaign cohesion across multiple channels as a priority. What this essentially means is having a project managed under one roof by the same team was a highly preferable option for marketing agencies. However, only a fifth of respondents believed this integration was regularly achieved.
“Using a multi-discipline agency with the ability to run a full service campaign can be a sure-fire route to achieve this joined-up ideal,” says Henkes. Henkes makes an interesting point, however, many find with integrated marketing agencies, projects can be passed around from pillar to post, with different (and in many cases more junior) members of staff handling the project.
For: Specialist marketing agencies
Some, like Chris Moriarty for example, Head of Corporate Affairs at CIM, warn that managing several specialist agencies can take time and require specific skills, some still prefer the far more personal, personalised and niche service specialist marketing agencies can undoubtedly offer.
“Specialist start-up agencies are essential to the marketing industry. They are generally the R&D pioneers of new technologies like mobile and social media analytics, who demonstrate what works and what doesn’t, before these channels are absorbed back into the integrated fold,” says Henkes. (And on that, we're inclined to agree!)
And the verdict is...
What this all boils down to is finding the right marketing agency for your brief. In our experience, the best examples of agency search and selection often come from the client side marketer providing a well-thought out plan.
At the end of the day, what really matters is finding the marketing agency that will listen to you, inspire you, offer great, relevant ideas, meets your needs, work with your budget and will provide that all important chemistry!
Integrated or specialist, we're convinced the right marketing agency for you is out there!
