Creativity at a crossroads

A week ago, multinational advertising and communications network WPP made the stunning announcement that it would merge Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create a new agency, VML. The move is expected to make the newly formed VML the largest creative agency in the world with an estimated 30,000 employees across 64 markets. Both agencies interestingly were also the outcome of WPP mergers in 2018 – J. Walter Thompson and Wunderman were merged to form Wunderman Thompson, while VML and Y&R merged to become VMLY&R.

Industry veterans reacted with shock at WPP’s decision to terminate the legacy Wunderman Thompson brand that has played an influential role in shaping the industry’s growth since it entered the Indian market 94 years ago under the name Hindustan Thompson Associates.

Sandeep Goyal, CMD at Rediffusion, points out that WPP’s latest move reflects certain clear realities about the industry: “Creative agencies at current remuneration levels are unsustainable. So either clients have to pay more to receive quality services or global agencies will die. Local agencies may be better equipped with lesser hierarchy and overheads for the future. But the global agency is dying.”

Declining value of creativity

While many have fond memories of the agency, observers also claim that Wunderman Thompson’s retirement is also one of the first big signs of the demise of traditional creativity. It all started during the 1990s, when advertising agencies began what is often referred to as ‘unbundling’. While the erstwhile agency format offered brands services like media buying, creative execution, strategy and research all under one roof, the industry gradually started to see each of these functions turn into strategic business units and ultimately independent agencies. That’s when the triumvirate of media, creative and research agencies emerged.

Erstwhile JWT hand Dias says that post the unbundling, creative agencies have never been able to price their offerings independently and that was when the advertising networks started to view them as “cost centres”. It was only a matter of time before the consolidation process began. Over the last decade or so, he adds that the value of reaching people through the right media has become more important than getting the creative right. He notes, “That is why you hear people talk about the poor quality of ads today. Poor-quality ads that reach more people are preferred by brands over good-quality ads that reach fewer people. The next generation of creative talent will be people who know how to reach more people with average creative work, quickly.”

It’s not just WPP. Just about a week ago, Omnicom announced the formation of Omnicom Advertising Services in India, bringing three creative agencies together – DDB, BBDO and TBWA. Omnicom’s strategy is perhaps better than WPP’s move, say some experts, since it eliminates the challenges that come with mergers and allows individual agencies to retain their unique identity while also permitting greater collaboration across functions.

Some others have gone down the same road. Just over a year ago, Dentsu International merged its agencies such as DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar to launch a new global creative network, Dentsu Creative. Publicis too brought most of its agencies under one roof.

Like Dias, Nisha Sampath, managing partner, Bright Angles, laments the lack of value attached to creativity today. “Unfortunately, global networks are driven by profitability and not so much by creativity. The grim reality is that the people who are joining the business today are less passionate about creativity than those over a decade ago. Ogilvy and DDB Mudra are some of the agencies that still demonstrate that passion. Wunderman Thompson was the other,” remarks Sampath.

The fact that advertising revenues this year have fallen across the US, UK and Europe has also put global networks under pressure. However, while mergers look great on paper and promise better cost efficiencies, they are not easy to execute. One of the biggest challenges is culture. That apart, such drastic steps can make people insecure and inevitably, top-tier talent will be the first to exit, impacting morale. Considering this is the second merger for Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R since 2018, it’s natural for employees to be worried.

Some are plain emotional. Tarun Rai, former group CEO, South Asia at JWT, says, “I have seen quite a few avatars of Thompson. It’s sad to hear that the brand won’t complete its century in India.”

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