Marketers and agencies are miles apart: A potential shift in the sphere of influence and advertising agency/marketer relationships?

The symbiotic advertising agency/marketer relationships have always been fraught with a certain level of division, but a new report from marketing agency business firm RSW/US shows marketers and agencies are miles apart when it comes to planned 2022 investments in their business on things like personnel, technology, R&D, and product development.

Last year COVID dampened enthusiasm for marketers’ spending, from 77 percent in 2020, down to 49 percent that planned to invest “somewhat” or “heavily “in their business in 2021. Agencies similarly saw a drop from 86 percent in 2020 to 64 percent in 2021.

However, this year shows a stark contrast in the respective temperaments of marketers and agencies as it relates to 2022.

Just when we thought marketer enthusiasm couldn’t drop any lower, this year we hit an even lower point, with only 21 percent of marketers saying they would “somewhat” or “significantly” increase spending on non-marketing activities in the new year.

The story is different for agencies. In contrast to marketers this year, 79 percent of agencies actually report they plan to invest in non-marketing activities “somewhat” or “heavily”. Last year only 64 percent of agencies felt this way.

So, what does this mean for marketers and agencies in 2022?

Could this chasm in investment mean the beginning of a wholesale shift in the sphere of influence between marketers and agencies?

Agencies that invest more in their business could find themselves in a more dominant position relative to their marketing partners, with marketers relying on them even more than they do today.

It’s possible that because of marketers’ lower levels of investment in technology, personnel, and development, they will need their agency partners to help keep them ahead of the technology curve and fill in gaps where their own personnel are lacking.

2022 could prove a banner year for marketing service firms!

Download the full report here.

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