Media agencies having to become more strategic to support brands: Report

Transformation among global brand organisations is giving rise to more strategic media partners, according to the Media 2025 report from MediaSense. 

The report asked brands how their media agencies were supporting transformations. Over half (55%) said their agency had become more strategic in scope, the most common response, ahead of 22% who said agencies had become more technical, the same percentage (22%) said more selective, and 18% said more "executional" or more project based.

Just 7% said they had not changed in scope at all.

MediaSense's research explores the journey brands are taking to transform their organisation and how it is informing media operating models.

Progress toward the completion of transformation remains glacial, as just 12% of respondents said they were towards the end or had completed their transformation journey, up from 11% in 2022. 

However, a majority (56%) are now midway through the process, while 17% are still at an early stage.

Commenting on barriers to transformation, Ryan Kangisser, managing partner of strategy at MediaSense, said: “Transformation has been a recurring focus of our Media 2025 research programme and it’s great to start to see the progress being achieved by many marketing organisations—now becoming more customer centric, integrated and agile. 

“However, a number of deep-rooted challenges are to be overcome with organisational structure, capability and measurement among the most acute.”

The main way brands have transformed over the past 12 months is by becoming more consumer centric, as stated by just over half (51%) of respondents.

This has gone hand in hand with greater integration, with 40% saying they had become more integrated this year.

“Integration is not just a buzzword, it is a necessity and a key focus for our members,” said Matt Green, director of global media services at the World Federation of Advertisers, commenting on the report.

“This report supports this view and the importance of breaking down silos and creating collaborative, future-proof partnerships.”

The transformation path brands are on is likely to affect the way they work with agencies, as half (50%) said they were “very likely to change” their agency model as a result of their transformation.

Just 12% said they were “unlikely” to do so and more than a third (38%) were undecided.

The Media 2025: Wave 6 report is part of MediaSense’s Media 20:20 programme, which has run for the past decade.

The core data source of Wave 6 is both quantitative and qualitative research carried out over Q4 2023 to Q1 2024 with more than 100 senior marketers (66% at CMO or director level).