WHITEPAPER FOR OLIVER
WHITEPAPER: THE ISBA IN-HOUSE AGENCY SURVEY
By Paul Tomlinson, Published 07.01.2022
WHITEPAPER: THE ISBA IN-HOUSE AGENCY SURVEY
OLIVER: In-house agencies took a beating in May when PepsiCo was forced to pull its Kendall Jenner ad.
Was the agency model really the culprit?
Debbie Morrison, ISBA: “Let’s get real here: this could have happened with any agency, external, in-house or on-site. To blame the agency model is naïve in the extreme and implies that only external agencies are connected to the real world and popular culture. This was purely and simply a judgement miscall.”
Adele Gritten, Future Thinking:
“This sort of thing usually happens because a brand misunderstands its audience.
Whatever your model, if your agency doesn’t have the right insights or you’re not feeding those insights into your marketing strategy, you will end up in situations like this.
The problem was amplified in Pepsi’s case because it tried to tap into the zeitgeist, but failed to recognise its place within it.”
Sharon Whale, OLIVER:
“It’s also important to remember that every iteration of each agency model – in-house, on-site and external – takes a slightly different form.
It’s possible PepsiCo’s own specific setup did allow a mistake to slip through, but eight brands in our survey are creating their own TV advertising in-house; four completely off their own bat.
There’s no reason an in-house agency can’t be creatively and strategically excellent, with the right level of rigour and push-back if properly built.”
