As a global media consultancy enters the U.S., an American agency network expands its overseas presence

By Michael Bürgi

After 21 months of pandemic-related upheaval, two separate stories of expansion in the broad world of independent agencies and consultancies give rise to the notion that international growth is returning.

Control v Exposed (CvE), a European and APAC-related consultancy, recently opened a U.S. branch. And WPI, a U.S.-based network of independent agencies is adding to its international roster while expanding its specialized services.

CvE, the unusually-named consultancy that’s helping brands connect the dots between tech, data and media while also enabling in-housing where appropriate, recently brought on Aimee Reker to run its U.S. branch.

Reker, whose experience includes time at several IPG shops, including helping to launch IPG’s Emerging Media Lab, has already lined up McKinsey as a client. In a somewhat complicated move, CvE is partnering with McKinsey to help one of McKinsey’s retailer clients launch into the retail media space. Reker, who joined in September after consulting with independent digital agency Goodway Group (ultimately CvE’s parent company), is based out of Minneapolis.

“The process we go through is diagnostic, similar to how a McKinsey or a Bain will evaluate your business and marketing — but prior to media, which is a gap those consultancies can have,” said Reker.

Paul Frampton, who runs CvE globally, likewise brings holding company experience from his time running Havas Media U.K., Frampton is adamant that the key ingredient CvE brings to working with clients is its independence — no VCs or holding companies or outside investors own any stake in CvE, or Goodway for that matter.

“We look to put a focus on rigorous forensic testing around whether advertising really works and whether there’s [an] incremental benefit” to marketers, he said. “That’s not how most creative and media come to market. Because we’re independent, we have the ability to tell the client what we think they should do rather than what benefits us.”

The space for consultancies is already competitive, but it’s getting more crowded, noted one veteran media observer who helps brands find agencies. Though independence certainly helps a consultancy claim it’s making recommendations based on clients’ needs rather than its own, the observer said that’s not as important anymore, as clients get smarter about what options they have in the marketplace. “I’m kind of calling BS on that because everyone is reliant on the same technology and platforms to do their marketing,” said the industry insider, who spoke to Digiday under the condition of anonymity. But he added that a consultancy like CvE with media-side expertise can fill the gaps between agencies and the major consultancies.

“Consultancies realize that [media-side knowledge and strategy] has been a gap for them,” agreed John Harris, CEO of Worldwide Partners Inc. (WPI), a reverse-engineered holding company in which its member agencies own the network.

WPI is doing some expanding of its global footprint by adding eight agencies across the globe, bringing its total number of member agencies to 74. Harris said the agencies brought on board help flesh out specific skillsets marketers are looking for, but also help to bolster WPI’s …read more

Source:: Digiday