Ad agencies face decoupling

Supply Management (yes, that's right, I'm a regular subscriber!) reports that the decoupling of the advertising supply chain is now starting from the bottom up with client purchasing departments now sourcing and specifying which production companies to use.

"According to the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, only 40 per cent of its members have "decoupled" pre-press and print production services. Decoupling is the breaking up of the marketing supply chain. Suppliers further down the chain, such as printers, are usually controlled by agencies, but are now being selected and managed by the client."

As you might expect this is particularly prevalent in digital communications where some of the integrated agencies are seen to under-perform:

"Emma Nussey, consultant at Future Purchasing, speaking at a debate last month, said a strong supply market and increased use of digital technology is turning suppliers, traditionally reliant on agencies for work, into their competitors. She added decoupling services often began if purchasers "didn't feel they were getting the benefits".

Other industry commentators point to the inevitability of this move:

Jeanie Bergin, creator of marketing consultancy Thinking W.I.D.E, said decoupling is "no longer a question of if, but how". Karina Wilshire, managing director at agency Fallon, told agencies to consider how to manage it or "it might happen to you, rather than with you".

Can the one-stop-shop model survive under this onslaught? Will agencies really lose the ability to work with their preferred directors and production teams?