How an independent agency can reach 3.5 billion people

New network alliance creates a viable option to global advertising conglomerate – minus the baggage

One advertising agency by itself, even if it’s filled with some of the best and brightest in the industry, can’t give you global reach. That’s why so many companies turn to global network agencies (think Ogilvy, JWT, BBDO) despite the hefty price, inflexibility and bureaucracy that are often part of the package. But today many clients are discovering that when independent agencies around the globe work together in harmony, that independent creative shop around the corner turns into your brand’s gateway to brilliant global marketing, without all the baggage.  

This new independent solution provides more options to clients with global brands. Instead of having to choose between one global network agency or hand-picking individual agencies in every market, you can now go to an independent network to get centralized leadership with local expertise in one package. This strategy is becoming an increasingly popular one. 

Our goal has always been to be a lithe independent agency that can take on challenging international projects. That’s why we’re a member of the ad agency network TAAN. It allows us to partner with other top class independent agencies in markets around the world to take on multi-national campaigns. Since each agency is carefully selected and immersed in only its local market, with all of the unique nuances that entails, TAAN has been a godsend in making many of our projects successes for us and our clients. 

TAAN’s reach recently made a huge leap forward thanks to an alliance with the San Jose Network – the world’s premier Latin ad agency network serving global clients across North, Central and South America. The new alliance creates a network of independent ad agencies with combined coverage of 65 countries, 87 markets and 3.5 billion people. TAAN president Peter Gerristen said of the new partnership, “This alliance is truly a game-changer for today’s brands and will provide expertise, local knowledge and insight into economically important regions and cultures.”

Since it’s vital to meet face to face with our network partners to see what skills we can each add to projects, we bit the bullet and made the trip from perpetually overcast Sweden to the sunny shores of Miami. The meeting was the first gathering of the combined networks to establish relationships and get the ball rolling on some exciting new collaborations.

San Jose Network founder George L. San Jose with Sean Duffy (TAAN EU President, founder The Duffy Agency),  Rich Wahl (Managing Partner of The Duffy Agency Boston) and  Peter Gerristen (TAAN Global President) at the conference in Miami

The biggest impact the new alliance has for us is the added depth in Latin American markets. We can’t wait to dive into new projects that will take advantage of this expertise. 

With combined annual billings of $1.5 billion USD, this new independent constellation would easily rank in the world’s top 10 of Ad Agency Networks (combined billings were revised up from 1.1 billon since the alliance was announced in February, 2010).  “No matter how you look at it, that is a business entity to be reckoned with,” said Sean Duffy who, together with John Reisky, serves as president of  TAAN Europe. 

Despite their combined size, networks of independents retain a level of agility and adaptability that is valued by clients large and small, yet has proven difficult for the the WPP and Interpublic Groups of the world to copy. The failure of the global ad agency conglomerates to keep pace with the changes that have taken place in the market over the past decade is making networks like TAAN a more attractive option than traditional global agency network chains. We believe this trend will continue. 

Do you see the rise of independent networks shaping the future of the ad biz, or will the industry continue to be dominated by Sir Martin Sorrell and Michael Roth? 

Read more about the TAAN and San Jose Network alliance.