While Joan and Crossmedia are still two independent agencies, they have a true partnership.
“The difference here is that there is one front door of Joan, and it’s powered by the Crossmedia muscle,” said Clunie. “It gives us a sense of actually having one leadership team that all sits around the same table, one strategic operating system, one sort of rationale as to why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
The collaboration also means that the creative team has the confidence that the media understands and is supporting them, and that the media understands that the creative is going to deliver what it’s promising.
It also means that pitching together as a unit, which can uncover blind spots each agency might have, figuring out what might be best for the client from both a creative and media standpoint.
“Starting off from the same page is everything,” said Asghar, explaining that having the context of ad frequency and platform can bolster the creative rather than it being done in a vacuum. And those conversations don’t happen often until it’s too late, so ultimately, integration of media and creative gets something much closer to what the client is looking for and elevates what the consumer will experience.
There still isn’t enough integration of media and creative out there, the two said, but as more clients mandating that integration for clarity and focus, more of this may be happening in the marketplace.
Working together certainly works well for Joan and Crossmedia because the two agencies can be honest with each other about the needs of the client without being in competition, which in the long run is a win for the client and boosts both agencies.
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