At our recent Oystercatchers Club, we were joined by Gareth Mercer, Founding Partner, Pablo, Nicola Wardell, Managing Director Creative, Specsavers and Richard Atkinson-Toal, VP Brand and Experience, American Express to explore one of the industry’s most enduring questions: should brands seek integrated creative and media partners under one roof, or rely on best-in-class specialists?
Why the future lies in the tension between the two
In marketing, the debate around integration versus specialism often gets framed as a binary choice. One team, one P&L versus a network of best-in-class partners. But the reality is more nuanced. What brands really want isn’t necessarily a single integrated process, it’s a seamless answer that feels joined-up, coherent and impactful.
The challenge is that integration can be messy.
It doesn’t happen because a structure exists on paper, it happens when orchestration is apparent, when roles are clear, and when the right tensions exist to deliver the best outcomes.
Sometimes, “integration” can become shorthand for sameness and everyone agreeing.
True integration should do the opposite and the unlock differences of opinion and draw on diverse expertise to force sharper answers.
Creative and media are often pushed together under “integration,” but the most effective work comes when they retain their friction. Media agencies should be provocateurs as much as planners challenging creative ambition, ensuring the big idea lands with impact in the real world.
In-house capability adds another layer
The strongest brand-side teams aren’t trying to replicate everything externally they’re choosing what to own, what to outsource, and being intentional about those choices.
The distinction can be viewed as between capability and capacity. Where agencies shouldn’t just be extra pairs of hands, they should bring expertise and perspective a brand can’t develop alone.
The pursuit of best in class
So perhaps the question isn’t integrated or best-in-class specialists? but how do we design a model that delivers both?
A model where clarity of objectives is key. Where creativity and media spark off each other and not blur into one. Where in-house teams know their role, and external partners know their value.
Because in the end, effectiveness is the only real measure. The commercial and cultural impact on customers, colleagues and communities. That’s what defines “best-in-class” regardless of whether the work came from under one roof, or from the right collection of roofs connected in the right way.
The brands that get the best results aren’t pursuing a one-stop shop for the sake of ease, they’re building ecosystems where the right agencies connect around a clear mission. Where those agencies are confident enough to say what they’re brilliant at, and honest about where they need partners.