The creative career path fractures in the middle of industry upheavals

Tori Nygren, founder and creative director of the independent creation agency Hogwash Studios, did not follow a career path through the advertising industry.

It started in global Droga5 and McCann agencies before becoming independent. She had a passage as an internal creativity in Uber. Then, during the pandemic, she moved Focus to develop her own business, open Hogwash through Miami and Brooklyn and win customers like Airbnb.

Nygren is not an aberrant value to avoid what it calls the “cookie” advertising career. She said that many of her former Droga5 colleagues have also left the life of a traditional agency, whether in freelance, going internally to brands or starting their own companies.

“The freedom to define how you want to work is very attractive for many, compared to a large portfolio company,” she told Adweek. “Part of the reason we started [Hogwash] Were we wanted to create our own culture. »»

Nygren’s experience reflects an increasing trend in advertising: creative career journey is bursting, opening beyond the climb typical of the ranks of the large agency scale.

In the midst of a volatile labor market, industry recruiters and professionals interviewed by Adweek observed an increase in creatives after alternative career paths such as entrepreneurship, freelance and internal brand roles .

“We see much more movement in a much more exploded landscape,” said Helen Kimber, co-founder of Business Creative Connections recruitment. “There are more possibilities to get out of a type of agency career now … People try not only to redefine the industry, but also to tell them more.”

A flow industry

Recruiters say that it is a difficult labor market in the advertising industry, driven by pressures such as economic uncertainty, AI progress and agency consolidation. Employment in advertising, public relations and related services in the United States decreased by 1,500 jobs in December to 520,800, while employment in the United States increased by 256,000 jobs, according to the US office Labor statistics.

More upheavals are on the horizon, with Industry of the industry predict The takeover of the interpublic group by Omnicom Group (IPG) will continue the wave of agency consolidation and job cuts.

This trend makes talents uncomfortable, because job losses in agencies have become “an event more regularly” in the past year, according to Sam Brookes, founder of talent consultancy the Alliance alchemists. She said that she had received three calls from people who had been dismissed from agencies for a week in January only.

In the past two months, agencies include IPG Mediabrands And Droga5 have dismissed the staff.

Kimber also observed “a lot of concerns and nervousness” among employees in detention groups such as Omnicom and IPG. Sasha Martens, president of the recruitment company Sasha The Mensch, said that many major traditional agencies “simply hire” to the rhythm they before. The progress of AI, which could replace certain creative skills, could also shake the labor market, he added.

But the layoffs, or at least the spectrum of them, can propel the change: “Does that think of people: where are the stable parts of the industry?” Where does growth come from? said Kimber.

A startup and an internal renaissance

This answer has changed in recent years. For example, creative roles within brands are becoming more and more numerous and desirable, recruiters told Adweek. According to Data from the association of national advertisers (ANA), internal agencies are increasing, with 82% of ANA members with internal agencies in 2023, against 78% in 2018 and 58% in 2013.

“Internal work or customer side is no longer a taboo, and these jobs are easier to find for people,” said Martens.

Another major trend that could open opportunities on the job market is what Brookes called “a renaissance of startups”. Consolidation and narrowing opportunities in large networks lead talents to start their own businesses, she explained.

To name some recent examples: the former leaders of Wieden + Kennedy, Alberto Ponte, Ryan O’Rourke, and Dan Sheniak founded an agency called somewhere last year; The old DDB Global CCO Ari Weiss has implemented a quality experience a year ago; And the former leaders of Adam & Eveddb, Richard Brim and Martin Beverley, are launching a startup this year.

“Many creative heavyweights are frustrated by networks because they cannot do what they want to do or cope with results on results,” said Brookes. “This resurgence of startups will make industry more fun.”

Post-Pandemic, progress in technology and remote work growth also facilitate geographically and face the largest customers, added Martens.

A new plan

Freelancer is also increasing among creatives in the middle of “the instability of traditional agency life”, said Dan Salkey, co-founder and strategy partner of Small World, which constitutes tailor-made teams of advertising talent and marketing for customers. The parent’s independent world agency acquired a minority participation in Small World last year.

Freelancers now represent approximately 46.7% of global workforce, according to World Bank dataand 52% of generation Z professionals are involved in independent work. Salkey surcomes the new class of creative freelancers emerging in the advertising industry of “fractional creative”, similar to the CMO fractional roles who have become more common in marketing.

“Going independent or being fractional is a creation of a shortcut for yourself, because the opportunities to enter the industry are much less, less stable and secure,” said Salkey.

Mollie Rosen, President of Members’ Experience – Strategy, Insight & Innovation, at Industry Body The 4as, also said that the organization had noticed an increase in people spending full -time agency stations with independent roles or consultant .

“In addition, we have seen an increase in agencies that boast [freelancers] As part of their model, which means a small nucleus surrounded by a stable of independent experts they can bring if necessary for the business of a client, “she said.

Depending on a rapid growth size, which should be about 250 billion to $ 480 billion Research Goldman Sachs. Many younger creatives follow this plan by building their own platforms and public because they recognize that traditional ways to monetize creative careers decrease, said Salkey.

Like once stable parts of the advertising industry continues to fracture, which will remain “a sure refuge of some fantastic creation agencies at the top and more recent independent stores with unique specialties that are capable of surviving”, A predicts Salkey.

These surviving companies will have to rethink the way they completely attract creative talents, he added. The heated reaction in Holdco WPP return mandate Show how more creatives wait and want the flexibility of their working life, for example.

“”[Talent] want more flexibility, more freedom, different types of memories where they do things that fill them, “said Salkey. “You must build a new creative culture, not the type that existed in the 90s or 2000s or the Mad Men era.”