ITV is by no means the first media owner to reckon that it can be a lot more creative than your average media agency. Or your average creative agency, come to that.
For many years now, publishers in both the newspaper and magazine markets have responded eagerly to the sorts of opportunities that tend to arise from a blurring of the lines between editorial and advertising. In contrast, agencies have been relatively slow to get their heads around some of this.
Arguably, media owners have proved better at mobilising their research resources and have more incisive insights into the mindsets of the various target markets their readers represent.
The notion had its most controversial airing recently when the Walker Media founding partner, Phil Georgiadis, used his position as the chairman of the ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Media Awards as a platform to argue that the separation of media planning and buying functions has left a hole that is being filled by a new type of planner - the media owner.
Broadcasters were not exactly at the forefront of this revolution, but they have been making huge strides to catch up. The digital sales house ids has gained a merited reputation over the past couple of years for thinking well beyond conventional spot advertising. A couple of weeks back, Viacom Brand Solutions created a division called Advertising and Marketing Partnerships to "produce bespoke advertising solutions that are relevant, engaging and targeted".
And last week, ITV followed suit - it will offer strategic planning and creative solutions direct to clients in the hope that they will be encouraged to produce innovative and bespoke new campaigns. On ITV, of course.
Mick Desmond, the chief executive of ITV Broadcast, doesn't believe media agencies should feel worried by any of this. He states: "We are not threatening the expertise they provide for clients and the insights they are able to provide on the value of what they are buying and what it will do for them. We have to have good relationships with agencies but we also recognise there's a certain influence you can have outside of that. We recognise that agencies are sometimes stretched, so it is in our interests to have a dialogue with as many people as possible. We want to understand our customers' objectives and explore what we can bring to them as businesses."
Cynics will argue this initiative is merely a short-term attempt to escape the straightjacket of Contract Rights Renewal, and ITV's weak audience performance recently could have punishing implications for revenue. But that presupposes a deal agreed directly with an advertiser could be invoiced directly to the client - by no means an easy assumption, given the way the industry is structured.
But should agencies worry when the most important media owner in the market becomes involved in this sort of thing? Not necessarily, Georgiadis says: "Any advertiser worth their salt will involve their agency in discussions arising from media owner talks. A media agency could only make it a better idea - and the advertiser still needs an arbiter as to the value of that idea not just within the TV market but within the media market as a whole. The problem would come if the agency tried to obstruct an idea because of their agency deal with ITV."
Yet, as consolidation has moved forward apace, agencies have been focusing more on systems and economies of scale than on an abundance of creative thinking. This is surely further confirmation that they are becoming just another branch of bean-counting.
Andrew Constable, the head of media at Coors Brewers, says media agencies should appreciate the big picture. He comments: "My own view is that they shouldn't feel worried or threatened. Great ideas can come from anywhere and we will judge them on their merits and applaud them if they are good."
Andy Jones, the joint managing director of Universal McCann, pretty much agrees with that. "Unless the client is geared up to have that sort of relationship with every media owner around, then it will not really work.
And in this particular instance, I think ITV may be in for a surprise.
It may begin hearing a few things that it doesn't much like, which could be interesting. Clients tend to have high levels of investment into ITV and similarly high levels of frustration. Agencies tend to protect ITV from hearing that, to a certain extent," he says.
MAYBE - Phil Georgiadis, founding partner, Walker Media
"If I were sitting in a big media agency running an agency deal, then I might be worrying about the implications. But good ideas, wherever they come from, should be in the best interests of all concerned."
NO - Mick Desmond, chief executive, ITV Broadcast
"Media agencies will have their own objectives but we can't put our future into their hands alone. There's merit in looking at this in a tripartite way. If there's more dialogue, more of our customers will understand how flexible we can be."
NO - Andrew Constable, head of media, Coors Brewers
"I can imagine some agencies will be a bit sceptical. But all suppliers should talk to their customers as often as they can. I'm surprised it's even regarded as news - but it's nice to hear ITV is considering this."
NO - Andy Jones, joint managing director, Universal McCann
"I'm glad this is happening. ITV has good people down there these days and they are already committed to talking to clients. But I really don't think this sort of thing is likely to hurt the strategic planning credentials of media agencies."
- Got a view? E-mail us at campaign@haynet.com.
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