Since the general market agencies and holding companies (IPG, WPP, Publicis etc.) decided to capitalize on the growing Hispanic market about 10 years ago, we have seen partnering between agencies. But in recent times, we’ve seen an ever increasing amount of independent Hispanic agencies partnering with general market agencies. As advertisers continue to look for integrated approaches in marketing, I think independent Hispanic agencies have woken up to the fact that they have a lot to gain. I think these agencies are seeing the benefits of strategic partnerships rather than battling the general market agencies for a voice.

Overtime, I have noticed that there are many different types of relationships that agencies can have. In my time at Accentmarketing, we partnered with Campbell-Ewald and even serviced accounts together (Chevrolet, U.S., Navy and Kaiser Permanente), but we were all IPG held agencies. We had a contract that said we needed to get along. Zubi never really partners with JWT…in fact; JWT services the regional retail Hispanic business. “Ride it like a Ford” was successful because it worked in English and Spanish…but it worked at the implementation level because it came from one agency. And The Vidal Partnership was forced to work with Zimmerman on the Nissan retail business.

The new waves of partnerships are happening by choice rather than circumstance. We recently read in Hispanic Market Weekly that The Vidal Partnership (who i see has learned their lesson) recently partnered with Sausalito-based Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners as well as Edelman Public Relations to win the Greyhound account. This is a very smart move…not only did it win them the business, but they got to choose each other. This truly alleviates the “arranged marriage” syndrome that Clients impose by forcing their agencies to “figure out” a working relationship that works for everyone. Grupo Gallegos pitched the account alone. On the non-Latino side, Dallas-based incumbent The Richards Group did the same. Would their outcome have been different? Maybe. But it sure would have been smoother if they had worked out terms prior to winning the account. I know I spent many of my days on the General Motors brand bumping heads with my 3 other agency partners.

So, to those Hispanic agencies that are hesitant to partner because they feel they will lose their voice to the general market agency…don’t be. It’s better to set the terms upfront than have them set for you.

- Written by Miamiadguy