Mark Phibbs believes agencies must evolve into strategic partners, providing fresh ideas while in-house teams handle execution in today’s fast-paced marketing world.
Gone are the days when agencies handled everything from strategy to execution. Today, Mark Phibbs believes agencies need to step up as strategic partners, bringing fresh thinking to the table while in-house teams take ownership of execution.
Phibbs is clear that agencies need to evolve from being execution partners into becoming “ideas factories.” While traditional agency models involved handling everything for a brand – briefing, strategy, execution and creative – he sees a shift happening. “In the past, agencies did everything for us,” he says. “You’d give them a brief for a campaign and they’d handle it all. But marketing has changed. We now have multi-channel complexity and the days of taking months to create a campaign are over. You need to be able to turn around a video in a day.”
To stay competitive, at Cisco, where he was vice-president of global campaign, content and industries marketing until November 2024, he moved much of the company’s content creation in-house. “Marketers need to move quickly and the best way to do that is with an in-house creative team that’s skilled with Adobe tools and can respond in real-time,” he explains. “Marketing today is social-first. Job one is to win on social.”
So, where do agencies fit into this new model? “I look for agencies to be ideas factories. They should be a second set of brains. Smart people who can review what we’re doing and bring fresh perspectives.” He highlights social transformation agency 1000Heads as a strong example of a strategic partner. “It is brilliant at thinking strategically. That’s what I value in an agency.”
Why agencies can’t just execute any more
The shift towards in-house marketing capabilities doesn’t mean agencies are becoming obsolete – it means they need to offer something different. Phibbs believes that in a world where speed is crucial, marketing teams must own creative execution. “The days of waiting weeks or months for a piece of creative to be developed externally are over,” he says. “At Cisco, we built internal teams that can create video content, social assets and campaign materials on demand. That’s the future of marketing.”
But agencies still have a critical role to play, especially in challenging in-house teams to think differently. “I expect agencies to bring bold, innovative thinking. I want them to tell me what we haven’t thought about. I don’t need an agency to execute standard campaigns. I need them to bring ideas we wouldn’t have come up with on our own.”
Phibbs also believes that agencies must be adaptable. “Agencies that cling to old ways of working – slow, bureaucratic processes – will struggle to survive. Agility is everything now. The ability to pivot quickly, adjust messaging in real-time and react to cultural moments is what separates the best agencies from the rest.”
Insights and analytics
Phibbs is passionate about marketing teams taking ownership of data and insights. “Most marketing organizations don’t invest enough in insights. They might have 1% or 2% of their team dedicated to it. But marketing needs to understand the data better than any other function. We are the ones who engage with customers the most through digital channels, websites and social media. We should know what content resonates best and why.”
That means agencies must align with a brand’s data-driven approach. “I don’t want an agency telling me what it ‘feels’ will work – I want it to show me data-backed insights. An agency that can interpret data and turn it into creative ideas is invaluable.”
Challenges facing CMOs
With the average tenure of a CMO now being little more than 18 months, Phibbs acknowledges that marketing leaders are under intense pressure from the C-suite and have limited time to make an impact. “Smart CMOs realize they have limited time, so they better be willing to take risks. If you’re not brave in your marketing, you’ve got no chance of success. The most dangerous thing a CMO can do today is play it safe.”
At the same time, marketing budgets continue to shrink, forcing leaders to do more with less. “Marketing budgets are always under pressure, but that has accelerated in recent years,” says Phibbs. At the same time, technology and artificial intelligence are rapidly transforming the industry. “Understanding AI, identifying real use cases and demonstrating cost savings or customer experience benefits is critical.”
Perhaps the greatest challenge, though, is proving marketing’s value to the business. “Marketing needs to be able to show its impact. At Cisco, we made great progress in linking engaged demand to revenue. We could prove that customers who engage deeply with our marketing spend more money with us.”
As president of the jury for The Drum Marketing Awards APAC, Phibbs says he is keen to see entries that really push the boundaries of what marketing can be. “I’ll be looking for genuine creative chops – campaigns that take an innovative approach and break through the clutter. There’s so much noise in our lives today. Marketers need to think about how they can stand out and differentiate their brands.”
And beyond creativity, Phibbs wants to see measurable business impact. “What’s the return on investment of the campaign? Did it achieve its strategic intent? And how did it leverage different elements of the marketing mix?”
With a career including marketing leadership roles at four of the world’s most influential and innovative tech brands – IBM, Microsoft, Adobe and Cisco – Phibbs sees judging The Drum Awards for Marketing as an opportunity to contribute to the next generation of marketers. “I’m towards the later end of my marketing career and I love giving back. I do guest lecturing at universities and I think it’s our role as senior marketers to share our knowledge and help younger marketers move forward.”
For Phibbs, judging is also a huge learning opportunity. “I always walk away with new ideas. There’s always something to learn. No one has all the answers and the best marketers are those who stay open to new ways of thinking.”
The future of agency partnerships
Phibbs is clear about where he sees the future of agency-brand relationships going. “B2B marketing is having a moment right now. And I think it’s only going to get bigger.” For agencies, that means evolving to become strategic partners rather than simply creative service providers. “The best agencies are the ones that challenge CMOs, bring fresh thinking and help CMOs navigate complexity. Marketing is faster, more data-driven and more creative than ever before. Agencies that embrace that shift will thrive.”
With leaders like Phibbs pushing the industry forward, the expectations of agencies are higher than ever. The challenge for agencies today is to step up, be bold and embrace the role of the ideas factory.
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