Sanders\Wingo was recently named the Advertising Agency Of The Year by Black Enterprise. On the one hand, kudos to the Texas shop for securing the honor.
Yet the event also inspires concern over the shaky state of affairs for Black advertising agencies.
If you read the BE article alongside tributes for past Black shop winners for virtually every like award, you’ll see similarities. Sanders\Wingo definitely does strong, solid work. Is it significantly different than the rest in the category? Additionally, Sanders\Wingo executives stress that they really strive to know and understand their audiences. Um, can’t think of a single multicultural shop not making identical claims. It’s a mandate for the field.
But this perspective doesn’t mean to criticize Sanders\Wingo. Again, they are deserving of the recognition. Rather, let’s consider all the hoopla surrounding the shop’s growth over the years.
In the minority advertising world, the available clients are limited, especially compared to the revenue-generating opportunities for general market agencies. And there’s zero indication that the space will grow. So when Sanders\Wingo hauls in General Motors, the incumbent shop—in this case, Carol H. Williams—is decimated. Plus, GM has already shown a willingness to screw minority partners. One can only imagine how Sanders\Wingo will fare when the automaker emerges from bankruptcy.
This phenomenon of inequity goes beyond Sanders\Wingo. When GlobalHue won Walmart, incumbent shop E. Morris & Associates was absolutely crippled—and GlobalHue has yet to produce better work than E. Morris for the mega-retailer. Has anyone heard from The True Agency since Nissan rolled off?
Some might insist that minority shops must compete harder to secure and retain clients, and build broader client rosters. And hey, winning and losing accounts is part of the game. Agreed. But there’s something messed up with a system where there is literally not enough business to sustain the players. And it doesn’t help when the table scraps typically reserved for the minorities are being snatched by general market agencies—or entirely eliminated. Let’s be honest. The situation has been sorry long before the economy tanked.
It’s time for Black agencies—as well as agencies currently focused on Latino, Asian and other special segments—to be allowed to vie for billings beyond their segregated niches.
Everybody deserves the right to fight for survival.
3 comments:
Dammit man (or woman), Beautiful piece! It is such an odd little world we live and create in a AA shops. The dynamics are deafening, the budgets are belittling and the hole that we put ourselves in are well, just that, holes.
I suggest we take on new models and find revenue streams in other places. As well as recreate the beast (marketing/advertising)itself. If we recreate it we can have more control or better yet a level field.
you mean a black/hispanic as AOR? For a gen market client?
*doubles over laughing as he types*
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