The power of partnerships in a transactional age

In the age of transactionalism, creativity is becoming a short-term commodity at the expense of long-term brand building, writes Special’s Celia Garforth.

Celia Garforth is the regional executive strategy director (Uber) at Special.

It’s an interesting time to be on LinkedIn, as an uneasy sense of existential threat mixes with business-as-usual marketing awards-season clickbait. The demise of the AOR (agency of record) model, media holding company lay-offs, and AI doomerism all collide in our feeds – just as global network McCann makes headlines for eliminating the entire discipline of account management in favour of project managers, a shift designed to meet the demands of our new “deliverables-first” era. Yet beneath the hysteria, hot takes, and hype lies a clear through-line: we have entered an age of transactionalism, where agencies, the people who power them, and the creative work they produce are increasingly commodified.

The systemic erosion of deep, long-term, strategic partnerships between brands and their agencies has happened relatively fast. A decade ago, the average brand-agency relationship lasted eight years. Today, it’s less than three. In the meantime, human capital has been reduced to a line item in procurement-led pitch battles, where the grass always looks greener in someone else’s scoping document. This, coupled with the awards industrial complex, has created a short-termism incentive model that misaligns with real impact.

The downstream effects of all this – on business models, culture and continuity – are subtle yet profound. Together, they amount to a silent but deadly attack on long-term brand building and marketing effectiveness, both of which are in steady decline.

The fatal flaw of deliverables-based pricing is that it ignores the very operating system that makes those deliverables possible: the relationships. Creative output doesn’t materialise from nowhere. It’s an iterative and often messy process built on collaboration. And for now, at least, clients are looking to buy from people. People they trust, like, believe in and want to pick up the phone to. This takes time and investment in a business model that supports relationship-building – something that agencies that believe account management is a redundant function are likely to learn the hard way.

Like any meaningful relationship, the true value of a brand-agency partnership is largely intangible – and therefore easily overlooked. It’s the institutional knowledge that brings both rigour and enormous shortcuts over time. The trust required to take creative risks. The hard conversations and healthy conflict that sharpens thinking and pushes ideas further. The longer-term strategic horizons. The ability to help navigate complex stakeholder politics. And the “soft and fluffy” human stuff that motivates people to go the extra mile, fuelled by their shared investment in a brand they have built together in the trenches. Passion, curiosity and care-factor are the rocket-fuel for creativity, and also the first casualty of transactionalism. Because after the post-pitch high fades, one hard truth remains: you can pay people to deliver, but you can’t pay them to care.

Recent research from System1 and the IPA backs this up, identifying consistency as the cornerstone of marketing effectiveness. Importantly, consistency is found to be a critical effectiveness lever not just when applied to brand strategy and creative execution, but to the brand-agency relationships themselves. Like great campaigns, great partnerships generate efficiencies and compounding value over time. Conversely, the annual cost of high relationship turnover is estimated in the hundreds of millions for brands, while for agencies the cost of pitching alone can run into the hundreds of thousands. Not to mention the impact being in perpetual pitch mode can have on staff morale and burnout.

Unsurprisingly, all of this tends to slip through spreadsheets, despite relationships being the most fundamental part of any client services industry – and crucially, something that can’t be replaced by AI. In a world where more functional tasks and executional craft can be automated, the human layer of creative partnership becomes even more valuable.

Thankfully, bright spots remain. Some of the world’s most valuable brands and enduring platforms have been forged through longstanding partnerships. Nike was Wieden+Kennedy’s founding client 42 years ago – producing the now-iconic “Just Do It”. Mars and BBDO have worked together for 25 years, with Mars’ global CMO crediting the relationship’s “magic” for their success. Apple and TBWA\Media Arts Lab have been in it together for more than 30 years. Each of these relationships offers a masterclass in creative consistency and brand value creation.

At Special, we’ve been lucky to build the foundations of something similar with our founding client, Uber – now over eight years and seven global markets strong. It’s a partnership that has delivered award-winning work, career-defining opportunities and real business impact, helping both companies scale from start-up to one of the most successful brands in their respective categories. Proof that true partnership is a rising tide that lifts all boats.

So if we want to build lasting brands, make work that truly moves the needle for business and defend against AI commoditisation, we must actively choose partnership over procurement, long-termism over sugar hits, and human value over spreadsheet logic. Whether you are a marketer or an agency leader – the future of our industry depends on it.

Celia Garforth is regional executive strategy director (Uber) at Special.