Ex-CUB marketing director Chris Maxwell launches new consultancy lution Championing in-House Agency Marketing Model
Founder of CUB’s in-house agency, Chris Maxwell, has launched lution, a marketing, data and technology consultancy focused on helping brands to build and optimise in-house agencies.
Maxwell (above left), ex-CUB marketing director and the architect of CUB’s move to the in-house agency model, says the move to agency in-housing was transformational for CUB, and believes there’s never been a better time for clients to build an in-house agency model.
To launch lution, Maxwell has teamed up with Nick Garrett, ex-CEO of Clemenger BBDO and one of Australia’s most awarded creative leaders, Andy Gibson, global CMO for Foster’s, Bacardi and Walgreens Boots Alliance and Marty Wirth, founder of Present Company one of Australia’s leading independent agencies.
The founders identified a need to champion a new model for marketing that brings together the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of an in-house agency with the creative diversity of an external agency.
Says Maxwell: “At lution, we bring digital, media, creative and production services in-house, closer to the business and more tightly aligned to the brand, to enable faster, more effective and efficient work.
“We are working with partners like Betfair and MYOB to design and implement in-house agency models, data and technology solutions that enable automation and personalisation. In Betfair’s case we connected them with our Enhanced Creative Panel to enable fast simple access to some of Australia’s best creative talent, to develop their brand relaunch and upcoming brand campaign.
“We know that the biggest problems require the best talent. Our model improves the efficiency and effectiveness of your day-to-day marketing so you can invest more of your time, energy and resources into your biggest growth opportunities.”
The founders of lution believe now is the time for brands to take greater ownership and control of their marketing strategy, their brand voice and their data. To drive the creative agenda further the business has curated a panel of independent strategic, creative and production talent available to lution clients, designed by Garrett.
Says Garrett: “I got excited when Chris came to me with his idea because I genuinely believe it is an opportunity for positive change in the industry I love, hence I became a partner and joined the board. The wealth of talent has never been greater and many of the smartest and most passionate people are now either working for themselves or helping grow independent offers and we are really excited to see where the new breed of indies and creative consultancies can go.
“Ultimately we’ve set up our Enhanced Creative Panel to enable brands direct access to elite talent on a project basis and the talent is picked bespoke for the task vs being forced on you because of a large retainer. You get access to the creative leaders directly and consistently instead of having to go through layers of agency people before you can have a meaningful conversation about what matters – the work.”
Nick Thomas – Betfair marketing director said of lution: “We partnered with lution to help Betfair design and implement our internal agency model, encompassing creative, production and media. As a result of the early value and insight the team were providing over and above the scope of the brief, we subsequently agreed an extended program for them to design our data and martech infrastructure to support the internal agency and growth agenda.
“The team on our project is senior, focused and experienced, having built this and done this before. The models and frameworks they use are some of the best I’ve seen, and at each stage of the project I have felt like there’s an agility and personalization in the way they work. I highly recommend lution and am delighted with the work they are doing with us.”
lution’s consultancy services include strategy, planning and implementation of the in-house agency model; martech, adtech and data infrastructure design and implementation; marketing automation, process optimisation; and, brand strategy, creative and production services through the panel.
Founding clients include Betfair, MYOB, MightyCraft, Wanderlust, Jetty Road Brewery, Park SSC and ENGO.
6 Comments
CUB Speakeasy did that Static Jpeg Carlton Zero ad yeah? And now all the brands are back with external agencies using produciton budgets at late 2000 levels?
I think lution could be the greatest thing for our industry.
If you’re a marketer that’s been umming and ahhing about inhousing. do it. do it. do it. do it. but prep your CV and exit strategy at the same time.
Thought I’d check them out online, but first search result took me the the definition of Lution on Urban Dictionary. Oh dear…
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lution
The world has more than changed. It’s changed forever. There are more and more digital platforms offering more and more automation of those things agencies have always seen as their sole domain. Software Subscriptions are rapidly replacing agency retained fees for people and overheads for those services platforms are making obsolete. You need only recognise Sir Martin Sorrell and S4 Capital’s extraordinary success has been done without any of the traditional ‘creative’ services to appreciate that – what was – is no longer. Lution is simply recognition that much of what agencies do and have done is either no longer needed, or can be done internally. It does not say clients don’t need people – outside of the client organisation – to create great creative ideas. That will always be the case. And clients will be happy to pay for them. But why would they pay a premium to outsource parts of their business – when technology is making it easier, cheaper and more efficient to do it themselves?
In-house agencies fall prey to in-house pressures and politics. Third party suppliers can at least maintain some degree of objectivity.
Judging by much of the marketing material currently in circulation, I’d hate to think that those who are approving it may also become responsible for creating it. My advice to all clients is
-get a good agency,
-build a good relationship,
-pay fairly.
It won’t guarantee success but it’ll certainly reduce the chance of failure.
The Cynic says:
In-house agencies fall prey to in-house pressures and politics.
A: All agency/client relationships are subject tp pressure and politics.
Third party suppliers can at least maintain some degree of objectivity.
A: Third party suppliers are as guilty as doing whatever it takes to make money and doing exactly what the client asks for.
Judging by much of the marketing material currently in circulation, I’d hate to think that those who are approving it may also become responsible for creating it.
A: A lot of agency work is also crap because the people who’ve created it have also approved it for presentation to the client
My advice to all clients is
-get a good agency,
-build a good relationship,
-pay fairly.
A: Agree – when needed.
It won’t guarantee success but it’ll certainly reduce the chance of failure.
A: In-house is no more or less likely to produce bad work. But what is clear is that clients don’t ‘need’ agencies to do everything for them.
The in house versus out source discussion goes backwards and forwards every year. I suspect good clients get good work, irrespective of the model, with the opposite being true for shit clients.
Realistically, many clients can’t afford the services of a big agency. While they need the skills of good creatives, the suits, planners and traffic folk are ‘nice to haves’ their budgets can’t afford. This needs a different model, but not necessarily in house.
But beware the big clients trying to be ‘agile’ by in housing, when in reality they are simply trying to save money or have more compliant creative folk. Turns to shit rapidly.