Co-working spaces are fuelling the agency paradigm shift

There is a paradigm shift happening in the agency space which is centered around specialisation and lean operations.

Long established agencies, many whom have grafted their digital teams onto more traditional advertising roots, are overpriced and cannot compete in more specialist areas such as cross platform mobile apps.

The technologies change at such a rapid rate that training staff in new areas becomes economically infeasible.

Many agencies are therefore resorting to outsourcing to smaller more agile companies. They are also finding themselves increasingly up against these companies in the pitch room.

Surely this is nothing new? What’s changed is the general attitude in the industry towards small specialist agencies and startups.

Co-working spaces like the Hoxton Mix actively encourage small agencies to pitch together for larger contracts from big corporates. The benefits to the corporates are clear, deep specialist knowledge across a variety of cutting edge capabilities alongside flexible and lower cost rates.

The Hoxton Mix has residents highly skilled in Digital PR, cross platform mobile and web app development, digital 3D animation, music, photography, legal and financial services and even venture capital.

They are able to rapidly deploy a highly skilled and highly motivated team to meet any pitch criteria within hours because of the close ties between the residents and the previous working history. They are able to be ultra competitive on price because of the lack of overheads by working in co-working spaces.

Most crucially, the pitches are being entertained by large corporates because of the increased awareness of small agencies and entrepreneurs boosted by the efforts of initiatives like the Tech City Investment Organisation and Google Campus.

They are being entertained and they are being won. Co-working is on the rise and is changing the industry as we speak. Organisations need to understand this and take action to avoid becoming another hulking shell in a plane graveyard.

Another industry shift is taking place due to The Hoxton Mix’s cheap virtual office. You can learn more by clicking here.