Evolution not revolution as Sorrell unveils Monks and reorganizes for easier client access
Sir Martin Sorrell tells The Drum why the time is right for his agency to adopt a more reflective name and simpler structure that will help global clients access its digital services faster, better and cheaper.
Monks minus the media
Had you visited the Media.Monks website on Thursday morning, you could have been forgiven for thinking something was broken. Visitors were greeted by a single word across the center of the homepage – ‘Monks.’ This was no coding calamity, but the careful design of S4 Capital boss Sir Martin Sorrell and his leadership team, who have been working on a new name and more accessible organizational structure for the business since the turn of the year.
Monks is the new name for Media.Monks and a simplified organizational structure will see the 7,600-person strong global agency transition its digital-first services into just two synchronized practices – marketing services and technology services. Both will be powered by the company’s AI platform, MonksFlow, and will be supported by a consulting group that will offer strategy and implementation services.
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“There are two key elements to this,” Sorrell explains. “Firstly, the branding is really an evolution from being MightyHive, which became Media.Monks and has now evolved into just Monks. The fact we were saying ‘media’ implied we were focused on media. And, of course, if you have content and data in digital media and digital transformation services, the word media is simply too narrow. This new name broadens that and is much more reflective of what we are.”
Sorrell adds: “The second element is simplifying the business into two practices, one around marketing services, the other around technology services. And that again simplifies our offer, which enables us to leverage our AI capability. Again, the two practices are an evolution of where we were. We started with content, data and digital media; we then added technology services, which goes beyond the pure marketing function and into sales and technology. So, all of this is a very natural evolution for us.”
Staff have been aware of the changes for the last few weeks and Sorrell says that the evolution will “continue throughout much of the year” as staff adapt to the ‘two practice group’ structure, where marketing will house creative, content, media, social and data-driven solutions and performance marketing. Meanwhile, the technology group will encompass tech, user experience, product engineering, data, digital transformation, next-gen digital products and advanced data and analytics solutions.
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As Sorrell explains, in an industry that can all too often overcomplicate things, the key driver for all this happening now is to make accessing the agency’s services (and no doubt selling those services in the new business arena) simpler.
“Clients are looking for easy accessibility to what we do,” he says. “One of our key principals is around ‘digital-only.’ Ad revenues are around a trillion dollars this year, with $700bn of that being ‘digital-only,’ so being ‘digital-only’ is increasingly paramount for us. The second principle is ‘data-driven,’ which in an AI world is even more important because data is fuel for AI.
“Our third principle is going to market faster, better, cheaper, and we have added ‘adding more’ to that because we can now do so much more for brands. We actually debated whether we should use the word ‘cheaper’ in there, but we came down in favor of it because increased efficiencies and effectiveness are critically important and AI drives those. Finally, there’s the unitary brand and this enables us, obviously, to streamline things even further.”
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A new name and/or structure often evokes feelings of lines drawn in the sand and new beginnings. Considering the agency’s tough 2023, which saw Monks’ operational EBITDA fall by around 25% to $94m, you could be forgiven for thinking that has influenced these developments. But Sorrell strongly refutes that hypothesis. “No, I look back on the last five years and we had four strong years and one year, last year, that was tougher for us from a revenue growth point of view. This continues to be a vibrant business and continues to strengthen in many respects.”
He adds: “Look at the digital part of the industry and the $700bn I referred to. This year, the platforms will probably be up between 10% and 15%, so they continue to strengthen double digits. Linear, which is the other $300bn, is flat or down. The background to the growth of tech is driven very much by AI, but last year driven by pricing up by clients – they kept their ad sales ratios constant and, therefore, they had more money to invest. And they invested in the platforms because, last year, the platforms were up by, say, 12-25% in some cases and 20% in others. Digital continuing to expand 70% of the market and linear continuing to be under pressure, I think, will continue to be the case.”
Organizational and reporting structures to support the new services model will launch in 2025, so this is no fait accompli yet, but Sorrell says there will be “no major changes” other than staff being “coalesced” around the new practice areas.
Coinciding with the announcement of the new name and structure, the first new Monks office was also officially revealed in Indonesia, adding another strategic location and local talent to the agency's Asia Pacific business. The Indonesian office will service both local and regional client business, as Indonesia continues to be a growth market for brands and the agency.
"I am excited to add the 34th country to the Monks network, especially a market so significant, with 300 million consumers and over 167 million active on social media, the third largest in Asia," said Sorrell. "Indonesia’s GDP is forecast to be in the top five countries worldwide by 2050. Brands across the country are looking for partners to help build progressive digital consumer connections to drive their business and we are excited to be part of that."