First published in ADWEEK, August 12, 2024. Read original article here. 

Four years ago, Brazilian agency Propeg became a global agency. The 58-year-old independent agency was already a success in Brazil, but it wanted a reach beyond Brazilian borders.

In 2020, Worldwide Partners (WPI) came calling, inviting Propeg to be part of its global network while retaining its independence. There had been previous attempts by holding companies to buy the agency, but Propeg turned them down because it wanted to keep itself owner-operated.

“What we’ve seen is all the agencies that were sold to the holding companies, most of them don’t exist anymore as a brand,” Vitor Barros, CEO of Propeg, told ADWEEK.

Becoming part of WPI allowed Propeg to gain contracts it wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, including the coveted Visit Brazil government tourism business, because it was able to seek the advice of other member agencies in places where Visit Brazil advertises, including Europe, the U.S. and greater Latin America.

Those member agencies evaluate the campaigns, rather than testing them with a standard research company—something the client approves of.

“Real-time feedback accelerates the creative process, allowing for immediate adjustments and improvements,” said Patrick Costa, brand and marketing international manager, Visit Brazil.

WPI has a global reach that rivals some holding companies, but its agencies remain wholly independent. It has carved out a niche in the agency world, enabling those agencies to collaborate while maintaining their independence.

The organization has been around for 86 years, and its endurance has much to do with it sticking to the founders’ roots by being a safe place for agencies to join forces, share ideas, and win business that might otherwise go to the big networks. Because of that, WPI calls itself the “reverse holding company.”

What began as a small collective of independent agencies in 1938 has now grown to a global group totaling 88 agencies in 46 countries.

“The origin of it was really agencies coming together to learn from one another,” said John Harris, president and CEO of WPI since 2016.

Harris said the original five agencies were based in California and Arizona and wanted to be able to compete with New York agencies, which were gaining most of the work coming out of the West at the time. They decided to band together and position their agencies as a group rather than as individuals.

Harris comes from an agency and brand background, with independent agencies, Omnicom, and Smashburger, so he brought a broad vision of what WPI could be. He now plays connector for WPI, fostering a sense of community, visiting partner agencies, hosting networking events and summits, facilitating meetings between agencies, and identifying opportunities. In addition, every dollar made by WPI goes back into supporting the network.

Within the network, the agencies often meet on their own to strategize and collaborate, and the group even has a “Next Gen Council” that helps plan for the future. Harris is instrumental in making sure the agencies stay connected through constant networking.

“We try to cultivate it through regular and consistent touchpoints as a group,” said Harris, adding that there are multiple Slack channels and numerous regional meetings, like quarterly U.K. agencies meetings, along with an annual summit that brings the global agencies together as much as possible. That way, they can decide who would be right to collaborate with for each client.

Collaborative successes

Collaboration between agencies isn’t the norm in an advertising world that is cutthroat and highly competitive. But WPI agencies take a more selfless approach with a partnership mentality.

The process to become a WPI agency isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. The agency needs to apply for membership and be approved by the network agencies. This involves finding out if there is a geographical need and if the agency has the complementary capabilities or a vertical experience other agencies might not have. There’s also a “no assholes” rule, meaning that they must be open-minded and not put ego first. Ideas are shared back and forth between agencies, and there is an openness to work together to solve problems.

After the criteria are met, a prospective agency must decide if it wants to be just a partner or a shareholder and partner. As a shareholder, an agency gets to help shape the future of the organization, since it sits on the board. Agencies can acquire 100 shares—no more, no less. Regardless of the size, market, or capabilities of the shareholders, they each have an equal voice, Harris told ADWEEK.

The scalability of the network makes everything work well. Small specialty agencies can scale up by partnering with larger or multiple agencies, while larger agencies can have access to specialists worldwide.

“There are some companies that have 10 people, but then are able to access different opportunities than are afforded to you when it comes to new business,” said Laura Stayt, president of Los Angeles agency Zambezi, which works with other agencies in the U.K., Germany, and South Korea on its TaylorMade golf business.

Agencies helping agencies win business

One global contract that encompasses multiple agencies is the work for Brand USA, the organization that promotes tourism to the U.S. to countries around the world.

The work is led by U.S. agencies R&R Partners and Spark, but it is assisted by multiple WPI agencies, which are in the target markets. One of those agencies is Ardmore, a 70-person shop based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ardmore had previously worked with R&R on a client that needed help in Europe, which led to other joint assignments for Formula 1 and Brand USA.

“We have all invested the time to come to know one another’s businesses,” said John Keane, CEO of Ardmore and member of WPI’s board of directors. He added that the friendships built in WPI are trusting, saying, “I cannot share as openly with any other group as I will with WPI.”

For Brand USA, being able to tap into the WPI network has helped the organization develop real-time strategic decisions.

“It’s allowed us to enhance our marketing plans. We are able to tap into those local nuances that we may not have been able to have without having agencies in the market. Our creative is a lot more relevant. Our media partnerships are on point,” said Staci Mellman, chief marketing officer at Brand USA.

Collaboration has allowed these independents to grab bigger business wins, sometimes from the hands of holding company agencies. Brownstein and Mediassociates created success for insurance provider NJM through the ongoing “No Jingles or Mascots” campaign.

“Worldwide Partners’ network has allowed us to access specialized expertise and resources tailored to our unique needs. This collaborative model not only underscores the value of strategic partnerships, but also highlights the power of synergy in driving successful outcomes for brands looking to scale,” said Cam Maio, vice president, marketing and communications, NJM Insurance Group.

Other successful partnerships include Propeg using the network to test multinational campaigns for Visit Brazil; agency Wasserman reaching out to agencies in the U.K., Australia, and Germany to promote Destination British Columbia; and branding agency Monigle teaming with Curious Plot to handle the business for agricultural-based company Profile Products.

“70% of the budget ended up going to them,” said Gabriel Cohen, CMO of Monigle, adding that the sharing of work and budget doesn’t create conflict—it’s just the right way to do business in the WPI world.

Often, agencies will share their market knowledge with other agencies without expectations of any monetary reward, but often, sharing will lead to real payouts down the road.

“They are doing a great job at bringing agencies together that can complement each other to bring the right mix of partners,” said Jeff Langner, brand manager, Profile Products, of the WPI pairing.