In a creative agency, ideas are currency. But great ideas rarely emerge fully formed—they’re shaped, refined, and polished through the fires of discussion and debate. At AB&C, we believe that disagreement doesn’t mean disrespect. In fact, it’s not just welcome—it’s necessary. Creative progress demands differing perspectives, thoughtful challenges, and the courage to question assumptions.

This belief comes from experience. Some of our best work has grown out of spirited conversations and opposing viewpoints. And yet, fostering a culture where disagreement thrives without crossing the line into disrespect requires intentional effort. It means rethinking how we engage with one another and, sometimes, redefining what success looks like in a team dynamic.

The Value of Healthy Disagreement

Disagreement is not a sign of dysfunction; it’s a sign that people care. Passion for an idea or a direction often leads to pushback—sometimes strong pushback. But this pushback is vital. When team members bring their unique perspectives, they open the door to conversations that enrich ideas and expand creative possibilities.

Healthy disagreement keeps us from settling for ‘good enough’ ideas. It challenges groupthink and encourages innovative thinking. Without it, creativity risks stagnation, and we may fail to fully serve our clients or reach the potential of what we’re capable of achieving as a team.

I can vouch for this personally—some of the best work I’ve been part of started with heated debates among close colleagues. I’ve had moments where I walked out of a meeting thinking, There’s no way I’m agreeing with that idea, only to find myself passionately defending it a week later. That’s the beauty of this process—it doesn’t just evolve the work, it evolves us too.

Making Space for Dialogue and Debate

So how do we create space for productive dialogue and debate? The fact is: it’s tough. It doesn’t just happen naturally. Teams need a structure and a culture that welcomes diverse perspectives and ensures everyone feels safe to voice their thoughts. This means being deliberate about how we approach conversations and ensuring that all voices are heard, not just the loudest or most senior in the room.

This means we’re asking ourselves critical questions:

• Are our meetings structured in ways that encourage differing perspectives rather than silence them?
• Do our team members have the time and space to articulate their ideas fully before the group responds?
• Are leaders modeling constructive disagreement by encouraging challenges and demonstrating a willingness to be persuaded?

These are questions without easy answers, but the effort to address them is essential if you want to keep making better and better work. Creating a culture of dialogue and debate starts at the top, with leaders setting the tone. Yet it also requires buy-in and accountability from everyone in the organization.

The Responsibility of Every Team Member

Creating a culture of productive disagreement isn’t solely a leadership responsibility. Every team member has a role to play. Here are some principles we hold ourselves to:

1. Be Curious: Approach disagreements with curiosity, not defensiveness. Ask questions to dig deeper into someone’s perspective, aiming to understand rather than rebut.
2. Be Respectful: Always critique ideas, not people. Choosing the right words and maintaining a thoughtful tone can mean the difference between a constructive conversation and an unproductive argument.
3. Be Open to Being Wrong: And let me tell you, — this one can be tough. Strong opinions are valuable, but they shouldn’t become immovable. Flexibility in the face of better ideas or perspectives is a hallmark of true collaboration.
4. Stay Goal-Oriented: Remember that the purpose of debate is not to “win” but to arrive at the best possible solution for the client or the project.

Finding the Balance Between Passion and Positivity

In a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, it’s easy for disagreements to become heated. Passion is a good thing—it means we care about the work. But it’s also essential to balance that passion with positivity. A culture that prioritizes constructive dialogue over combative conversations will build trust within teams and strengthen the creative process.

At AB&C, we encourage our teams to view debates as opportunities, not obstacles. It’s a chance to show vulnerability, to test ideas, and to grow together. After all, the best creative work is rarely the product of one person’s vision—it’s the result of many voices coming together, refining, challenging, and ultimately building something better than any single person could have imagined.

Why It Matters

Disagreement is where innovation lives. By pushing back, we push forward. Debate and dialogue drive us to move beyond our comfort zones and uncover solutions that may not have been obvious at first glance. This process isn’t just better for the work—it’s better for the people doing the work. It fosters trust, builds stronger teams, and cultivates an environment where creativity can flourish.

When disagreement is respectful, thoughtful, and goal-oriented, it becomes a powerful tool for growth – for the agency, the client and the individual. It teaches us to listen, to articulate our ideas clearly, and to value the perspectives of others.

At AB&C, we know that great ideas don’t come from avoiding conflict. They come from engaging with it—constructively, respectfully, and with a shared commitment to our clients and each other. So lean into the tough conversations. Let’s embrace the beautiful friction that makes magic happen. And let’s keep the dialogue going.

There was a time when the full-service agency model felt like the ultimate solution. Clients loved the convenience of one-stop shops, where strategy, creative, media, production, and PR all lived under one roof, ready to work together seamlessly. But as marketing has evolved, it’s become clear that no agency—no matter how talented or resourceful—can be everything to everyone.

The pace of change in technology, consumer behavior, and media complexity has made it nearly impossible for a single agency to excel at every specialty. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s better. By embracing collaboration, focus, and adaptability, we can build a new, more effective way of working—one that reflects the complexity and opportunity of today’s marketing landscape.

Why the One-Stop Shop is Losing its Luster

1. The Age of Specialization: Marketing today is more complex than ever, with fields like data analytics, programmatic advertising, TikTok trends, and UX design demanding deep expertise. No agency, however large, can be the best at all of these—and clients shouldn’t expect them to be.
2. The Fragmentation of Media: The days of a single, unified campaign spanning just a few channels are long gone. Today, campaigns need to adapt across dozens of platforms, each with its own nuances and audiences. This level of specificity calls for specialists who live and breathe their craft.
3. Shifting Client Expectations: Clients no longer need agencies to own every piece of the puzzle. Many are building strong in-house teams and are looking to agencies to complement their capabilities—offering fresh perspectives, specific expertise, or strategic guidance.
4. The Rise of Collaboration: Clients increasingly assemble their own teams of partners, blending agencies, in-house talent, and specialists. What they need now isn’t one team to rule them all—it’s a team that plays well with others.

A Smarter Approach to Agency Partnerships

The idea that one agency can do it all is outdated. But that doesn’t mean agencies are any less valuable. Instead, the opportunity lies in evolving how we think about agency-client relationships.

1. Specialize with Intention: Agencies should focus on what they do best and lead with those strengths. Whether it’s brand strategy, creative development, or campaign execution, excelling in a few areas builds trust and ensures higher-quality work.
2. Be the Connector: Instead of trying to be the one-stop shop, agencies can serve as strategic hubs—bringing together the right partners for each client’s unique needs. This means not only knowing your craft but also knowing who to call when a client needs expertise beyond your scope.
3. Collaborate, Don’t Compete: The best agencies understand that working alongside other partners is the norm, not the exception. A client’s in-house team isn’t competition—it’s a resource. Other agencies aren’t rivals—they’re collaborators.
4. Offer Modular Solutions: Instead of all-or-nothing retainers, agencies can offer flexible, project-based options. This approach meets clients where they are, whether they need a single campaign, a long-term strategy, or just some extra hands on deck.
5. Focus on Outcomes, Not Ownership: Clients don’t care who came up with the idea or executed the campaign. They care about results. Agencies that prioritize outcomes over ego build stronger relationships and create better work.

The Power of the Hub-and-Spoke Model

Rather than trying to be all things to all clients, successful agencies are embracing a hub-and-spoke approach. Think of the agency as the hub: a central core of expertise and shared values. From that hub extend specialized business units or “spokes,” each focused on a distinct discipline, audience, or industry.

At AB&C, we’ve structured our agency around this very idea. We have dedicated teams for healthcare, behavior change, B2B, consumer, recruitment, and higher education. Each unit is its own expert, deeply embedded in its field, but the magic happens in the overlap.

• Specialization Drives Depth: Each business unit hones its expertise, staying on the cutting edge of its sector’s trends, challenges, and opportunities. This focus allows us to bring unmatched knowledge to our clients.
• Cross-Pollination Sparks Innovation: While each unit specializes, they don’t operate in isolation. Ideas, strategies, and creative inspiration flow freely between them. A recruitment campaign might borrow behavior change principles from our healthcare team, or a B2B strategy might adopt consumer-focused storytelling techniques.
• Flexibility Meets Scalability: This model also allows us to scale our solutions to meet client needs. A higher education client looking to amplify enrollment could benefit from the consumer team’s creative muscle or the behavior change team’s expertise in motivating action.

The hub model doesn’t just benefit clients—it strengthens the agency itself. When teams share insights and draw from each other’s experiences, it creates an environment of collaboration and innovation. It keeps ideas fresh and ensures that no matter where a client enters the ecosystem, they’re gaining access to the full breadth of the agency’s expertise.

This isn’t just a theory—it’s a practice we live every day at AB&C. When a healthcare project demands recruitment expertise, or a behavior change campaign benefits from consumer insights, our teams are ready to lean on each other. The result? Stronger relationships, smarter strategies, and better results for our clients.

Why It’s a Good Thing

The shift away from one-stop shops isn’t a failure of agencies—it’s a reflection of how much marketing has evolved. Collaboration is the new cornerstone of success. By leaning into our strengths, building relationships with specialists, and embracing a collaborative mindset, we can deliver better results for clients while fostering stronger partnerships.

At AB&C, we believe no agency is an island. We thrive by focusing on what we do best and working hand-in-hand with our clients and their other partners to create campaigns that exceed expectations. Our role is to simplify the complex, navigate challenges, and act as a trusted guide in a fast-changing marketing world.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about owning everything. It’s about owning what we do best—and being willing to share the spotlight when it’s what’s best for the client.

Let’s Talk

Are you rethinking what you need from your agency partners? We’d love to hear your thoughts—and how we can help you navigate this new world of collaboration and specialization.

Advertising is supposed to be fun. It’s about creativity, connection, and turning bold ideas into campaigns that make people laugh, cry, or think. But if you’ve scrolled through LinkedIn lately—or sat through an industry event—it might not feel that way.

Instead of celebrating the craft, we’ve turned into professional nitpickers, trading excitement for cynicism and turning critique into sport. It’s not that critical thinking is bad—it’s essential. But somewhere along the way, the industry’s collective voice shifted from “How amazing is this idea?” to “Here’s why it could’ve been better if I’d done it.”

LinkedIn: Where Inspiration Goes to Die (Sometimes)

Remember when LinkedIn was a space to cheer on your peers, celebrate wins, and swap creative inspiration? Now, it often feels like the “Hot Takes Olympics.” Every campaign post gets dissected like a college lit paper. Someone’s bold creative swing? Reduced to “Not sure I’d have gone that direction, but okay.”

The rise of this critique culture didn’t happen overnight:

• The Social Media Effect: Platforms thrive on drama, and “this could’ve been better” tends to get more engagement than “Great work!”
• Hot Takes Are Currency: These days, it seems the quickest, most contrarian opinion wins, even if it’s missing the bigger picture.
• Data-Driven Paralysis: With everything optimized to within an inch of its life, we’ve grown so obsessed with perfection that we’re too quick to dismiss anything that doesn’t hit every metric.
• Proving Ourselves: In a hyper-competitive industry, critique has become a way to signal authority. After all, tearing something down is easier than building it up.

The Cost of Cynicism

Here’s the thing: all that cynicism has consequences. It stifles creativity, discourages risk-taking, and fosters a culture of fear instead of collaboration. Why take a swing for the fences if a thousand armchair critics are waiting to pounce?

It also chips away at the relationships that make our work great. Clients can feel when an agency has lost its spark. Teams burn out when every idea is met with skepticism. And as an industry, we miss the joy of doing work that matters.

Finding the Joy Again

It’s not all doom and gloom. The joy of advertising is still here—we just need to remind ourselves to look for it. Here’s how we can start shifting the culture:

1. Celebrate the Wins: Perfection is overrated. Every campaign has a story, and every effort deserves a moment of recognition. Did it spark a conversation? Reach its audience? Let’s give it its due.
2. Build, Don’t Tear Down: Critique is valuable, but it should be constructive. Share insights that help, not just hot takes for clout.
3. Put People First: At the end of the day, our work is for the audience—not other advertisers. If they love it, we’ve done our job.
4. Reconnect With Curiosity: Approach every project with a sense of wonder. What can we learn? What new ground can we break? This industry thrives on possibility, not predictability.
5. Gratitude Goes a Long Way: Celebrate the teams behind the work. Whether it’s a bold client, a sleepless creative team, or an account lead who made magic out of chaos, let’s give credit where it’s due.

A Call to Bring Back the Spark

Advertising isn’t just about selling things—it’s about creating moments, memories, and meaning. And that’s worth celebrating. So next time you’re about to post a critique on LinkedIn or make a snarky comment, ask yourself: Am I adding value? Or just adding noise?

The truth is, we don’t need to love every campaign. But we do need to remember why we’re here—to connect, create, and, yes, have fun doing it. Let’s bring that joy back, one ad (and one LinkedIn post) at a time.