The Mesh Manifesto
Redefining Creativity through Centerless, Interconnected Networks
by Jason Schlossburg
SUBSTACK.COM
Creative professionals today face a stark reality: the traditional agency model that shaped our industry for decades is collapsing under its own weight. According to a 2024 Advertiser Perceptions report, the Big Six agency holding companies, which commanded 44% of total U.S. ad spending in 2019, now control just 30%.
Today, as AdAge reports global advertising spending has reached a record $365 billion, the industry's unimaginative response to this decline in market share is crystalized in this morning's announcement that Omnicom has agreed to acquire IPG to create the world's largest agency holding company. Legacy players are seeking survival through consolidation and scale rather than transformation. They're building bigger boxes while the world demands we think outside of them entirely.