While WPP announces its second profit warning and cuts 3,800 jobs, we're forming strategic partnerships in Singapore.
The contrast tells you everything about where the industry is heading.
We know budgets are tightening across the board. Whether it's TV or advertising spend, it's getting harder for agencies to win accounts and keep clients spending with them.
Production companies face the same pressure getting less work, or if they get work, budgets are much, much smaller than they used to be.
The traditional model just passes pressure down the chain until someone breaks.
Agencies still want to make as much profit as possible and deliver quality work. So the pressure gets put on production houses to deliver same or better quality work but with smaller budgets. That's not healthy for the production houses either.
The data supports this. Marketing budgets dropped from 9.1% of company revenue in 2023 to 7.7% in 2024. Only 28% of agencies expect budgets to increase in 2025.
The Infrastructure Layer Solution
We're trying to create synergies between different pillars of production. From infrastructure like studio space to technical equipment and production expertise.
This collaboration allows us to work on a wider spectrum and get better deals for agencies. By collaborating with people from different trades, we can be faster, nimble, and better equipped to handle lower budget projects.
The math is simple. A studio space sitting empty isn't generating money. Equipment not being used costs money because it needs maintenance and depreciation. Studio space might have a mortgage. All of this costs money daily.
Unless there's money coming in, it's not a profitable business.
With synergies, we achieve better cost efficiencies for those different pillars. We can offer better deals for the studio, for the equipment because rather than having it sit idle on a shelf or the studio being empty, it can be utilized. We tap into each other's resources rather than fighting all for ourselves.
What Agencies Actually Experience
When an agency comes to us with a project, it feels like they're dealing with a bigger entity. Rather than dealing just with Wave Films, and Wave Films is then trying to find a studio or trying to hire equipment, everything comes from one source.
No matter where the project starts from, whether the first point of contact is Wave Films, Shooting Gallery Asia, or True Colour Media, delivery and execution will all be handled through a single point of contact - but with the support of the entire team.
This makes agencies feel that they have a very capable team taking care of their production. A team able to provide resources that a single production house on its own is not able to provide, at least not with reasonable overhead.
That's what matters right now. Keeping costs down on a company level to stay alive and competitive.
Instead of spending a day on the phone trying to get the best rental deal for equipment or finding the best deal for food, everything comes already sort of prepackaged, if you will. It's a one-stop solution. This also provides an additional layer of benefits for the agency.
Creative Capabilities, Not Just Cost Savings
We all come with different sets of expertise. Like Wave Films, we are very strong with the level of support, with access to locations, talent, or crew that we have.
Shooting Gallery Asia has an amazing portfolio of freelance directors, DOPs, and photographers they represent, which we now have access to. True Colour Media has access to various equipment that we weren't familiar with, which they can bring in because they believe it's the best way to shoot and get the job done. They will provide technical solutions to be as cost-efficient and creative as possible.
This eliminates uncertainty when agencies need to assemble crews for unfamiliar production scales.
The creative director benefits from production partners who understand both international standards and local nuances. This prevents costly miscommunications and cultural missteps that can destroy budgets and timelines.
Accountability In A Partnership Model
The biggest concern we hear is accountability. Agencies have been burned by partnerships that promised everything but delivered confusion.
Our solution is clear lines of responsibility. As Executive Producer for Shooting Gallery Asia and obviously for Wave Films since it's our company, everything goes across my desk.
I'm responsible and accountable for making sure all parties come together and deliver what clients expect.
We collectively decide whether we want to do a project based on different factors. Whether we want to work with them, if it's interesting, or often just making sure revenue comes in. But the decision gets made collectively, and the execution happens seamlessly.
This isn't about competing for client relationships. It's about supporting production whether it's an agency, production house, brand directly, or solo content creator.
The Bigger Picture
While global agencies struggle with technological disruption and changing client behaviors, regional players adapt through collaborative models offering flexibility and efficiency.
This represents a shift from ownership to access models in production. It mirrors broader industry changes, allowing agencies to remain nimble while still delivering high-impact creative work across markets.
The partnership model isn't just about survival. It's about building momentum by utilizing shared resources rather than everyone fighting for themselves.
That's the fundamental difference between consolidation and collaboration. One cuts to survive. The other builds to thrive.