From Craft to Core: Why Creative Must Become the Operating System of Modern Agencies
By Katja Behnke, Executive Creative Director
A few years ago, Nick Law stood on stage at Cannes and said something that stuck with me ever since: “Creatives should be in control.”
That quote came back to me today on May 1st — a day that commemorates workers’ rights and celebrates the labor movement. A moment to reflect not just on what we work on, but how we work — and how our systems either elevate or suppress creativity.
It reminded me that while the work we do has evolved, the structures we work within often haven’t. Not enough. And not fast enough.
We’re still navigating outdated models. We’re still trying to shape the future within frameworks built for the past.
That’s why now — in a moment defined by economic pressure and creative potential — we have a choice: Keep tweaking the old model. Or build a new one — one where creativity isn’t a vertical. It’s the spine.
The Old Model Is Cracking
For too long, agencies have been structured like supply chains:The client hands a task to account management, who briefs strategy, who hands it to creative, who throws it to production, who lobs it over to media.
That model no longer works. It was always inefficient. Now it’s unaffordable.
We’ve separated what should have been symbiotic: Creativity from media. Strategy from execution. Brand from experience. The result? Overhead. Fragmentation. Work that doesn’t move people — or markets.
It’s Time for a Creative Spine
We need a structural reset. Not another surface-level reorg — but a creative operating system that allows us to think, build, and ship the way brands need us to today.
We’re not there yet. But the blueprint is clear.
I call it the Creative Spine Model — a structure where creativity isn’t a department, but a discipline that runs through the entire organization.
Here’s what that could look like:
1. Cross-Functional Studios Replace Silos
We organize around modular studios made up of creatives, strategists, technologists, client experience leads, and media thinkers — solving business problems together, not passing them down a chain.
2. The Leadership Triad Expands — And Evolves
Each account is led by a triad: Creative Lead · Strategy Partner · Client Experience Lead (former CSD) Together, they shape not just campaigns, but platforms, systems, and business value. The Creative Lead sets the vision. The Strategy Partner frames the context. The Client Experience Lead ensures the brand lives and grows in the real world — across touchpoints, priorities, and relationships.
3. Platform Pods Over One-Size-Fits-All Creative Chains
We build native creative pods for TikTok, CRM, retail media, and emerging platforms — not repackaged from a single master asset.
Not cutdowns. Not adaptations. Built from the inside out — shaped by the platform’s logic, behavior, and audience.
4. Innovation as Infrastructure
We embed a prototyping unit into the workflow. Not just to pitch ideas — but to test, break, and rebuild them at speed.
5. Protecting the Craft
Great creative still moves markets. It builds pricing power, emotional preference, and long-term brand IP. But we have to structure for it — with time, ownership, and trust.
Why This Model Matters
In today’s economy, clients don’t want more. They want better. They’re under pressure to deliver both short-term results and long-term value. They don’t need more messaging. They need meaning. Not more assets. Systems.
A restructured agency — one with a creative spine — offers exactly that.
Growth, Not Org Charts
This isn’t about rearranging boxes. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in our business.
Creativity, when structurally empowered, can:
Distinguish brands in saturated markets
Stretch media through resonance
Build brand IP that clients can own
Drive growth through design, storytelling, and product thinking
And This Includes Client Service — Evolved
In this model, the Client Experience Lead (CXL) isn’t just a facilitator. They’re a builder. A translator. A navigator. They hold the line between ambition and reality. They lead — alongside creative and strategy — not beneath nor above them – as equals and enablers. And they help us design not just better processes, but better partnerships.
The Ask
We’re not there yet. But we should be.
This is a conversation we need to have — in leadership rooms, in budget planning, in team structures, and in how we show up to clients.
It’s time to rebuild our operating system — one where creativity sits at the core, not the edge.
I don’t want to make just more "ads". I want to build brand systems that behave like products, grow like platforms, and act with purpose.
In my opinion that’s the agency we need to become. Let’s build it. Together.
#CreativesInControl #CreativeSpine #ClientExperienceLead #AgencyTransformation #CCBO #FutureOfWork