ASKING FOR A FRIEND
Is our agency changing enough — do you know who is doing it well?
ASKING FOR A FRIEND - QUESTION
Is our agency changing enough, and do you know who is actually doing it well? It is the question on a lot of people's lips, and in this Asking For A Friend session, host Andy Wright puts it to Wez Hawes, industry leader and part of the creative team at OutsideIn, who has some refreshingly honest things to say about it. Wez draws on his own experience building a model where creatives sit directly inside client organisations, cut out unnecessary process, and yes, manage to run a functional business without burning it all down. If you have ever wondered whether the traditional agency structure is holding you back, or whether smaller, more agile setups are really the future, this is exactly the conversation you need to hear.
Someone asked the question a lot of agency people are quietly thinking but rarely say out loud: is our agency changing enough, and who is actually doing it well? It is a fair question, and the answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.
This question was answered by Wez Hawes, an industry leader and part of the team at OutsideIn, whose experience building a creative-led, client-embedded agency gives him a grounded perspective on what modern agency life can look like, joined in conversation with Andy Wright, host of Asking For A Friend on Never Not Creative.
The legacy model is showing its age
Wez is honest about the landscape: the agencies that are adapting to new technology, new client expectations, and leaner ways of working seem to be doing well. The ones holding tight to legacy structures are finding it harder. That does not mean size is the enemy — some larger agencies embracing new thinking are genuinely thriving — but the ones selling a trademarked process and trying to fit every person and every brief into the same shape are struggling to keep up.
Removing the middlemen changes everything
The model Wez describes at OutsideIn is built around direct access: sitting inside client offices, working in their Slack channels, talking directly to founders, CMOs, and CEOs. For him, that is not just a structural choice, it is where the best creative work has always come from. Fewer layers mean faster decisions, more honest conversations, and work that actually reflects what the client needs.
Creatives can run a business — and enjoy it
One of the more liberating realisations Wez shares is that the old idea — that creatives cannot handle the admin, the finance, the client relationships — simply does not hold up. At OutsideIn, the team wears different hats, each person leaning into what they are genuinely good at. Andy draws a neat parallel here: it is like building a sports team around people's actual strengths rather than forcing them into fixed positions.
The honest truth is that the agencies doing it well are the ones willing to question their own model, stay close to their clients, and trust that good people, given the right conditions, will figure it out.
our guests
Industry Leader
Wez Hawes
OUTSIDE IN
Mental Health Expert
Emma Keen
Host
