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Raise a dram to defunct 1576

Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs February 12th, 2008 by Branwell Johnson

Farewell 1576, a Scottish agency of some repute and longevity, it’s sad to see the Scottish marketing landscape cannot support more than a handful of sizeable agencies and the market now seems made up of dozens of splinter agencies formed by a couple of people.

In fact, The Union and The Bridge are the only large independents left as Leith Advertising is owned by Cello Group. For those with good memories there was once Faulds, which came to a sticky demise half a decade ago.

But alongside these there are a plethora of names including Family, Blonde, Mightysmall and Newhaven, to name just a handful that span out of the bigger agencies. Maybe this is the model that best serves Scotland – small, specialist outfits steered by experienced hands.

Uncaring as it may sound, let’s hope 1576’s troubles were based on localised difficulties rather than being representative of the UK industry. It’s not a great start to the New Year to report the demise of an agency and hopefully it is not an ill omen for the plethora of start-ups that seem to be appearing, from Adam & Eve to a renewed Hurrell & Dawson.

And let’s hope that there is a renewal of the creative forces in Scotland as new opportunities beckon, such as the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.