It's that time of the year again. All the latest predictions, forecasts and trends come flooding into our inboxes. At Tribe Global, we'd like to add one more prediction - we believe that the future of independent agency networks is looking very bright. Our belief is that the role and influence of independent agency networks will not just continue to grow, but will accelerate over the coming years.

So, what gives us the confidence to make such a bold prediction?
Over the last year, Tribe Global has met with many agencies and clients from around the world. Every agency and client has its own set of opportunities and challenges depending on their business model and the market in which they operate. However, wherever you go, they are several recurring themes; here's a few of them - the need for big ideas, bravery, curiosity, the pace of change, entrepreneurship, sustainability, the disruption of markets and countries, marketing transformation versus marketing inaction, the exponential growth of digital and technology, the ripping up of the rule book and risk taking.

So how can an independent network like Tribe Global make its mark? Last summer Tribe Global attended the Indie Summit in London. For us there were two very strong messages - the importance of talent and the need to create uniqueness.
Therefore, to come back to our original statement about this being a great time for independent agency networks, the view from Tribe Global is that in a world of change, uncertainty and disruption; fast-moving, nimble and agile independent networks have a real competitive advantage over tradition, scale and size. At Tribe Global our mantra is 'One Tribe. Many Vibes' which is a celebration of our differences and the uniqueness of our people and their agencies. We don't need to talk about size as we have something much more powerful which is our culture and values. Tribe Global is a challenger brand and increasingly we are seeing across a wide range of business sectors the challenger brands winning against the traditional and out-dated business models.

Today we believe that Tribe Global is brilliantly qualified to create uniqueness. Why? Because our independence, our culture and our values allows us to celebrate our differences and uniqueness and therefore means that our talent can flourish.
Wishing everyone a very prosperous and successful 2018.

Ian Wright - Managing Director, Tribe Global