She'd already picked the parent as her offline shop. It was rich in content and messaging. For some, enlisting a big company would be counterintuitive if grasping a client's business is paramount. In-house employees or a smaller agency, the thinking goes, would be more devoted. It's hard for a few employees to stay on top of all of these outlets.
Some companies employ a patchwork of smaller agencies.
But this can get messy quickly. It quickly gets reduced to gray areas and finger pointing. Mass Transit's Heller sees a problem inherent in these small shops. Big agencies are where the best talents flock. That's because hiring a major agency can be pricey.