Agency+ Online Opportunities = Everyone Wins

Ad Agencies Playing Catch Up
Each day new advances are made in digital media; consequently traditional advertising agencies are having trouble catching up. With a limited understanding of online opportunities and slow-moving progress, traditional agencies are leaving their customers frustrated and behind.

This topic was brought front and center when Forrester released new statistics on the growing dissatisfaction toward advertising agencies in a recent article, Help Wanted: 21st Century Agency (2). Fueled with the new stats AdAge subsequently investigated the issue in a few recent articles [(1) (4) (5)].

For example in SURVEY: Marketers Can’t Grade Agencies but Fail Them Anyway (1), their immediate follow up article to Forrester’s, they noted the following:

• Over 50% of Chief Marketing Officers believe that traditional, large advertising agencies are ill-suited to meet online marketing needs
• Only 21% of clients would recommend their agencies’ services to others
• 68% prefer to work with multiple agencies, in order to derive the benefits of specialization

For more details and stats check out our previous blog review, Madison Avenue Under Attack. (3)
With mistrust growing, AdAge took the inquiry further and ran a two-part series late last week [(4) (5)]. These articles asked the CEOs of top advertising agencies if they are ready for the convergence of traditional and digital media. Though a couple of the CEOs claimed to be ready, most avoided the question all together and instead talked more about how to prepare. The truth is it takes stamina, foresight and a solid online awareness to keep up with every latest and greatest advance online. Advertising agencies are busy managing the traditional realm, so it is understandable that they are left scrambling, thus leaving their clients frustrated and seeking out multiple agencies to fulfill all of their needs.

What is Agency+ and How Do They Tie In?
That is where Agency+ comes in. Agency+ is an evolved digital marketing agency model developed by dt. They are unique from traditional advertising agencies (stay tuned for how they are unique from digital marketing agencies). An Agency+

• Focuses on the Web 2.0 philosophy of a democratized internet
• Brings an entrepreneurial approach
• Uncovers the potential of social media and online communities

An Agency+ performs specialized services outside the scope of most agencies’ proficiencies. They are on top of the hottest and most substantial trends in online marketing and constantly seeking out what is next. This means there is no threat to the existing agencies and no business to steal. An Agency+ does not compete against agencies. Instead they plug in to work in any equation. This frees up the working relationships and as a result, multiple agencies can work together without friction or suspicion and instead focus all of their attention and energy on creating the best results.

The emergence of Agency+ solves the dilemma many companies now face and gives the 79% of clients who wouldn’t recommend their agencies somewhere to turn. Whereas traditional advertising agencies are busy catching up in the digital world, an Agency+ is ready to lock and load. Standing alone as a full-service solution or joining an existing team that includes other agencies, an Agency+ can plug right into any team and infuse fresh and cutting edge digital media strategies into any campaign.

Plusses and Minuses
Traditional Advertising Agencies
To better understand how Agency+ solves this issue, let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of both types of agencies. The strength of traditional agencies lies in their experience and expertise in print, radio and TV advertising. A secondary strength is their large capacity and quick turnaround. Their weakness is digital media where they have a limited understanding and weak overall performance.

Agency+
The strength of Agency+ on the other hand lies in their digital expertise and innovation. Agency+ focus on the web. Specifically, they specialize in Web 2.0 and new media strategy; therefore they consistently create engaging campaigns that strategically combine new and existing technologies. A secondary strength (as noted above) is that they are designed to plug in and work seamlessly with existing teams, including teams that already have other agencies. Their weakness is that they don’t offer traditional advertising services and that they don’t have a limitless capacity.

A Great Team
Where traditional agencies are lacking, an Agency+ will shine. An Agency+ is a perfect addition to any team looking to excel in both the traditional and digital arenas because they can bring their clients instant access to a wealth of digital entrepreneurship and online revenue potential. The rise of Agency+ marks a new era in agency-to-agency and agency-to-client relationships, marked by a more collaborative team effort.

Note: Look for more to come on the distinction between an Agency+ and other digital marketing and interactive agencies.

References
(1)- Creamer, Matthew. (26 February 2007). SURVEY: Marketers Can’t Grade Agencies but Fail Them Anyway. Advertising Age. Retrieved February 26, 2007, from http://adage.com/abstract.php?article_id=115171
(2)- Kim, Peter. (February 23, 2007). Help Wanted: 21st Century Agency, Firms With A Vested Interest In Traditional Media Models Need Not Apply. Forrester. Retrieved February 24, 2007, from http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,41433,00.html
(3)- (February 27, 2007) Madison Avenue Under Attack! digital-telepathy Internet Marketing Strategy & News. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from, http://blog.dtelepathy.com/internet-culture/madison-avenue-under-attack
(4)- (March 1, 2007) Are Media Agencies Ready for Convergence? Advertising Age. Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://adage.com/mediaworks/article.php?article_id=115249
(5)- (March 2, 2007) Are Media Agencies Ready for Convergence? Advertising Age. Retrieved March 3, 2007, from http://adage.com/4asmedia07/article?article_id=115264