November 19, 2009
By BJ Cook,
So I'm reading an article titled Does the Industry Need Big Digital Agencies Anymore? and I begin to think about some of the 22 projects we've done over the past year. I think about some of the projects where we've been 4th down on the food chain providing Flash development for Unilever to strategizing and executing a guerilla marketing campaign for one of the largest Japanese TV networks, driving 200,000 views to their video channel.
Does it matter that big agencies are using small agencies to do the work? An even better question is, "Do the clients care they are working through a middleman?"
From being both in a 150-person agency to DO, which is 10 people; it should be all about results. The shift to digital marketing for traditional agencies is a stretch unless you go out and buy a small shop with processes and experience in place. What the big agencies do offer is global strategies, client services and relationships. They've been with a client for a few years, so they understand their business, they understand the customers they are engaging and they have been responsible for crafting the messaging. Now the shift to digital can be facilitated by using what people were calling "production companies" or what I would call "translation shops." At the end of the day it's about great content, integrated tactics, measurement and optimization. So results. You can have the best creative in the world, but if you don't know how to deliver that into the digital channel and to the type of customer that spends 6 hours a day on their phone, 4 hours on Facebook, 30 minutes reading magazines, 4 hours watching TV on Hulu and 2 hours playing Rockband; think of it like "Returned to Sender."
Smart traditional agencies are looking for savvy digital partners to provide strategy, marketing and technology. Digital is here and if you're still thinking about how to maximize your clients' exposure on the web; you're already behind because cross-platform (mobile + web) is where you need to be. iPhone consumption is growing, DROID is here and mobile frameworks are here to help you make the transition. Think digital, think about your future.
Here's the link to the AdAge article too.
