Perspective, experience, vision, popularity, “consensus building”, interest & interestingnesss, method, madness, magic, simplicity, passion and I guess the list can go on..
This is actually an update to the original “Shift Happens” video. This completely new Fall 2009 version includes facts and stats focusing on the changing media landscape, including convergence and technology, and was developed in partnership with The Economist.
In 2008, Sapient sponsored a USA online digital marketing and interactive advertising survey to gain insight into what marketers want from their advertising and marketing agencies. Based on the survey results, Sapient Interactive, Sapient’s marketing services group, has created a Top 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future:
1. Greater knowledge of the digital space.
Nearly half (45 percent) of the respondents have switched agencies (or plan to switch in the next 12 months) for one with greater digital knowledge or have hired an additional digital specialist to handle their interactive campaigns. Further, when it comes to an agency’s area of expertise, 79% of respondents rated “interactive/digital” functions as ‘important/very important.’
2. More use of “pull interactions.”
When trying to engage consumers with their brand, 90 percent of respondents agree that it is becoming increasingly important that their agency uses ‘pull interactions’ such as social media and online communities rather than traditional ‘push’ campaigns.
3. Leverage virtual communities.
An overwhelming 94 percent of respondents expressed interest in leveraging virtual communities (public and private) to understand more about their target audience.
4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending.
Ninety-two percent of respondents said it was ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important that agency employees use the technologies that they are recommending. For example, it is important that agency executives regularly use Facebook, Flickr, wikis, blogs, etc. in their personal social media mix.
5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing.
Forty-three percent of marketers surveyed said that agencies with chief digital officers are more appealing than those without.
6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy.
Sixty three percent of marketers surveyed said that an agency’s Web 2.0 and social media capabilities are ‘important/very important’ when it comes to agency selection.
7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior.
Seventy-six percent of respondents deemed this as an ‘important/very important’ aspect of their agency’s online digital marketing and interactive advertising area of expertise.
8. Demonstrate strategic thinking.
Seventy-seven percent of marketers surveyed ranked strategy/brain trust capabilities at the top of their agency wish list.
9. Branding and creative capabilities.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents ranked branding at the top of their agency wish list while seventy-six percent ranked creative capabilities as ‘important/very important.’
10. Ability to measure success.
It’s no surprise that marketers want an agency that can report on where campaigns succeeded, fell short and where they should be fine-tuned. Sixty-five percent ranked analytics at the top of their agency wish list.
“Marketers want agencies that can deliver on these demands today – not by 2009 and beyond,” said Gaston Legorburu, chief creative officer, Sapient. “As the interactive channel becomes increasingly important, only those agencies that can create, manage and measure multi-channel campaigns will stay relevant and thrive in an uncertain economy. Marketers keep turning to agencies like Sapient to deliver more sophisticated, integrated digital marketing initiatives that truly deliver optimum levels of customer acquisition and retention.”
Via Sapient.com
..there are may ways to do it, sais Leon :)
The following presentation is a must read for all juniors or those aspiring to be planners and not only.. (Personally, it helped me remember in these shitty difficult times what my job should be all about ).
Enjoy:
Jared Gruner has a really good point (as well as Amber Finlay who came up with the better title) on the controversial job title of “Digital Strategist”. I strongly recommend his post and also Heather’s findings on this matter, in her 2009 Planner survey:
About 100 people who took the survey describe themselves as digital planners. To the vast majority of them, they are simply taking similar skills and applying them to new media. The difference o’en is in who drives the overall brand strategy. That generally is the responsibility of the above the line agency. This also means less strategic research that the digital folks get to steer.
“As a digital planner, I like to think what I do in the digital space isn’t any different, at least in approach. I consider a planners job to understand the intersection of culture, business and creativity – and I strive for that across the board…
On a down note, not being AOR means not having full control over your client brands,
which has been a bit of a mental shi’ (and struggle) for me.”
Digital planners are also teaching their clients a lot about technology. But money is swinging their way as TV and print budgets are shi’ed to digital. This question prompted several people to identify themselves as integrated planners, confident that they are working across the spectrum.
“I’m not one, but I consider digital in every strategy I work on. I no longer see the point of uniquely ‘digital’ planners.”
Finally Heather succeeded in putting together the results of this year’s survey among planners from all over the world.
Interesting findings:
Unfortunately, the 14 Romanian planners who completed the survey were not interesting enough to also generate a salary analysis, like those from some other countries.. Maybe next year?
“The planner collective” is a one-page RSS aggregator of resources for account planning/brand strategy, currently in beta but with great potential.
Check-it out here
Via BrandTao
“Ideas are like fish.
If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go down deeper.
Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful.”
-David Lynch, “Catching The Big Fish”
via Meme Huffer
