Trumblog

Forrester has come out with a new report ranking the leading interactive marketing agencies across 18 criteria focusing on usability and branding capabilities. They rank Avenue A | Razorfish, Critical Mass, Organic, and R/GA as leaders, but since I bid against those companies rather than work for them, the aspect of this report that is interesting to me is highlighted by Ad Age who states that included in the report is the acceptance that digital agencies will be taking on overall brand strategy for their clients in the next 5-10 years.

Interactive agencies are better positioned to take over brand strategy than traditional agencies because of the data and insight they are able to cull from interactive channels and because consumer behavior is shifting toward such channels.

That is the acknowledgment of the trend for digital agencies away from playing a secondary role, producing websites and online marketing, to being the hub that all of marketing interacts with and finally managing the overall brand strategy. I wonder if at that point we can eliminate the “digital” qualifier and be considered agencies or at least refer to our offline siblings as “analog agencies?”

To get there, digital agencies need to develop four core capabilities, according to the report: measurement and analytics, audience research, cross-channel integration and social media.

To me these four capabilities are baked into the online marketing process. If anything we have lead the agency world to value and understand these to a greater degree than before.

Measurement and Analytics – This is the toe hold that online agencies used to place ourselves in the position that we are in now. Online media is measurable to a degree that has never before been possible. This ability has pushed other mediums; television, radio and print to be more accountable and provide greater accuracy and detail in the measurement of the audiences that they reach, engagement and impact. The current issue of multiple conflicting sets of online metrics is precisely due to the fact that we have raised the profile of this capability. But this is a clear example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. We have been called on the carpet, and rightfully so, for numbers that do not match and then then seeming to rationalize why. I’ve done it when confronted when a client has Interactive agencies will continue to take a leadership position in this area.

Audience Research – Knowing your audience is a required aspect of marketing whether online or off. Digital marketing agencies have access to unique research opportunities that relate directly to audience interaction with the message and the brand, but by no means does this position us ahead of other agencies who have invested their own time and energy into understanding who they are marketing to. I’d have to call this a tie.

Cross-Channel Integration – Online agencies were the original promoters of integration and was driven by our our position as the new player on the team. To fight our way inside we preached the need to integrate with other channels, which coincidentally allowed online marketing access to larger pieces of the budget. It’s worked so well that we have gone from being the satellite integrating with the other groups to being the hub through which all integration takes place. Now we have to live up to the role that we have built for ourselves by proving that we serve our clients well in this new position.

Social Media – If anyone is going to grok this it’s us.

Here is the thing though. The difference between an online or digital agency and any other agency is just attitude. Shift focus, hire the right people, promote the right things to your clients and there you go. If everyone did this the term digital agency wouldn’t mean anything in just a couple of years? Measurement and analytics just takes access to the right data and the intelligence and creativity to see beyond the numbers. Audience research is a given in this field. Cross-channel integration is being learned by agencies of every type as online marketing becomes the center of marketing efforts. Making the most of social media is as close as your Facebook profile and your imagination. There is no secret sauce or special code it’s all out there and we are all creative and intelligent people. It’s just a matter of who takes advantage of the opportunities that are available.

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