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7 Key Digital Trends for 2011 for Ad Agency New Business

February 24, 2011

What are you doing to prepare your agency for the digital revolution?

Rising to meet the escalating demands for digital, a lot of agencies are now requiring that almost all of their employees develop digital skills. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the bigger agencies are spending roughly $750,000 to $1.5 million on digital training programs this year.

Founded in 1996, eMarketer, with its articles, charts and analysis, provides a whole library of resources for ad agencies wanting to keep up with the latest trends and best practices.

The CEO and co-founder of eMarketer, Geoff Ramsey, worked previously at several large New York ad agencies, including TBWA and Ogilvy & Mather, where he ran multinational accounts for brands including Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, M&M Mars and AT&T. Geoff is often called upon to speak at major digital and media events including he American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), Association of National Advertisers (ANA).

Geoff recently shared the following presentation that I thought would be of interest, Key Digital Trends for 2011:

Shifting Content Consumption Patterns
Shifting Media Dollars
Apps, Apps, Everywhere!
Social Media Even More Critical
Location is More Than a Check-In
Online Buying Gets More Efficient, Targeted
Magnetic Content Rules

You may also find Geoff’s book, Digital Impact: The Two Secrets to Online Marketing Success a help.

Additional digital marketing articles that may be of interest:

4 Comments | Digital | Tagged: ad agency new business, Digital Impact, digital marketing, digital trends, eMarketer, Geoff Ramsey, Michael Gass | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

28 Stimulating Digital and Social Media Marketing Quotes

February 23, 2011

Write something memorable, that stands out and provides inspiration to others.

I’m reading constantly and often find and keep the most memorable quotes from my daily reading. Here’s a collection that I thought would be of interest as they relate specifically to digital and social media marketing. I hope you find inspiration, a spark for your creativity and to take the time to write something memorable.

Here are my favorite digital and social media marketing quotes:

“There’s never been a better time to be in advertising, and there’s never been a worse time.” – Aaron Reitkopf, North American CEO of digital agency Profero
“We have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.” – Pierre Omidyar, founder, eBay
“The Internet has been the most fundamental change during my lifetime and for hundreds of years.” – Rupert Murdoch, media mogul
“Online advertising doesn’t have to be a “wild west.” – Benjamin Edelman, Harvard Business School
“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.” - Jimmy Wales, founder, Wikipedia
“Social media is a savior not a nemesis, an asset not a liability, a time saver not a time killer for ad agency new business” – Michael Gass, new business consultant for advertising agencies
“In the 21st century, the database is the marketplace.” - Stan Rapp, MRM Partners Worldwide
“Content Doesn’t Win. Optimized Content Wins” – Li Evans, search marketing guru
“Finding new ways, more clever ways to interrupt people doesn’t work.” – Seth Godin, best selling marketing author
Content marketing is a commitment, not a campaign. – Jon Buscall
The rule of 5 is that each and every content development undertaking should produce content assets that can be used at least 5 different ways. – Ardath Albee
“Think like a publisher, not a marketer.” – David Meerman Scott, marketing and leadership speaker
“What happens when you combine blogs, Google and millions of dissatisfied customers? An e-mob.” – Bob Garfield, advertising author
“The web attacks traditional ways of doing things and elites, and this is very uncomfortable for traditional businesses to deal with.”– Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP Group
“SEO is a marketing function for sure, but it needs to be baked into a product, not slapped on like icing after the cake is baked.” - Duane Forrester, author and conference speaker
“You can buy attention (advertising). You can beg for attention from the media (PR). You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales). Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free.” – David Meerman Scott, marketing speaker
“Blog policy at Microsoft is just two words: Blog Smart.” – Lawrence Liu, senior technical product manager, Microsoft
“Don’t measure what you can. Measure what you should.” – Philip Sheldrake, blogger, marketer, web analytics specialist
“People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.” - Mark Zuckerber, Facebook
“In our business, whenever there’s a disruption, our clients need guidance.” – Michael Roth, CEO, Interpublic Group
“Almost overnight, the Internet’s gone from a technical wonder to a business must.” – Bill Schrader, businessman
“Clients don’t care about the labor pains; they want to see the baby.” – Tim Williams, founder of consultancy Ignition
“It’s hard to find things that won’t sell online.” – Jeff Bezos, founder, Amazon
“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field” Niels Bohr, Danish physicist
“Facebook Fan Pages are email newsletters with smaller pictures.” – Jay Baer, author, social media strategist
“Our power has been matched and, in some categories, rivaled by user influence,” Nick Brien, CEO of Interpublic Group’s McCann
“It’s been said that advertising agencies aren’t changing, they are being changed.” – Unkown
And my favorite: “It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future.” Clay Shirky, author, professor

Additional articles that may be of interest, “16 of the Top Quotes from Fast Company’s The Future of Advertising” and “50 of the Best Insights from Ad Age’s First Ever Small Agency Conference”

9 Comments | Digital, Fuel for Thought, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency, digital marketing, Michael Gass, new business, social media marketing | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Big Ad Agencies Now Requiring the Development of Digital Skills

January 10, 2011

Small to mid-size ad agency owners and executives need to be better equipped with digital technology. It will not only impact agency business but also new business development.

I having a discussion with the creative director of a small agency who is in his early 50′s. He was expressing his frustration with changing digital technology and its impact upon his agency and the advertising industry.

He said, ”I have no problem creating a print ad but I don’t know where to even start to create an ad for something like the iPad.”

I asked him if he was ready to retire. His answer was no. Then, I raised the question, “what are you going to do to get up to speed?” He didn’t have an answer.

Big agencies know that digital training is now critical. Rising to meet the escalating demands for digital, most of them are now requiring that almost all of their employees develop digital skills. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the bigger agencies are spending roughly $750,000 to $1.5 million on digital training programs this year.

“We can no longer just acquire [digital] firms; it’s just not good enough,” says Bob Jeffrey, JWT’s chief executive.

WPP’s Ogilvy & Mather has upped their digital training by 150% this year through the following programs to help to help workers acquire digital skills:

Hyper Island—A workshop for senior executives including client services, creative, planning and production on the implications of digital on the business.
Digital Acceleration—A content-driven training program that provides in-depth learning on key new digital trends/offerings such as Internet search, customer relationship management, mobile marketing, analytics, etc.
Digital Boot Camp—aka “Digital 101,” an agency-wide program offered monthly that covers the basics of digital channels including social media, digital production, etc.
Associates Program—A training program for entry-level employees that provides them with cross-training across agency disciplines with digital as a key component.
Ogilvy Digital Lab—Special events featuring emerging media and innovation. Includes bringing in industry experts in specific digital areas—such as, Mobile Social Day, Google Day, Out of Home Innovation, etc.

Read the full WSJ article, ‘Kids Lend a Digital Hand: Ad Agencies Seek Help From Students, Even Preteens, to Get Up to Internet Speed’

I love this quote by author Clay Shirky, particularly as I think about how the rapidly advancing digital technology is impacting our industry:

“It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future.”

What are you doing to prepare your agency for this digital revolution?

Additional articles that may be of interest:

14 Comments | Agency Leadership, Digital | Tagged: ad agency, Advertising, digital marketing, digital media, new business Michael Gass, Wall Street Journal | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Status Quo Just Won’t Cut It Anymore for Ad Agency New Business

August 19, 2010

Bret Giles

A conference for ad ad agency principals and partners plus media, account, creative and business development leaders that helps them get their digital house in order.

Bret Giles, president of agencyside which offers high-quality, current training, coaching, staffing and consulting exclusively to advertising agencies. An advertising veteran of 22 years, Bret started his career at Ketchum Advertising in San Francisco.

Bret has asked me to speak at his annual conference for advertising agencies and I asked him to share directly with you more about it.

I ran across a great quote from Dan Wieden of Wieden + Kennedy not too long ago. He said “The hardest part of this business is to realize that what you knew yesterday and all the things that gave you a sense of empowerment and prestige and security and safety is perhaps not relevant this morning…perhaps somebody else sees something you missed because you keep thinking you knew it all.”

Like it or not, marketing is in a sea change. What held value to your clients at the beginning of the year might not by the end. Media is increasingly fragmenting. Agencies are increasingly consolidating. Technology is increasingly converging. And that leaves principals in an interesting predicament, one which I feel we have never previously faced.

How do we, as agencies, remain relevant in the communications channel?

At agencyside, we started a conference called BOLO – that’s “Be On The Lookout” – an agency-exclusive, 2-day event in October focused on issues facing agencies today. It’s forward-looking, focused on arming agencies with information to thrive, not survive. With a heavy focus on digital marketing, attendees learn from four keynote addresses, dozens of breakout sessions, Q+A “salons” and interactive sessions with other attendees.

We’ll feature the creative director on the Old Spice campaign at Wieden + Kennedy, the social media professional who effectively rebranded Mardi Gras and authors of books ranging from Content Strategy for the Web to Escape from Cubicle Nation, Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company to PR in a Jar.

You can find more information about the event and other speakers at www.bolo2010.com. As a reader of Michael’s, you can use the promo code “MGass” for $100 off your registration.

In short, status quo is boring anyway, let’s shake up the future together. I look forward to meeting you in person come October!

3 Comments | Agency Leadership, Digital | Tagged: Ad Agencies, BOLO Conference, Bret Giles, digital marketing | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Survey: Marketers Top 10 Wish List For Ad Agencies of the Future

February 2, 2010

Digital marketing is thriving during the recession. Clients are switching agencies based on digital marketing knowledge. Traditional agencies need to be competent at digital marketing now.

Forrester’s recent projections of interactive marketing spend through 2014 show social media increasing at an average of 34% year over year.

A national survey provides insight into what marketers want from their agencies. The Agency of the Future Survey, sponsored by Sapient. Though this survey was conducted just over a year ago, it is a perceptual look back as well as a look forward and still has relevance for agencies today.

The survey polled more than 200 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketing professionals, all of whom are either directly or indirectly responsible for managing digital marketing budget allocation across multiple channels.

Based on the survey results, Sapient, created aTop 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future:

A greater knowledge of digital space
More use of “pull interactions”
Leverage virtual communities
Agency executives using the technology they are recommending
Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing
Social media savvy
Agencies that understand consumer behavior
Demonstrate strategic thinking
Branding and creative capabilities
Ability to measure success

Tim Williams, author of Take A Stand For Your Brand, encourages agency execs to assure their personal relevance in the marketing communications industry. He writes,

“Increasingly clients are turning to agencies not only for help but for thought leadership in digital marketing, and only the most progressive agencies are in a position to deliver it. Agency principals recognize the urgency and importance of the shift to digital, but are personally unprepared for the change.”

Tim suggests a solution to the problem: Create a self-study program that provides a fast track understanding of digital marketing and adapting your agency to the new digital landscape.

He says, “Think about the digitally-talented people you know and you’ll realize most of them are self-taught. They took an interest in digital and learned it on their own. You can do the same, especially because everything you need to know about digital is online, and most of it is free at sites ranging from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to ClickZ.”

Additional “digital” related articles that may be of interest:

6 Comments | Agency Leadership, Digital, New Business Trends, Recession | Tagged: Advertising, advertising agencies, digital marketing, jason baer, marketers, Recession, sapient | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Survey: 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook

January 26, 2010

The Rise of Digital … is your ad agency digitally prepared?

“This is a changing of the guard,” said Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO of Denuo Group and chief innovation officer for Publicis Groupe Media. “If you look back 20, 30 years ago, the major (media) companies would probably be print-based. Then they move to basically be broadcast based. Now we’re looking at companies that have basically digital or technology underpinnings.“

The 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook survey, conducted by The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), which polled in excess of a thousand executives from major global brands, traditional and Digital agencies, vendor and service providers that operate in the Digital space, as well as freelance and independent Digital practitioners.

This research continues to confirm that the future of Digital Marketing is exceptionally bright.

Some notable indicators from the survey:

81% of Brand Execs expect an increase in digital projects for 2010
50% will be shifting funds from traditional to digital media
78% of global participants believe the current economy will actually spawn more funds allocated to Digital

Additionally keen insights from SoDA members around the globe on their thoughts and predictions about the future of the Digital Marketing landscape over the forward 12 months.

“The web can be anywhere, and physical interaction with brand and the extension of commerce into the real world are the convergence point in the next wave of digital marketing.” – Peter Connolly, Obscura Digital
“The most important outcome of the smartphone revolution isn’t sales, but rather the shift in the cultural expectations of the device. In just two years, the iPhone has quickly ascended to pop-cultural icon, and has shifted the way that mobile devices impact consumers’ lives, attitudes, and how they, in turn, view the role of a mobile device to support their daily needs.” – Brian Chiger, AgencyNet
“IPTV will be the catalyst for “a move away from the ‘interruptive’ advertising model that dominates television today, toward the idea of enhancement, in which brands support new contexts for viewing.”– Dale Herigstad, Schematic
“Augmented Reality has the potential to transform the digital landscape, merging online and offline in many creative ways. It is among the most interactive digital tools available to marketers, delivering unparalleled experiential engagement.” – Richard Taylor, IE
“Rather than spending another misguided year trying to “engineer” viral campaigns that will propagate themselves, regardless of consumer intentions, it’s time to refocus our marketing efforts to align with the way that people actually behave.” – Ivan Askwith, Big Spaceship
“The most effective digital platforms have shifted from “disruptive” to “productive” by providing a service or utility…[They] fundamentally change the approach from “how we reach our customers” to “how we make their lives better.” – Ken Martin, Chief Creative Officer, and Ivan Todorov, CEO & CTO, Blitz

You can download the report here SoDA 2010 DMO

Additional “digital” related articles that may be of interest:

15 Comments | Digital | Tagged: 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook survey, advertising agencies, CEO of Denuo Group, digital marketing, rishad tobaccowala, The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

What to do if your ad agency isn’t digitally prepared for new business

May 11, 2009

A challenge to senior agency executives: Create your own digital apprenticeship program.

Tim Williams, author of Take A Stand For Your Brand, encourages agency execs to assure their personal relevance in the marketing communications industry. He writes,

“Increasingly clients are turning to agencies not only for help but for thought leadership in digital marketing, and only the most progressive agencies are in a position to deliver it. Agency principals recognize the urgency and importance of the shift to digital, but are personally unprepared for the change.”

Tim suggests a solution to the problem: Create a self-study program that provides a fast track understanding of digital marketing and adapting your agency to the new digital landscape.

He says, “Think about the digitally-talented people you know and you’ll realize most of them are self-taught. They took an interest in digital and learned it on their own. You can do the same, especially because everything you need to know about digital is online, and most of it is free at sites ranging from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to ClickZ.”

Key learning outcomes that could be achieved:

Have a sound understanding of the general principles of digital advertising
Be conversant with relevant technologies, devices and opportunities for digital communication campaigns
Understand how to integrate digital into the overall marketing mix
Have insight into the operational and logistical challenges that face both the agency and clients in adding digital to the marketing offering
Have increased confidence and inspiration to recommend digital solutions to your clients and prospective clients

Read the entire article: A Digital Apprenticeship For Senior Agency Executives

3 Comments | New Business Tips, New Business Tools, New Business Trends | Tagged: agency principals, apprenticeship, digital marketing, Ignition, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass