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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

2011 Trends: Content Marketing Is Critical to Ad Agency New Business

January 14, 2011

Content is the most important asset in using social media for ad agency new business.

In the 2011 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report, 77% of Agency Principals indicate that they plan on getting more aggressive on the agency new business front in 2011. ”Networking” and “Social Media” are the top two ways agency principals state they’re going to “get aggressive.”

It’s great to know that agencies are planning to be more aggressive with their social media efforts. But please note that even more than technology, original content is the key to success.

According to a social media study by King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42, original content, both branded and expert, is by far the most employed tactic for social media.

“Next year [2011], marketers will need to rethink their approach to advertising and marketing and intensify their focus on creating magnetic content that will naturally attract consumers, rather than relying solely on the interruption model of advertising, which consumers are responding to less and less. Think pull vs. push.” Geoff Ramsey, CEO, Co-Founder of eMarketer

Here are 10 Content Marketing resources that will provide you with some best content creation practices along with unique insights, practical advice and tips:

Some additional content resources that you might find helpful: Ad Agencies: 97 Articles on How To Write Effectively for the Social Web

Click on the following link for a downloadable copy of the 2011 RSW/US New Year Outlook Report! or the study by King Fish Media, HubSpot and Junta42, 2010 Social Media Usage, Attitudes and Measurability : What Do Marketers Think?

12 Comments | Best Practices, Content Marketing, Fuel for Thought, New Business Trends | Tagged: ad agency new business, content marketing, eMarketer, Geoff Ramsey, Hubspot, Junta42, King Fish Media, Michael Gass, RSW/US, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

If 2009 was the year to forget for the advertising industry, what’s next?

December 31, 2009

2009 has become the year to forget for the advertising industry.

“If you look at 2009, we have not seen a convergence of so many issues and crises at the same time. It was the perfect storm,”says Maurice Levy, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest ad companies, with clients including General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.

It’s “the worst” the business has seen since Zenith began tracking ad spending 21 years ago and “likely the worst since World War II,” says Steve King, Zenith’s global CEO. “It’s been between bad and horrific.”

Over 163,400 advertising jobs lost since the beginning of the recession.

A round-up of some predictions for the advertising industry for 2010 may be brighter but still a difficult year ahead.

For Ad Industry, 2010 Promises Scant Relief – WSJ

More Firing Than Hiring at Ad Agencies – Ad Age

Seven Predictions for 2010 from eMarketer’s CEO

‘Great Race’ Between Traditional, Digital Shops – ADWEEK

Four ways technology will change advertising in 2010 – CSMonitor.com

How To Fix A Broken Advertising Industry – Forbes

Convergence at Heart of Top 2010 Ad Trends – Nielsen

A lot of small-to mid-size ad agencies have been the exception to the gloom and doom of 2009. Many have actually prospered during this period. 2010 could be a break out year for your agency’s new business if your agency has a consistent inbound new business pipeline generated by a clear focus and appealing point of differentiation to a specific target audience.

Additional articles that may be of interest:

1 Comment | Agency Leadership, New Business Trends | Tagged: 2010 predictions, Ad Agencies, Advertising Age, Advertising Industry, adweek, eMarketer, Forbes, Maurice Levy, Nielsen, Publicis Groupe, Steve King, Wall Street Journal, Zenith Global | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Shift in Advertising Spending: Be Prepared to Follow the Money

July 30, 2009

According to a recent eMarketer article, “Some Advertising Shines in Dark Times” nearly all media sectors will experience advertising spending declines in 2009.

“Hardest hit will be traditional media such as newspapers, radio, magazines and TV, each falling by 14% or more.”

Technology is causing both a growth and decline in advertising expenditures. Especially with increase in efficiency and metrics. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if agencies are prepared to follow the money.

Here’s where the declining shifts are occurring:

According to the “Media Advertising Forecast” from MAGNA, nearly all media sectors will experience advertising spending declines in 2009.
Hardest hit will be traditional media such as newspapers, radio, magazines and TV, each falling by 14% or more.
Even the once-indomitable online ad space is faltering, with MAGNA expecting a 2.2% total spending decrease.
National online ads, which encompass display, classifieds, mobile, e-mail and online video, will fall by 15%. Most of the drop will come from a weakening display ad market.

And here’s where the growth is occurring:

eMarketer projects digital ad spending will grow by 4.5% in 2009
Mobile and online video are going the other direction—up. MAGNA projections show mobile advertising revenues growing 36% to $229 million in 2009, and to $409 million in 2011.
Online video ad spending will increase 32% to $699 million in 2009, and over $1 billion in 2011.

These trends don’t mean that traditional media wont rebound following the recession. It does mean that there will be a permanent addition to our marketing mix and agencies will need to be prepared and equipped for it.

Scott Nelson, principal of Nelson Creative, Atlanta, GA was telling me the unusual year his agency was having. He says,

“While TV Media spending will be down, TV Production is WAY UP. You shoot a tv spot now and here are all the places it can go:

TV networks
TV cable
On-Demand
YouTube
Blogs
Motion Billboards
E-Mail blasts
On-line/Web sites

Scott’s opinion,

“Media with Motion, like Film, will continue to move up. Media that is still…ie; print, collateral, yellow pages, will stay still and go away. Several Media Companies predict that newspapers and magazines are tomorrow’s “phone booths.” Or as Steven Jobs said in his Apple Mission Statement 30 years ago: “We envision a paperless society.”

2 Comments | New Business Trends | Tagged: ad spending, eMarketer, Magna, Nelson Creative, Scott Nelson | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass