Ad:Tech San Francisco Session: State of the Agency

 

Tom Bedecarre - CEO, AQUA (hiring)
Martin Reidy - President, Modem Media
Ralph Folz - CEO, Molecular (web consultancy), freestyle interactive (creative), iProspect (search), all ISOBAR companies

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Client Perception:
» clients want to be "digitally led"
» no longer acceptable to not have a strong interactive presence
» projects are becoming MUCH more complex
» traditional agencies won't go away but it is hard to ignore that because they didn't have their act together...audiences shifted online and they missed the boat
» agencies aren't going to be able to fake it.
» new niche...online video - possibly video only agencies
» stop thinking the web is "cheaper" than traditional...it isnt...its more effective.
» agencies will be increasingly paid for their time and thought leadership vs. Media commission or markup...cant do it (and prove it) you lose.
» people will want stability, strong & smart, have scale, and agencies that will be around.
» lead with business problems & solutions
» building environments that allow consumers to interact longer with a brand in a useful way. Reebok running example.

TAKE AWAY'S
» work more friendly with agencies (the good ones)
» be the best agency in the digital age
» everyone is hiring
» agencies who have no digital foundation will need to buy their way into buy their way into digital...or time will pass them by
» I started to think for a while that we needed to grow traditional...doesnt seem wise.

(another treo post - sorry for the typos & grammar)