Understanding the Integrated Agency
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According to a recent study conducted by Forrester Research, interactive spending will nearly double in the next five years, reaching an estimated $55 billion, while overall advertising budgets will decrease. With all indicators pointing to the cannibalization of traditional media, brands are looking to partner with the next-generation agency – the integrated agency. What does it mean to be an integrated agency, and how are they unlike traditional agencies? Integrated agencies differentiate themselves by merging traditional marketing activities with the assortment of digital communications that have burst into the mainstream. Brands today need leadership for deploying tactics in new arenas such as social media, digital signage, mobile device, mobile application, online publication and microsite development, to name a few. And the integrated agency embraces these new platforms because they’ve shifted creative ideology, expertise and structure to become solution-agnostic, thriving in any communication environment. But being integrated requires more than just dabbling in emerging communication technologies. It’s a commitment to making cross-medium marketing work. Integrated agencies demonstrate a unique ability to leverage media originally created for one platform and transition it to other vehicles, extending the life of the media message and maximizing the audience reach for the budget spent. |
The integrated philosophy requires marketers to shift their approach from specializing in specific disciplines to broadening their knowledge in all things digital. And as new technologies continue to emerge, leading integrated marketers will evaluate their viability as a communication solution on behalf of their clients. Future success in these endeavors will be dependant upon the agencies’ ability to refuse to delineate expertise into silos, which would stifle the converged media model. Certainly the journey of the integrated agency is an ongoing one. For Premier Studios, it’s a journey that started 20 years ago. Beginning in computer-aided design, to digital audio and video production, on through web technologies, optical based media, a top-tier data-hosting center and now strategic planning and creative solution services for both paid and non paid digital communications. This unique progression has allowed us to gain marketing experience and expertise atypical to that of the traditional agency. Our commitment to provide leading marketing solutions regardless of communication platform remains unchanged. We have ridden and will continue to ride the digital wave, and the significance of this positioning has never been more evident. As Josh Benoff, co-author of “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” and VP-principal analyst at Forrester Research puts it, “If you’re in advertising, you’d better learn to speak digital, because that’s the way the world is going.” No offense Josh, but the world isn’t going digital...its GONE digital. And anyone just beginning to learn to speak the language is already behind. |
