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Finally, the age of anxiety about creative technology partnerships for advertising agencies is coming to a head.

More and more you’re hearing and reading about agency leaders who have seen the light about what collaborations with companies – yes, companies like Centro – can do for a business.

For instance, I just read an article, “Why Successful Agencies Lean on Strategic Alliances,” which emerged from the iMedia Agency Summit in early December. In it, iMedia Connection associate editor Jennifer Marlo quotes John Montgomery, Chief Operations Officer of GroupM Interaction North America, from his keynote address:

“Partnerships in our data-driven tech world are critical, and you can’t survive without it,” Montgomery said.

He went on to note, according to Jennifer, that there is something in the “agency DNA” that compels agencies to want to do everything in-house. “Montgomery conceded that the do-it-yourself businesses model worked when he began his agency career 30 years ago, but that the explosion of technology has made it virtually impossible for today’s agencies to fly solo.”

I’m glad to see candid observations like these in print because I hear them all the time as I call on prospects and clients who are, as this insightful article points out, looking at new partners not just as vendors, but as allies in creating growth and spurring innovation.

As our own partners know, Centro offers agencies the opportunity to stay ahead of the game in everything digital media – and not just in the minutiae of running campaigns efficiently, but also in providing forward thinking that delivers value directly to the client.

While out in the field, we’re hearing from independent and large holding company agencies alike that their sole biggest challenge is in activating digital media. The energy and time spent sorting out the layers of complexity accompanying the new wave of interest in – and commerce on – mobile devices is only getting greater.

This is the main reason why agencies small and large alike are looking for valued partners that can help them activate their overarching strategies and creative ideas within that space. And it’s one reason why the word is getting out that there’s plenty of upside and opportunity in not “flying solo.”

Check out “Why Successful Agencies Lean on Strategic Alliances,” then come back and let us know whether you agree, disagree, or having any points to add to the “Golden Rules of Partnership.”

The QR code is getting a facelift. Understanding that QR codes have minimal value, Andrew Lippman of the MIT Media Lab has come up with a replacement. He, along with his graduate student Grace Woo, developed a new technology called video response (VR) codes. They utilize the ability of digital displays to transmit data through light and these light transmissions can be picked up instantly by smartphone cameras, transferring tons of data in the meantime.

The short post “QR to VR: The smartcode rebooted” on Wired UK’s website describes one experiment the MIT Media Lab recently carried out:

To show off their new codes, Lippman’s lab set up a public display called Newsflash: a wall of nine iPads showing the front pages of different newspapers with VR codes hidden in them. When you snap the photo, your phone can pull off specific articles, images and links from the display for future use. “We could have done this ten years ago, but no one was walking around with high-quality sensing devices then,” says Lippman, 63. “Now you can use the sensor you’ve already got to capture personalized data from the world around you. They are a component of the future.” Say “cheese”, adverts.

So what does this mean for advertising? I think it further encourages the unity between mobile and digital place-based. It allows for a digital place-based take away and encourages engagement.

I’m sure this technology comes with a whole new set of problems: How close do you have to be? What kinds of data can be transmitted? Can more than one person use it at once?

But, overall it’s pushing the boundaries of what is new and different in the advertising world.

Is this just a science fair project or is there value in video response? How willing would you be to test this out with your brand?

What’s the big deal with RTB and mobile these days? It’s a good time to get familiar since many major players in the mobile advertising space see it being the next big thing for 2013.

Wesley Biggs, co-founder and CTO of global mobile ad buying platform Adfonic, is one of those big players who forecasts Real Time Bidding transforming mobile media. For those unfamiliar with the RTB phenomenon, Biggs explains it in his AdWeek piece titled, Mobile Real-time Bidding: From Slow Waiting to Smart Crowds.

A common analogy used to describe the RTB process is the stock exchange; all Interested advertising parties simultaneously bid for a mobile placement with the set of qualifiers desired by an advertiser. Accordingly the highest bidder wins the impressions with this entire process taking place in milliseconds, as described by Biggs. (If you still want more clarity on how RTB works, take a look at this explanation from Crowd Science.)

Another co-founder for Adfonic, CEO Victor Malachard, similarly describes why he feels many advertisers will flock to this emerging platform for mobile media.

“Real-time bidding will also emerge to become the dominant way to buy mobile media, which involves using a programmatic, instantaneous auction. For most sellers, RTB is a simple proposition: they get greater control over their inventory and the ability to generate higher eCPMs, driven by lots of bidders competing for the inventory,” he said when speaking to Forbes in late October.

Despite increased fragmentation in the space, Malachard believes RTB solutions, like that offered by Adfonic, provide a wider range of inventory sources through a single point of purchase.

Brett Wilson, CEO of RTB buying platform TubeMogul, noted his thoughts on the platform’s ability to offer greater transparency to advertisers seeking a clearer understanding of what their buying offerings actually get them. Regarding a Forrester Research study commissioned by TubeMogul, Wilson said, “…Executives are moving from a world where they lean on vendors—’Here’s what I need done, don’t tell me how you did it’—to a world where they need control.”

Other notable digital publishers that have chosen to launch RTB platforms in 2012 include Vevo, Smaato, Juice Mobile and Nexage, amongst others.

Forrester Research stated in the same study that the shift towards RTB would move the digital industry away from the traditional buying model that has been mediated between ad agencies and sellers. Other industry forecasts anticipate a similar trend regarding the impact of RTB. eMarketer reported earlier this month that all RTB spending is expected to nearly double in 2012, with expectations for it to account for 13% of all US display advertising spend.

The potential for this increasingly popular automated process to change the anatomy of mobile buying as we know it is something to keep an eye out for in 2013. What are your thought on the impact of RTB on mobile media? Sound off your thoughts below.

Earlier this year, Newzoo, the games industry researcher, showed in an infographic that in the first quarter of 2012, some 37 million Americans paid to play mobile games – either via purchasing games or by making in-game purchases.

Over the next 12 months it will be interesting to see how much this growing segment will represent of the $78 billion Video Game Industry.

That being said, if you were ever curious about the genesis of your flash-obsessions with Angry Birds, Words with Friends, Trivie and FlickGolf, BuzzFeed just released an awesome article about the beginning of Pong and Atari.

The throw-back images included in this long read are themselves worth the trip over and there are some great cameos scattered throughout that story. But even more interesting is how much impact a simple idea can have in the world.  Definitely worth a lunch-hour read sometime!

(The-MakeGood.com)- Shawn Riegsecker is the CEO of Centro, a media technology and services company. The Makegood spoke with Shawn about his 16-year career in digital media as well as recent Centro milestones, as the company marked its 11th anniversary.

The Makegood: Shawn, Centro recently announced Kelly Wenzel as Chief Marketing Officer and Scott Neslund as Executive Vice President of media services. How will they impact Centro’s business?

Both are incredible people with the highest level of character, integrity and commitment to being great that has defined our culture.  Scott is our first senior executive hire from an advertising agency. That insider’s perspective will help us better – and more quickly – develop solutions that really make a difference for our agency partners.  Kelly is a software product marketing expert and brings best practices from the tech industry to Centro.  We really needed someone with a strong product and technology marketing background on the team as we prepare to launch Planner and Kelly fit that profile perfectly.

The Makegood: Centro announced that it surpassed 5,000 successful advertising campaigns managed for 2012, marking 46 percent growth over the last year. What are your criteria for a successful advertising campaign and what do you credit for this growth?

It’s been a big year for us.  When an agency places its trust in us to manage a campaign for one of its clients, success means it’s flawlessly executed.  There are really two prongs to that: First, we take on the entire logistical nightmare of buying digital media; it’s executed through our technology. We make our agency clients’ lives easier – get them out of email and Excel and spending more time on client value-add. Second, we make their advertisers successful: The campaign runs smoothly, delivers in full and meets the brands’ KPIs.

Our staff is the single biggest driver behind our growth. They bring a level of quality, character, and dedication I really believe is unparalleled in this high-turnover industry. But with that said, the secret to our rapid scale is really our technology. That’s what’s fueling such strong year-over-year growth.  We operate the most efficient digital buying platform in the industry for premium contractual buying. It’s helping our agency partners scale beautiful advertising on thousands of sites in the mid-tail which is what many of their advertisers are looking for:  “Help me take advantage of the rich, relevant, amazing content that’s available in the mid-tail.” It’s also a great complement to programmatic reach they can get on the exchanges.

Read the remainder of this article on The-MakeGood.com.

‘Tis the season to prognosticate!

I know you may be tapped out on “Top 2013 prediction” lists, but here’s one worth your time.

Digitas, the digital brand agency, is going in whole hog, providing a full 5 days of predictions for 2013 on their blog, Digitas Distillery.

Covering off on everything from “consumer context” to “blended” CPMs, their mobile post has a lot going on. I agree with almost everything it says, with the sole exception of the “Mobile Thursday” idea, which envisions Cyber Monday shopping migrating to a Thanksgiving ritual for passing the time while the bird cooks (that sounds a lot like “Freedom Fries” to me, so don’t expect that to stick anytime soon).

One item in particular stood out, “the end of the ‘mobile web.’” This explains that the idea of a mobile-optimized web site will die off, in favor of a responsive design that works no matter which screen you look at it on. This ideal is of great interest to me, and by extension to Centro as a whole, and it’s something I talk about extensively whenever I get the chance.

If you think about the logical conclusion of that line of thinking, it will have great impact on our industry as a whole: Today, we build multiple versions of ads – some for desktop, some for mobile – and they use different technologies (Flash, GIF, JPG, HTML5).

If content owners will start responding to users – who, as Chia Chen, SVP, Mobile Lead of Digitas North America notes “want to access all of the brand’s content and functionality from any device” – and start creating sole versions of their sites that look the same on every device, we can (and will) then create single types of ads that do the very same thing.

We’ll still create ads in different dimensions, but I’m betting the ads we build that are today for the ‘mobile web’ will tomorrow be the only types of ads, and they will run on all the different devices equally.

Now, if I could only get iTunes Genius to actually build me a decent playlist…

Read all of Digitas’ 2013 predictions here.

1. TargetSpot: Reaching nearly 40 million monthly unique through 3000+ audio content destinations, TargetSpot allows advertisers to serve and target audio ads throughout the US through a combination of larger conglomerates and individual radio.com sites. Visit TargetSpot.

2. iHeartRadio: Providing streaming audio opportunities across multiple platforms, while also including unique solutions with artist focused events and custom options.  iHeartRadio has recently relaunched their platform and reaches nearly 30 million monthly unique. Visit iHeartRadio.

3. Spotify: Recently picking up steam in the US, Spotify allows users to select specific songs or artists to listed do on their platform. There is a social focus as well, allow users to view the songs that other are listening to while on Spotify. Advertisers can serve and target ads throughout the entire user experience. Visit Spotify.

In an increasingly complex media environment, some agency teams are struggling to provide all the services necessary to propel clients forward. Centro provides insights on how to stay focused.

(iMedia Connection) - This year’s iMedia Agency Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz., was themed around partnerships, and Centro’s Spotlight presentation entitled “The Future-Proofed Agency Model” outlined a new vision on how agencies can streamline their digital campaign execution and stay focused on providing strategic value.

Scott Neslund, Centro’s EVP of media services, outlined a service offering based around customizable managed services and cloud software options designed to provide agencies with the people and systems necessary to reduce the time and cost of managing digital campaigns.

In Centro’s view, a variety of forces are placing great strain on agency media teams, including the growing complexity of the digital media environment, imbalanced contract scopes versus fees, operational inefficiencies, and declining margins. Add to those challenges the constant pressure on employees and the ever-present demand for strategic expertise, and it’s easy to see why some agencies struggle to provide both the counsel and executional services that can propel their clients forward.

Read the remainder of this article and view Scott’s video interview on iMediaConnection.com.