• According to eMarketer, digital marketers worldwide are investing a greater portion of their total marketing budget online this year. In fact, a recent SoDA study found that one-third of respondents expect to invest 60 percent or more of their ad budget digitally, while 25 percent plan to significantly increase their digital owned and earned media spend. This is clearly a very exciting time for the digital space, particularly with the explosion of social media, which is creating a larger need to reorganize and change current marketing strategies and processes. Read More: Digital Marketers Shuffle Budget to Boost Owned and Earned
• According to a new ANA recession survey, 52 percent of marketers surveyed will challenge their agencies to reduce costs internally, placing pressure on agencies to share the cost-effectiveness load. With this inward focus, it’s imperative that both marketers and agencies determine how they can extend their capabilities in the most cost-efficient ways so they can accomplish more in the future. This notion is validated by ANA CEO, Bob Liodice, “Though the industry outlook is trending toward stability, marketers need to be careful not to simply rely on short-term answers to solve enduring budget issues. Marketers need lasting solutions that focus on efficiency. We need to view this as an opportunity to push our industry to reach the next level of innovation and evolution.” Read More: ANA 2012 Recession Survey Shows Steadfast, Conservative Outlook

AdExchanger.com - Centro CEO Shawn Riegsecker recently discussed his company with AdExchanger as well as Centro’s workflow software known as Transis.

In addition, the company just launched Brand Exchange for digital, display advertising, which the company describes as “an invitation-only exchange to connect brand advertisers with a unique group of premium publishers.”

Read more: Centro CEO Discusses New Brand Exchange

This video for Corning, a specialty glass and ceramics company, really got me thinking about the different ways a brand can reach their consumer.  I couldn’t help but be amazed at all the different types of display screens and it seems we are not far off from this futuristic technology being brought to market. Check out the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

As companies like Corning find innovative ways to display household technologies through pliable multi-use glass, advertisers will be challenged with a plethora of options to display their advertisements. What does this mean for advertising agencies? Opportunity.

There is no question that these developments will only further fragment the digital media industry.  The trend of tasking agencies to execute more digital media campaigns with less budgets will put more strain on resources and decrease an agency’s ability to profit from paid digital media.  It is important that agencies focus on opportunities to increase scale and bandwidth to allow them the ability to execute as much paid digital as they need to, without additional overhead.

• In a recent agency confession interview, an agency CMO offers extremely candid feedback in regards to the challenges agencies face today. Looking beyond the so-called Mad Men drama, it is apparent that agencies are feeling more pressure than ever. Key takeaways from the interview include the need for more education and expertise, alignment between the agency and advertiser and improved efficiencies. These enhancements will help pave a better future for the media industry. Read More: Confessions of an Agency
• What are some common challenges faced by publishers, agencies and advertisers? A recent Digiday article highlights many obstacles including the need for experts. Too often we see stretched resources and people across too many different initiatives, which inhibit growth and specialization. Experts are vital in keeping a pulse on the industry and anticipating change. Centro’s emerging technologies team is a prime example of this… They are continually researching the landscape, vetting competitive technologies and partnerships and creating strategies and tactics that continually push agencies and advertisers to take risks that lead to more opportunities. Read More: Publishers Grapple with Ad Tech
• What is outsourcing as it relates to the digital industry? In a recent post we highlighted an article from HfS, and the author talks about how “outsourcing is broken terminology.” We agree with this notion. The term is often misinterpreted and confused with “offshoring,” which creates an instant dark cloud of negativity. However, we associate outsourcing with increased opportunities and strategic partnerships, which relieve time-consuming and inefficient tasks, allowing more strategic work. The result, companies accomplish more. Read More: Digital Outsourcing Leads to More Opportunities

Last week, HFS published an article entitled “Why today’s outsourcing industry is a sham.” This informative POV tackles some of the perceptions made about outsourcing as a term and outsourcing as an industry. Below is a quick snippet of their article:

“What’s broken here is the fact that “outsourcing” is broken terminology and isn’t a real industry. Most of tomorrow’s deals are not going to involve major staff transitions from buyer to provider as part of the deal – today those engagements are on the wane as most of the bloated buyers have been progressively trimming their fat in recent years.  Moreover, most of the providers today have the capacity they need to service their clients and will only entertain major “lifts and shifts” of employees if these deals are strategic to their growth ambitions, and involve the transition of both domain expertise and technology assets.”

Centro’s CEO, Shawn Riegsecker shared this comment below:
We agree with the notion that “outsourcing” is broken terminology. The term is often misinterpreted and confused with “offshoring,” which creates an instant dark cloud of pessimism. However, we associate outsourcing with increased opportunities. As an outsourcer, we act as consultants who relieve time-consuming and inefficient tasks from agencies and advertisers, so they can focus on more strategic work that helps them accomplish more.

Check out the entire article and other comments here.

At Borrell Associates’ Local Online Advertising Conference, our very own Shawn Riegsecker, participated in a panel discussion focused on where local online is headed by 2016. As quoted in the article below, “There will be no division between national and local as we talk about it today. Everything is local because the world looks a lot different when you start looking at data.”  The panelists centered their discussion on the future of legacy local media companies which are predicted to exist, yet in another form. What are your predictions for 2016?

Read More: Conference Notebook: Online Local Market Share to Hit 22% in 2013

• How can “CMOs stake their claim as growth drivers within organizations—and not merely ad-campaign custodians?” Forbes recently hosted a CMO as Business Strategist salon, an eye-opening round-table discussion among many influential CMOs. Participants agreed the CMO role includes being a change agent, a unifying force between departments and an educator as it relates to justifying costs, evaluating resources, keeping a pulse on the industry and identifying the overall best strategies for the company.
• Through this empowerment, CMOs can help their businesses accomplish more. To start, they need to focus on unlocking strategy and development that is buried under costly operational tactics. Watch the Video: How Can CMOs Drive Growth? Latest Salon Participants Share Best Practices
• According to a recent BIA/Kelsey report, U.S. local digital ad revenues will grow from $21.2B in 2011 to $38.5B in 2016 (CAGR: 12.7%). This growth is outpacing the overall local media market; slower overall growth is attributed to various economic factors. These findings prove that marketers continue to find value and confidence in the digital space, despite economic turbulence. With this growth, marketers need to push themselves to continually evolve, while simplifying complex media decisions and processes. Read More: U.S. Local Digital Ad Revenues Remain Strong, Bolstering Slower Growth Overall in Local Media Market, According to BIA/Kelsey

• With innovation, there are more possibilities. Conversely, resistance to advancements can lead to slower progression. Marketers are often faced with a dilemma of when and how to integrate emerging technologies, such as mobile, particularly when resources are scarce. In the article below, the author suggests taking action but ensuring it’s not a random step forward. This is a key point to highlight; marketers should evaluate available resources and bandwidth to determine if outside expertise is needed to successfully execute a strategic and cost-efficient action plan. Read More: The Marketer’s Dilemma
• In a recent HfS study, 9 out of every 10 enterprises indicated that they will be increasing or maintaining their reliance on either, or both, outsourcing and shared services over the next three years. According to HfS, “those organizations being impacted by radical, fundamental shifts to their very industry economics, are more prepared than ever to look outside of their current organization boundaries to improve the cost-competitiveness of their business operations and better align them with their global needs.” The media industry is experiencing some of the most radical shifts, which opens the door to new approaches that will pave the path to continual growth.  Read More: Which industries are more inclined to outsourcing versus shared services?
• According to eMarketer, “U.S. spending on print newspaper advertisements will dip another 6% in 2012 to $19.4 billion; however, digital ad sales for newspapers are doing better—they are expected to increase 11.4% this year.” Online newspapers are seeking more digital opportunities, relying on targeting and new ad formats; they are also incorporating more mobile. This shift further proves the need to innovate and embrace digital opportunities as they unfold; otherwise, revenue may suffer in an attempt to catch up with the ever-changing media industry. Read More: Newspapers Look to Targeting, Video to Boost Flagging Revenues