Strategy

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A recent Digiday article titled, Why Agencies Will Double Down on Strategy, highlights how agencies are increasing their focus on strategy to help clients gain deeper insights into digital opportunities. According to a study conducted by agency-client relationship experts, RSW/US, 76% of agencies now provide strategic services, up from 59 percent in 2009; however, only 16 percent of marketer clients surveyed, say they make use of them. This indicates that there are still hurdles that need to be overcome.

On May 30th, the venture capitalist Mary Meeker released her latest “Internet Trends” report. The presentation is packed with fantastic stats and charts that are destined to find their way into marketing decks over the next quarter. The presentation does an amazing job of outlining the state of the internet, as well as highlighting the changes that mobile devices and increased connectivity are having on consumer behavior. With a key focus on mobile, the report outlines the massive opportunity that these devices present for advertisers. The report also makes the case that it will simply take time for advertising dollars to follow the massive number of eyeballs that are increasingly moving “mobile.”

Digital is evolving with the progression of new screens, devices, and technologies. When Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution, he coined the phrase “survival of the fittest.” In this competitive, digital media environment, evolution is best described by the phrase “survival of those who execute best.”

The Makegood recently wrote a very candid article describing how agencies are unfortunately positioned as “yes, men” to their clients. Agencies today are becoming victims of the ever-changing landscape, which is causing them to be more reactive vs. strategic and proactive.

Expectations are high and marketers are pressured to prove the value of their campaigns. According to eMarketer, marketers are relying on different metrics, such as CTR, brand lift, GRP, view-throughs, etc., which are leveraged in various ways. So, how should success be measured?

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.

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.

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.