Web Smart Agency Consulting

The world of advertising is an interesting conjunction of business and art. Most agencies not only want to increase billings, they also want to do work that has impact. The best agencies have learned that both objectives, billings and impact, come from having strategic influence with their clients. The strength of any agency can be measured on this continuum. Those who hold strong strategic influence are well paid and their work usually has significant impact.

At the other end of the continuum are agencies that don't have much influence. They aren't looked to for strategic advice. Rather they fulfill assignments--an ad here and a brochure there. These agencies usually don’t command the highest fees, and their work doesn't have the greatest impact. Strategic influence is the barometer of a successful agency/client engagement.

But what does this have to do with web strategy?


Being a web development firm that partners with advertising agencies, I've observed many occasions when agency partners lost strategic influence with a clients by giving inadequate attention to the web. In fact, some agencies will only address the web when a client takes the initiative to ask them for help with a site. And because many agencies have not shown a proactive interest in web work, their clients often look to other companies for help. They come directly to companies like mine.

There are lots of reasons why this has been true, which we've written about in the past. But this trend is starting to change. Clients are beginning to see that the Internet is not just one of many marketing channels, but is becoming the hub of them all. So they are looking to agencies to help them build marketing strategies that address all the traditional forms of media, but also to integrate Internet marketing. They're asking for media strategies that include web strategy. Now at the center of any web strategy you'll find, not surprisingly, a website. But web strategy covers a lot more ground than just a site, it includes web analytics, social media, search engine optimization, conversational media, blog-ging, link building, online advertising, video, and content distribution.

Here’s the rub: Clients are starting to ask agencies to help them navigate these new waters, but are they asking their existing agency for help, or are they looking for different agencies? New agencies are rapidly arising that combine interactive and traditional media into integrated strategies and campaigns.

Now I'm not about to start declaring, like some overstated Internet pundits, that traditional marketing is about to disappear. Such hype is significantly overstated. However, I am saying that to the degree that clients move Internet marketing into the center of their overall marketing plans, agencies that are not ready to strategically advise their clients in these ways will see their influence diminish. And no agency wants to see a decrease in strategic influence with clients. Nor do they want to lose profitable opportunities and assignments in Internet marketing. But engaging in Internet marketing does have some significant challenges for traditional agencies.   next >