Sarah Sikowitz

The Forrester Wave™: Lead Agencies, Q4 2016 report is hot off the press!  Companies that succeed in the post-digital era marry digital engagement, traditional marketing, data, and technology to create superior, customer-centric brand experiences. For marketers, this means staying ahead of changing consumer behavior and organizing your team to meet the needs of today’s empowered […]

Changes in consumer behavior and technology are driving seismic shifts in media buying. Marketers are feeling this acutely as they reach out to media agency partners for strategic support and solutions. At the same time, media agencies are struggling to carve out ways to differentiate — broadening capabilities and moving into new marketing realms.  The […]

Marketers often voice their frustration to me about the rate of turnover at their agencies.  It is hard to lose a great team member, but it’s more difficult to be left holding the bag for bringing someone new up to speed on the business.  And this happens frequently. Agencies compete with each other, tech companies, […]

On Monday, holding company Dentsu Aegis announced that it acquired a majority stake in Merkle, which is known for its CRM, data, and digital marketing capabilities. Logistically, this acquisition allows Merkle to increase its international presence, while beefing up Dentsu’s US coverage and allowing it to diversify outside of Japan. This acquisition is also important […]

In collaboration with Susan Bidel, Richard Joyce and Jim Nail.  Yesterday, the ANA released the findings from an eight month research study into the issue of transparency within the media agency industry.  The findings are damning, but not surprising for those who have been following this issue. The phrase in the report that caught my eye […]

Coauthored by Anjali Yakkundi “We can improve your digital customer experience with our strategy, design, and technical chops.” Does this pitch sound familiar? Digital agencies, consultancies, and technical services firms are all racing to be your digital customer experience partner. They have merged, acquired, and built new practices to meet the multidisciplinary needs of both […]

I embarked on the topic of performance-based agency compensation because I was getting A LOT of questions about it. Mostly, folks wanted to understand how to structure it.  As I set out to answer that question, I uncovered a topic that is probably one of the most hotly debated topics in the industry. People are […]

I am very excited to announce that the Innovation Agency Wave is now live!  Marketers need data, technology support, ideas, experience design, and change management — not just channel expertise — in order to differentiate themselves in the age of the customer. To accommodate, agencies are redefining their core competencies to better align with three areas of marketers' […]

Continuing the theme of agency selection, my next report, Revamp Your Agency Roster To Lead A Connected Brand Experience (subscription required), came out yesterday.  This report helps CMOs reorient themselves to the shifting agency landscape and identify partners to help move them from channel expertise to leading a connected experience. In establishing this new model, […]

Being asked to pitch for a new piece of business strikes both excitement and fear in the hearts of many agency folk.  When I started research for my latest report, The Fit Test For Strong Agency Relationships, there was no shortage of people who wanted to weigh in on how to make the process better […]

I recently joined Forrester’s CMO team as a principal analyst covering agencies — the world where I spent most of my time over the past 15 years. I have been fortunate enough to have worked at thriving agencies as they have undergone major change: Avenue A as it built out its media capabilities and tools; […]