advertising agencies

Agencies Are No Longer The Exclusive Marketing And Business Partner For CMOs CMOs bring agency work in-house and aggressively manage agency fees. Global consultancies like Accenture and Deloitte target CMOs and new business and technology stakeholders with experience agency services. The agency business model is under financial attack. P&G reported saving $1 billion in agency […]

Photo Credit: Adweek.com IPG announced a deal to acquire Acxiom Marketing Services to much fanfare from the business press and financial analysts praising the potential of marketing powered by Acxiom’s data and IPG’s growing ad tech capabilities. However, before we rush to applaud IPG’s business acumen and industry foresight let’s unpack the implications. What Should […]

I have a new work crush. It happened, of all places, at the ANA’s Advertising Financial Management Conference earlier this week in Hollywood, Florida. My new marketer inspiration? Denise Karkos, CMO of TD Ameritrade, who talked us through what it means — and why it’s so critical — to be an accountable CMO. Here’s a bit […]

Forrester’s research shows that half of firms have moved some digital marketing capabilities in-house, and another third plan to do so. Whether you are a company CMO or an agency CEO, insourcing involves a lot of anxiety. Both should ask: “What does this mean for my business?” Make In-House Digital Marketing A Strategic Asset It’s […]

  The news of Martin Sorrell’s resignation signals a crisis for WPP; its stock dropped 7% Monday and further fueled discussion of breaking up the company into smaller pieces. But rather than bend to the pressure of market volatility, WPP should take this rare moment of reflection to reinvent itself. Sorrell’s resignation ends an era, […]

Do you want to be like Apple? In 2010, Apple ranked as the 17th most valuable brand in the world. Just three years later, it had garnered the top spot and has remained there. Since 2010, Apple’s brand value has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 36%, while the entire “brandscape” has grown […]

Will 2018 Be A Reckoning For Agencies? WPP’s flat 2017 earnings is another in a series of bad omens for marketing agencies, as the largest advertising holding company is often regarded a bell weather for the industry. IPG, Publicis Groupe and Havas also reported lack-luster earnings. P&G and Unilever recently cut another $800 MM in […]

I love digging into data. Sounds obvious, I know. I’m an analyst, after all. But when I returned to Forrester, just after the Q2 2017 Omnichannel DSP Wave published, I found we were sitting on a treasure trove of data gleaned during the customer reference survey portion of the research. And it was illuminating. This […]

Why Should You Care? Ever seen puppies on ads? How about babies? If you have, chances are that you weren’t seeing much of anything else. When I first collaborated with Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience, they shared a straight-forward eye-tracking heat map of an audience watching a commercial involving shelter pets. The dogs were adorable. And everything […]

Consultancies Arrival Disrupts Agencies Fiat Chrysler’s appointment of Accenture Interactive as the “experience agency of record” for Maserati marks the second example of consultancies winning a global marketing assignment, following Deloitte Digital’s win of John Hancock/Manulife last summer. Both are seismic events in the marketing world as these assignments traditionally reside with agencies and holding […]

Layoffs Are A Reality Of The Agency Business Each January the industry weathers account losses, budget cuts or contract changes that result in  layoffs. Last week four agencies announced post-Holiday staff reductions: Grey Group reduced 2.2% of staff. Ogilvy reduced 2.8% of staff. BBDO reportedly reduced nearly 30 staffers. TBWA reportedly reduced approximately 10 staffers. […]

I’m obsessed with the future of television. A couple years ago, I pursued it largely as a research exercise. Today, I’m up in arms based on my own experience as a TV consumer. The rumors are true: empowered consumers are real and I am one. And of late, my ad experience with my chosen form […]

Media, so vital to the wellbeing of the economy, has endured a turbulent year. Marketers questioned the quality of the supply chain. Agencies reorganized to reinforce their value proposition. Ad tech continued to consolidate. Publishers scrambled to make money and keep their two sets of customers – consumers and advertisers – happy. While that short […]

As we covered in our recent webinar, the convergence of advertising technology and marketing technology is inevitable — and that’s a good thing for marketers. The union of these two tech worlds is part of an emerging broader marketing mindset shift that focuses on quality rather than scale. Today’s customers demand experiences that are engaging […]

Over the past few years, I was lucky enough to travel to many different places: in most European countries, in the US, in Brazil, in the Middle East, in India, in Indonesia or very recently in Japan and Thailand. The digital revolution is happening all over the place and it is fascinating to see how […]

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 […]

A CMO and a CIO walk into a hotel bar (Let’s call them Tom and Dick). After ordering a drink, Tom says, “Dick, I really need to start working with a DMP this year, and I want your help selecting one.” Dick says, “A DMP? My enterprise architecture team is building a near real-time, self-service […]

Understanding agent attitudes toward their insurance carrier partners is crucial in earning independent agent loyalty—and driving sales.  Why?  Because despite predictions that direct-to-consumer insurance sales would doom the insurance agent, nearly 20 years after the advent of online insurance selling, millions of consumers and small businesses continue to rely on their local insurance agencies. Consider […]