It’s Getting Cold Outside but HOT in the CMO Suite
CONTENTS:
1. It’s Getting Cold Outside but HOT in the CMO Suite
2. What’s A Digital Agency? The World Wants to Know
3. If You Belong to the ANA, You Were Called Unproductive, Unsustainable and Undesirable.
4. If You Want to Hire a New Marketing Partner by Year-End, Please Start Now
IT’S GETTING COLD OUTSIDE BUT HOT IN THE CMO SUITE
Pity the poor CMO. One person all alone held responsible for what scores of agency folks are doing for the brand. Beyond that, it’s not unusual for many other C-Suite execs to provide input to agency decisions and actions. Read what AdAge’s Jack Neff had to say. “Chief marketing officers are most likely among C-suite players to get fired when companies miss growth targets, but they often aren’t given the time or authority to develop the most significant innovations, according to a new study by Accenture Strategy. The study found 37 of the 535 global-company CEOs who responded to the survey said that their CMOs would be the first fired if corporate growth targets aren’t met. The CMOs edged out chief sales officers (34) and chief strategy officers (29) on the firing line.”
WHAT’S A DIGITAL AGENCY? THE WORLD WANTS TO KNOW
I don’t recall when, but more than a few years ago, as agencies registered to create new profiles here at AgencyFinder.com, they wanted an option to call themselves a “digital” agency. We accommodated that and watched to see what was incoming. We had telephone conversations to address the issue and initially learned they meant “we produce digitally.” Then the industry current suggested that every agency needed to understand and produce using digital technology. That allowed agencies to label themselves as “Integrated firms” and the world was “good.”
Fast-forward to today. Everything is produced using digital technologies and analog has faded away. And the expression “Digital Agency” now means – we produce and execute only in digital media. To quote Wikipedia – “Services provided range from the general website design, e-mail marketing and micro-sites, etc. to the more specialized such as viral campaigns, pay-per-click ad management, banner advertising, search engine optimization and marketing, podcasting, and front-end development.
Traditional advertising agencies usually collect fees off ad placement instead of the work itself. Digital agencies usually bill their fees through the service time involved in artwork, design, creative and technical services that you hire them to complete.”
So – if you go looking for a Digital Agency, don’t later expect them to produce and run your ads in magazines, newspapers and other traditional media.
P.S. – If you have a better definition, please share it so I can share with others!
IF YOU BELONG TO THE ANA, HE CALLED YOU UNPRODUCTIVE, UNSUSTAINABLE AND UNDESIRABLE
If you’ve been in marketing for some time and follow the trades, the name Rance Crain should catch your attention, and so should his AdAge article entitled “ANA Chief Calls on CMOs to Take Back Marketing, But Do They Really Want To?” Rance has always looked closely and spoken freely about our industry and this is no exception.
He begins, “When the head of a major trade association characterizes the industry that his members work in as “unproductive, unsustainable and undesirable,” you know you’ve got problems. And when he lays the blame for this dilemma at the feet of his own members, you know you’ve got even bigger problems.
That’s the situation the advertising business finds itself in today. Bob Liodice, president-CEO of the Association of National Advertisers, unloaded a barrage of litanies on the failings of the marketing community at the ANA’s annual conference in Orlando two weeks ago.”
“As we acknowledge our industry’s brand-building creativity, it is also important for us to take a step back and candidly assess our industry’s direction,” Bob said. “Yes, there has been quite a bit of progress to leverage technology—as evidenced by our expanding media platforms. But is that progress getting us anywhere?” (continue)
IF YOU WANT TO HIRE A NEW MARKETING PARTNER BY YEAR-END, PLEASE START NOW
Check your calendar – remove non-productive Holiday Days and other “unofficial” days off and you’ll see there aren’t many productive days remaining to run an effective agency review. And it’s not fair to ask any agency to work over Christmas, Hanukkah or New Year’s either.
No words are really needed if you find yourself wanting an agency for whatever reason. Let’s find you one!
Start a fresh registration here or send me an e-mail at ; I’ll call you to learn your wishes. Remember, you search for free.
