What Ad Agencies of the Future Look like

Within the next decade or so, ‘ad agencies’ will not remain the ad agencies we know and understand today.

They will look and function differently. Yes, believe it or not, that will happen.

In fact, the shift has already started.

Rewind a few years and you will notice that an ad agency at that time was just that – an ad agency.

Things were simpler back then. Marketers hired agencies to create ads to place on TV or in magazines.

But with time, client needs changed and became more radical. Initially due to the internet and then eventually because of vast social media exposure.

Add to this list what you must…

So ad agencies, aiming to advance their turf, started gearing up to meet the never-ending marketing needs of their clients by gradually moving towards open-sourcing talent and various marketing capabilities.

This gradual shift led to today’s long list of ‘ad agencies’ that starts from digital agencies to PR ad agencies, marketing agencies, content agencies, experiential agencies and goes all the way to publisher ad agencies. Each aiming to bring something new to the table.

And it doesn’t end here.

These ad agencies have undergone massive change out of necessity. The present day ad agencies are required to manage marketing across a broad range of devices by serving customized ads that are based in real-time on data analysis that constantly changes and is tailored for a specific audience. It is a constantly evolving mashup of media strategies, brand experiences, business operations, marketing and online advertising services – all added together to create a customized brand experience for the users.

The Future ‘seems’ (is) Client-Centric

Today ad agencies are increasingly moving towards interdependence. So basically what we are looking for in the future is a higher level of a similar consolidation for individual branding needs as agencies start offering a single package, bundled up with capabilities like creative, media, digital, production and a dedicated marketing team.

Future-forward agencies have already started to acquire marketing tech companies, commerce, and digital creative shops. Meanwhile, media companies have started investing heavily in content creation services and buying individual media platforms. Publishing houses too have begun experimenting with and offering traditional ad services along with their own.

Take a look at Amazon, for instance. The company has a persistent identity as a tech-titan while also owning its own e-commerce and content services.

The lines between “agencies” offering various services are already getting blur.

The Real Challenge for Future Forward Agencies

As the creative bar continues to go up with each passing day, the real challenge presenting itself in front of ad agencies is of “bringing something new to the client”. Unlike traditional advertising which was built around brands and various digital marketing mediums, the new age advertising is completely focused on clients and consumers.

A decade from now, ad agencies will be accountable for client results and using technology as well as data gathering as part of their process for tracking sales. As a result, these agencies will not remain limited to only businesses and brands but expand into e-commerce and other trades as well. The current concept of media agency and creative agency is gradually merging into one, as content and distribution platforms lose their line of difference and become more interdependent on each other.

In the coming years, we are looking at a more fluid structure of the ad agencies, where the traditional differentiator of their creative output will be sourced from outside the agency itself.

Clients are now demanding ‘partners’…

Instead of companies, they could team up with for the long haul.

Clients are increasingly interested in having agencies as partners because they prefer to be involved in the creation process of the end product they will own.

The future, as I see it, is all about creating partnerships and connections. An ad agency will no longer be a large in-house service provider but more so of a connector that will bring in partners from outside and connect them to various cross-disciplined services under one roof.

Perhaps this is why many content consultancy and tech agencies are already expanding their reach and dipping their toes into the marketing business. They see where we are headed and are “moving on” from the typical online advertising services to a new expansion of services with their future-forward thinking.

The tantalizing growth of larger networks

While many companies, up until now, had been focused on acquiring smaller or mid-sized agencies, they have gradually understood that in order to tap into the desired skillset of a firm they do not necessarily have to go through the hassle of acquisition.

Take a look around the current environment and you will notice that the world’s largest digital networks and agencies like IBM Interactive Experience, Accenture Interactive and others similar to these have been busy acquiring (in some cases) various creative digital sources and forming long-standing relationships with smaller, more specialized agencies – intrinsically transforming the way agencies operate, leveling the way for a much larger and multi-dimensional playing field.

This strategy helps conserve innovation as larger companies try to absorb the skills of smaller agencies.

Even big digital media and tech players like Google and Facebook, without participating in the present ad agency race, are working tirelessly on removing the boundaries that separate various platforms, offering a mashup of all kinds of services under a single roof.

Remember Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus or WhatsApp and the dozens of smaller companies Google acquired?

See what I mean.

It’s all about creating a Brand Experience

The advertising landscape is changing and has been redefined in a significant way.

Everyone is talking about the much needed “customer experience” and its importance.

Advertising is no longer the manifestation of creativity and clients are asking marketers for more innovation and originality, coupled together to create an effective brand-experience, instead of just a representation.

In short, it is all about meeting the rising individual needs of your customers.

There was a time, not too long ago, when agencies were required to deliver a creative campaign or online advertising services against a specific budget. Over the last few years there has been a significant shift in the way these agencies “campaign” for clients.

Now everything is done in real time. From analyzing data to connecting with the target audience based on real-time behavioral data across various platforms.

Increased focus on customer experience means clients are now seeking agencies who they can partner with to provide the technology and build systems that offers personalized customer experience.

So what does the future ad agency look like?

Even though it’s all about user experience at the front end, behind the scenes it’s a more complex journey that involves multifaceted technology, right partnerships and gaining a competitive advantage by offering cost-efficient solutions to the customers.

Clive Sirkin, the CMO of Kimberly-Clark, delivered the idea of an Uber-like model for agencies in an article published in Ad Age a couple of years back. The notion behind it being that agencies will own their partnership, strategy and data with the client without owning the execution.

Even though the constant influx and changes in the client/agency relationship is gearing towards this Uber-like approach, one thing is bound to remain constant – the role of agencies in creating a unique customer experience and delivering it in real-time.

So what are the qualities of an ad agency from the future, you ask. Here are a few I list down as essentials:

1. Knowledge of the digital realm

It is no rocket science that in order to thrive, advertising and marketing agencies alike require knowledge of branding in the digital realm. Clients are demanding more and more support across the digital, commerce and media platforms. The real challenge is meeting these demands by morphing all media, tech and consulting capabilities into one.

2. Creation of convincing interactions

Knowledge of engaging the target audience with the brand via social media and other interactive virtual platforms is increasingly important.

3. Usage of the right technologies

It is essential for agencies to have ample knowledge of the technologies they are recommending. The digital space has a large social mix and leveraging it adds to the appeal of the ad agencies.

4. Understanding of consumer behavior

This one is imperative to creating a successful branding strategy and is an important aspect of the agency’s online and digital marketing expertise.

5. Creative branding capabilities

Customers expect agencies to have creative branding capabilities which can be measured and fine-tuned for success. In short, agencies that fall short in this arena will not last long enough to make it to the future. Enough said.

Successful companies of the future will be the ones who can provide a unique ‘customer experience’ and elevate their client to levels of branding at the same time.

Now let’s take a ride into the future…

Fast forward some 10 years from today and you are likely to see some super cool version of the various types of ad agencies I just mentioned above, all amalgamated into one, which will undoubtedly be called anything but. The traditional idea of an ‘agency’ is also more likely to be replaced by another term that represents a more dynamic client-centric approach toward creative services.

They will also do away with traditional job titles as everyone will be expected to show creativity and bring in their own ideas.

To bring big original ideas to the clients, companies both big and small, will have to shift to cross-border specialists provided by the future ‘agencies’ who would have moved towards adopting content planning, technology, communications and media services. There will be larger hierarchies and smaller, more specialized, teams.

Alexandra Bruell, published an interesting research article on Ad Age sometime back. In his research he sought the opinions of numerous people, asking them what the future of ad agencies looks like and mentioning the thought-provoking view of Wendy Clark, CEO of Omnicom's DDB. According to her, the new model of ad agencies in the coming years “…will be to create great work at the speed of the marketplace at an efficient cost." The traditional roles, she states, will be replaced and teams will be run by multi-specialists.

What she says makes a lot of sense. Especially if you keep the current shift in the nature of ad agencies in view.

It is easy to assume that in the next decade, the ‘old-fashioned’ and more traditional means of product advertisement will be dead.

Stride into the Future with a Full-Service Ad Agency

Bevo Media Exchange has earned its reputation as an independent full-service advertising agency, transforming itself from a non-conventional advertising entity into a future-forward ad agency that specializes in all kinds of online advertising services, catering to an array of your marketing and branding needs. We offer complete support to our clients across the larger realm of several digital and media platforms with our wide range of services for a completely unique ‘customer experience’.

From connecting you to the best ad-buying platform for all your affiliate marketing needs to effective social media marketing on practically all major virtual channels and offering our clients a secured CRM along with real-time services for analyzing target audience behavior – we aim for the perfect execution of your branding strategies in the most cost-effective way.

What attributes should an ad agency in the future have??