The traditional idea of the agency is a relic. The days of clients willing to spend their marketing budget on a "let's throw some creative ideas at the wall and see what sticks" strategy are long gone. Digital has changed the landscape. Clients want predictable and measurable results. And they should. But agencies have been slow to adopt Digital. And by that, I don't mean slow to adopt digital technologies (tactics and executions). I mean slow to adopt the digital culture (collaboration, strategy and planning). And this, friends, is where the tale begins.

1. WHY AGENCIES SUCK AT DIGITAL
… and how to make sure yours doesn't.

2. DO YOU REMEMBER WHY YOU WANTED TO GET
INTO THE DIGITAL MARKETING BUSINESS?

3. To inspire,
be inspired
or just do cool shit.

4. How many of you feel like you’re doing
any of these things?

5. So what happened?

6. Digital happened… and everybody freaked out.
• New channels, tools that are constantly changing/evolving
• Everyone’s an “expert” with no experience
• Conflicting priorities and agendas
• The rise of data, transparency and ROI
• Increased focus on tactics; strategy relegated to the back seat

7. … and agencies reacted.

8. Agencies began…
• Servicing vs. Guiding
• Waitressing vs. Leading
• Projects vs. Programs (no more AOR)
• Vendor vs. Partner

9. … and the gap between the client and agency
relationship formed.

10. THE GAP

11. What’s Causing the Gap
Bottom-Up
Approach
Tactics before
Strategy
] V
Misunderstanding
of what “Integrated
Marketing” is today
e
Lack
of Focus
b
Culture of Yes
l
Offering the Wrong
Digital Products
and Services
(
Trafficking
instead of Project
Management
Lead with
Passion and
Authenticity

12. The term “full service” agency
is just bullshit. You cant be all
things to all people. If you do
you’ll position yourself as a
marketing swiss army knife
who offers a lot of things but
you aren’t known for being
great for any one of them.
Lack
of Focus
b
Don’t be afraid to plant a flag and say not only who
and what you are, but who and what you are not!
Think of business like a funnel with a large end and a narrow end.
Your business can only succeed at one end of that funnel or the
other. Either you can be…
- Few things to many
- Many things to few
Examples of this would be…
- “We are a marketing agency that focuses solely on email
marketing and eCRM/Marketing Automation”
- “We are a full-service agency that offers a full range of traditional
and digital marketing services specifically for food & beverage
retail clientele”
What’s Causing the Gap

13. “Integrated Marketing” is no
longer where traditional and
digital channels intersect. In
fact, its not about channels at
all anymore.
Misunderstanding
of what “Integrated
Marketing” is today
e
In the past, “Integrated Marketing” was often
represented like this:
Traditional
Marketing
Channels
Digital
Marketing
Channels
Integrated
Solution
This model is primarily focused on the mediums/channels and the
“Integrated” solution lies where these two channel groups meet…
Channel
Centric
Approach
What’s Causing the Gap

14. “Integrated Marketing” is no
longer where traditional and
digital channels intersect. In
fact, its not about channels at
all anymore.
Misunderstanding
of what “Integrated
Marketing” is today
e
Today “Integrated Marketing” is about the convergence of
Strategy + Creative + Technology…
… and where these 3 items meet is where the consumer
focused solution lies, regardless of the medium or channel
Technology
(MarTech)
CreativeStrategy
fCustomer
Customer
Centric
Approach
What’s Causing the Gap

15. Solve for the business dilemma, not the budget.
Clients come to us frequently with what they PERCEIVE to be their
business or marketing need. I need a website. We need to do more
social. We need a paid search/display campaign. But often these are
just the symptoms of larger business/marketing issues that they often
are unable to realize let alone articulate. You’ve heard the expression
“You cant see the forest for the trees?”
As a PARTNER (not a vendor) we should be asking…
- Why do you feel you need (insert client request here)…
- What is the business goal that you hope this will help achieve?
- How will you measure the success of this project/program/campaign?
When meeting with a client the
first question always seems to
be “What’s your CPA?” or
“What’s your budget?”
Bottom-Up
Approach
]
Not…
- What’s your budget?
- What’s your CPA?
What’s Causing the Gap

16. Any jackwagon can post something to Facebook.
Or build a website, design a landing page, send an email, implement
Google Tag Manager or produce an analytics and insights report. Frankly,
anyone with the right skills could perform any number of formulaic tasks
to execute a digital marketing initiative. It’s really no more difficult than
following the steps you’d take to change your oil. It’s simply checking
boxes off a checklist. But its not the execution that makes a digital
marketing campaign or program successful… it’s the strategy.
There has to be someone on hand that sees the big picture. Someone that
not only holistically understands the clients business goals, success metrics,
audience and customer journey(s) but also how to leverage the resources,
technologies and channels to amplify the brand’s message and maximize
marketing efforts and budget.
Discover. Strategize. Plan. Test. Execute. Measure. Analyze. Optimize.
Rinse. Repeat.
The successful execution of
digital projects/programs is
formulaic. What drives
business success is is holistic
strategy and planning.
Tactics before
Strategy
V
What’s Causing the Gap

17. The “thinkers” vs. “doers” ratio.
Agency culture is storied and runs deep. Change is hard. How many times
have you heard “… but this is how we’ve always done it”? Resistance to
change and failure to keep current with industry trends causes people
become robotic in the execution of their job and check their instincts and
passion at the door. It’s difficult for an agency to position itself as a partner
or thought leader with clients when you’re just waitressing requests.
Its time to raise the bar! We’ve got to encourage our colleagues to
educate themselves and take an active role in their professional
development. They’ve gotta get out there and go to meetups, networking
events and conferences. Subscribe to email newsletters. Read articles.
Talk to people. ENGAGE! And once they’re armed with knowledge they
will have the confidence to ask the most important question there is when
fielding a project request from a client: WHY?
Waitressing requests without
asking the critical “why”
questions will quickly position
your agency as a vendor
rather than a partner and
thought leader
Culture of Yes
l
What’s Causing the Gap

18. Fire up the flux capacitor. We’re going back in time!
When I joined my first agency, I remember thinking how great it was going
to be to work somewhere that actually valued creativity and outside-the-
box thinking. And that was true to some extent, but I was surprised at
how far behind the curve many agencies really are when it comes to
digital.
A lot of traditional agencies who are trying to become more digital are
stuck in a digital time warp. Websites and paid search - while still viable
and necessary - are commoditized and costly to manage/deliver. Websites
also have the added bonus of having a long lifecycle and payoff. Digital
services such as paid and earned social media, content marketing and
email/eCRM/marketing automation are more in demand, quicker to turn
around AND have the benefit of having a lower cost to deliver… not to
mention it can also provide recurring revenue.
Website’s and Digital Media
are often the fulcrum of most
agency digital offerings, but
they are often low margin
projects/programs that are
expensive and time
consuming to build and
manage.
Offering the Wrong
Digital Products
and Services
(
What’s Causing the Gap

19. Death to plastic job jackets and paper change orders!
I’m always puzzled by peoples perceptions about digital project process as if it
is somehow vastly different than traditional projects. Just like a print project,
you discover the client need, document the requirements, designs are created
and approved… then, when you send it off to the printer, no more changes can
be made once the project is on the press. The digital process is strikingly
similar, except instead of sending the project to press you hand it off to your
developers and at that point no more changes can be made without incurring
financial and schedule impacts, just like print. This is where a lot of agencies
get stuck - they’re overcomplicating the simple and oversimplifying the
complicated.
What often gets oversimplified is the workflow for managing digital projects.
Digital projects often have a lot more moving parts than traditional projects
and require more touch. And because of those additional moving parts you
must employ the appropriate documentation, tools and techniques to manage
scope, budget, timelines and expectations.
Agencies are often ill-equipped
to manage long tail digital
projects that have lots of
moving parts and require
multiple resources,
technologies and skill sets
Trafficking
instead of Project
Management
What’s Causing the Gap

20. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
And if you don't love what you do, GTFO out of this business now! Marketing
is not a career for the faint of heart. What we sell is largely intangible and
subjective. We sell ideas, creativity and strategy which requires you to make an
substantial investment of yourself in everything you produce. So how can you
expect a client to get excited about what your ideas if you aren't passionate
about them yourself?
You want to be perceived as a partner rather than a vendor? Then ALWAYS
lead with passion. Speak to your audience conversationally like you would talk
to your friends and colleagues… and speak honestly. Telling the client what
they want to hear is not a virtue. Oh, and please save the jargon and
buzzwords for your next networking happy hour or meetup. There is nothing
more disingenuous than that. And NEVER, EVER be afraid to express your
enthusiasm. Get excited! Be theatrical. Tell a story. Tell YOUR story. And
remember, people connect with the WHY, not the how or the what.
People connect with the why,
not the how or the what. Tell
your agency’s story
authentically. Speak to your
audience conversationally.
Eliminate jargon and buzz
words and talk like a real
person.
Lead with
Passion and
Authenticity
What’s Causing the Gap

21. SO HOW DO WE FIX IT?

22. • Be authentic and lead with passion
• Do good work
• Be selective
• Be a partner, not a vendor
• Replace presentations with
conversations
• Diagnose before you prescribe
• Strategy first, then tactics
• Solve for the business dilemma,
• not the budget
• One size does NOT fit all
• Technologies are tools in a toolbox
• Creativity is NOT a commodity

23. ANY QUESTIONS?

24. Who is this guy?
Cory Smith
I am a Digital Strategist, Solutions Architect, and Executive Technology Leader with 20+ years in the digital field. I specialize in bringing passion, leadership
and strategy to digital marketing and business initiatives. I’ve worked with companies such as the the Walt Disney Company, The Miami Herald, Equifax,
Sun Trust, NASCAR, The Wounded Warrior Project, Under Armor, TSYS, The American LeMans Series, Coca Cola and the March of Dimes. I work with both
agencies and clients to develop and manage digital marketing initiatives and programs, build new digital organizations or to repair broken ones.
It’s just what I do. It’s a thing.
@novuscory