Category: Uncategorized
Does the Industry Need Big Digital Agencies Anymore?
Production Shops Go Directly to Clients in a Threat to Middlemen
Posted by Kunur Patel and Jeremy Mullman on 11.16.09
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — When Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. dumped Digitas, Tribal DDB and Agency.com for a trio of smaller, production-centric digital shops last week, it did more than deal a setback to three global interactive agency networks. It raised the question of whether big digital agencies are being outflanked by leaner, faster, more-creative shops.
Those agencies and their peers routinely hire the likes of Big Spaceship, Firstborn and EVB — the troika that swiped Wrigley — to help execute highly technical creative projects the agencies dream up for global-scale clients such as the gum maker. Now those little shops are moving into direct relationships with marketers such as Pepsi, Microsoft, Adidas and Pernod-Ricard, and leading some to wonder whether the biggest digital players are becoming unnecessary, pricey middlemen.
And that’s not the only squeeze going on. As old-line agency networks build better digital units, they’re increasingly competitive with the bigger digital shops because they can offer similar scale. Case in point: Havas’ Euro RSCG 4D’s recent takeaway of IBM’s digital account from Digitas. (more…)
New Moon, new dilemmas
Posted by Kimi Canete on Friday, November 13, 2009
…In addition to the movie, there’s also the “What Drives Edward” New Moon Volvo Contest. Participating fans can compete to win premiere tickets and even a brand-new Volvo—an XC60, the kind that Edward drives in the movie. Fans must complete all six phases of the puzzle to unlock the final puzzle. Many fans, however, are having trouble with “What drives Edward, phase 4”. It is rumored that a question on Yahoo Answers points to a video that may help.
Although the eagerly awaited “New Moon” will be playing in most theaters all over San Diego County, be sure to get there early! And if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, buy them! Many fans have bought their tickets months in advance. (full article…)
The Rise of ‘Advertility’
Gauging the give and take of marketing in a digital age
Nov 9, 2009 -By Jeff Brooks
The notion of brands taking on more purposeful, useful roles in the lives of their consumers is nothing new. Nor is the belief that the Web, and technology in general, have turbo-charged the ability for brands to provide more meaningful value for their customers. So lately I’ve been thinking about why our industry has yet to fully embrace this phenomenon.
Deeper customer engagement, technology innovation, real-time marketing, social amplification. These are wonderful things to evangelize. I’m just wondering if we’re asking all the right questions about how we apply these many virtues of the digital space. Instead of starting with the typical question of “What’s our message and how does it tie back to our product and business goals?” perhaps there’s an equally important question we often choose not to ask: “What can we be doing to help consumers, and improve some aspect of their lives?” (more…)
Rahul Sabnis 