In February 2008, Peter Kim (formerly of Forrester and now of Dachis Corp fame) coined a term called “The Connected Agency” and co-authored a report for Forrester that predicted a fundamental shift in the agency world.
. . . marketers will move to the Connected Agency — one that shifts: from making messages to nurturing consumer connections; from delivering push to creating pull interactions; and from orchestrating campaigns to facilitating conversations.
Upon Peter’s departure, Sean Corcoran has continued to flesh out the concept and has done some really interesting research. How does this idea start to evidence itself and what are the implications in the agency world? Well, it means that the focus moves from placements (and the reach, frequency, and share of voice associated with them) to conversations. And the main problem with conversations is that they can start anywhere, move, continue, move again, and finally end somewhere else. They are essentially placeless.
Social PR, Earned Media, and Community Websites
The lack of place in marketing built around conversations has started the slow obsolescence of the current agency modeled on specialization around place. Suddenly, everything is “social” and every type of agency is claiming it as their own in the rush to conversationalize themselves (it should be noted that some don’t seem aware of the rush and sit blithely by). PR is now Social PR, Media is now Earned Media, and Interactive websites are now Online communities. Everyone wants to be that one agency that helps the brand with its conversations – The Connected Agency. The Connected Agency has to have the PR savvy to manage a Twitter account without a costly misstep in representation, the Media savvy to be able to understand and track the flow and influence of posted links across Facebook, Delicious, and millions of blogs, and the Interactive savvy to be able to build a campaign microsite utilizing numerous content widgets, Facebook Connect, and OpenSocial.
Team Detroit (and the Walls Come Tumbling Down?)
The major marketing companies will soon start to leverage their true advantage as a confederation of agencies across the spectrum of place. They can pull their agencies up, cross-integrate them and allow them to pitch truly conversation-based strategies that meld PR, traditional media, direct marketing, and online assets to powerful affect.
For instance, WPP’s Team Detroit, formed wisely as an experiment in a large but offshoot market, is thriving. JWT, Y&R, Wunderman, Ogilvy, Mindshare, and The Park, all under one roof where “there are no walls, only ideas.”
Team Detroit’s strategy is one that I think we’ll continue to see explored by other holding companies as the restructuring toward connectedness continues. The positive for marketers is that the more that we connect with our customers, the more we can do for them, and the more fulfilling our jobs will be.
Filed under: Social Marketing | Tagged: forrester, jwt, mindshare, ogilvy, peter kim, sean corcoran, team detroit, wpp, wunderman, Y&R
As a principal at an agency in transition to become a connected agency, this is near and dear. We’re small, so we haven’t gotten any calls from the big confederacies, but there’s plenty of connecting to do at the small end of the business spectrum. Our clients are used to the personal service but they want to leverage the exciting social technologies and strategies available today. Our (new) job is to help them achieve those objectives and make a difference in their success.
@John, hear hear. It should definitely be mentioned that while the big guys are responding, smaller agencies are gaining traction as they demonstrate a nimbleness that the big guys have difficulty emulating. And really, if a small agency is able to help smaller clients get connected to their customers Zappos-style, then that client could experience Zappos-style growth and take the agency with it.
Doug – I get the sense that if Connected Agencies emerge, it will be more from necessity rather than choice. In conversation after conversation, agencies tell me tales of so much holdco infighting that true integration is more of a pipe dream than realistic roadmap.
This post is the perfect argument for why agencies SHOULD be the leaders in SocMe and Community Management for brands… though sadly, I fear they won’t if they don’t get on the ball and get up to speed quickly.
The key to this kind of connectedness to consumers is a single voice managed across all channels, which not even today’s modern brand manager is equipped to handle.
@TomMartin
And one of the big challenges, speaking/writing as someone immersed in social media, is protecting clients from agencies who claim to know when and how to use these tools. . .but do not.
Especially aggravating are extravagant claims about measurement to appease the ROI beast.