In DMNews' first annual Agency Business Report, we found that DM agencies continue to evolve in order to stay relevant in a complex age of cross-channel marketing.

Peter Intermaggio, SVP of marketing and communications at Comcast, and Len Blaifeder, VP of advertising and direct marketing at
Bank of New York Mellon, discuss what the DM agency relationship means to them and their companies.

With 15 years in the marketing services business, Accent Marketing Services is known for helping its clients acquire and retain customers. Though its focus hasn't changed much since it began in 1993, the company has grown from a small shop to a company supporting 3,000 employees in 13 different locations globally. With clients in telecommunications, manufacturing, consumer products, insurance, automotive, and healthcare, Accent Marketing continues to focus on helping customers grow and maintain its customer base through various direct marketing channels. Click headline above to view Accent's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Founded in 1969 and now boasting more than 6,000 employees, Acxiom is perhaps the largest processor of consumer data in the world. In addition to database management, the interactive marketing service firm specializes in direct marketing, customer data integration, IT services, digital marketing, risk mitigation and consulting. Click headline above to view Acxiom's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Founded in 1990 as Citron Haligman Bedecarre, an Internet consulting firm, AKQA became the global digital firm that it is today in 2001, after CHB acquired three other companies - AKQA, an independent Internet development company; Magnet, a Washington D.C.-based developer and e-commerce specialist; and AdInc, a Singaporean new media agency. Click headline above to view AKQA's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Aspen Marketing Services has always lived "below the line" — since its inception as a 13-agency network in 1996. Its foundations are also built in the automotive industry, thanks to its 1998 acquisition of the auto agency Creative Marketing International. These days, Aspen remains strong in the auto and direct worlds, with more auto names in its client roster than you'd see at any dealership and with core competencies defined as either "response" or "engagement" marketing on its Web site. Click headline above to view Aspen's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Founded in 1938, Carlson is one of the oldest agencies in the space. It has deep roots in CRM, brand loyalty and engagement and continues to look forward in the digital space by increasing efforts in social media, interactive marketing and mobile. The company prides itself on its rich heritage in the direct marketing space and its focus on analytics and database services. Click headline above to view Carlson's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Critical Mass may be a "purely digital" agency, but that doesn't mean their approach is simplistic. The agency has created multiple special divisions to keep up with major trends in the industry: one to track distribution of campaigns across multiple digital touchpoints, another focused on consumers' feedback and a third concentrating on analytics. Click headline above to view Critical Mass' full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

While Digitas is currently a digital agency leader, its roots are in direct marketing - it was founded in 1980 as Bronner Slosberg Humphrey, which became a leading DM firm with offerings ranging from DRTV and direct mail to print and alternative media. As digital grew and the Internet became an incredible reach vehicle, the company realized brands must engage consumers in conversation online. The agency prides itself in its ability to bring together the best qualities of its traditional direct heritage and its understanding of the digital world. Click headline above to view Digitas' full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Draftfcb is a study in contradictions: It is old, if you consider its start in 1873 as an ad brokerage, but it is new in that Draft and fcb were just combined under parent Interpublic in 2006. It is a traditional advertising agency, strong in brand building, and it is a cutting-edge full-service direct agency, with capabilities in mobile, CRM, search and predictive analytics. Draftfcb prizes creative work, but also sticks to the data-driven basics of direct. Click headline above to view Draftfcb's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

Epsilon offers creative work, e-mail, database and loyalty, predictive modeling and analytics, consulting, SEO, direct mail and other services through its three business divisions: the Purple@Epsilon agency, Marketing Technology and Data Services. The agency's drive for data is deep — its parent company is Alliance Data Systems, and, Taleen Ghazarian, SVP, strategy and planning, notes, "The essence of Epsilon is really data-driven multichannel marketing that can create measurable results for our clients." Click headline above to view Epsilon's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.

EuroRSCG was founded in 1991 with a technology focus and sees itself as a leader in the tech revolution. Today, the agency prides itself on telling brand stories through digital experiences that resonate enough with consumers that they want to pass that story on through digital media. By fully integrating its 'digital at the core' philosophy, Euro is one of the fastest growing digital agencies and is owned by Havas, a worldwide advertising and communications group. Click headline above to view EuroRSCG's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.