As digital technologies have become more prominent, ad agencies are evolving to meet the needs of their clients. That discussion was on tap at today’s AlwaysOn OnMedia show in New York, in a session that looked at the changing digital media landscape and how agencies are responding.
For Marc Ruxin, EVP/chief innovation officer, McCann Worldgroup, new technologies allow McCann to test new ideas.
“We do a trial to see if it works and then if it does, we get the green light,” he said. “Data and analytics help us figure out if it worked.”
And despite the weak economy, most of the panelists agreed that there is a great opportunity in the digital landscape for agencies.
“This is an incredible time for the birth of new successful enterprises,” said Chan Suh, CEO, Agency.com. “It’s not about advertising or about a campaign. The goal is to increase the revenue and profitability of our clients.”
There is a great opportunity for innovation.
“Innovation is taking advantage of $1,500 to make a TV spot and getting on Google TV,” Ruxin added. “Innovation is also understanding the channels you are working with.”
For example, while everyone is trying to figure out how to monetize Facebook and YouTube and other social channels, some brands have really been able to make it work to help build their brand. One example discussed on the panel was Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s work with Burger King on Facebook. Their idea was to create the “Whopper Sacrifice” application, which let Facebook users sacrifice 10 of their Facebook friends in exchange for a free Whopper.
“It worked because it caught the attention of people,” said Ruxin. “There is no real metric here, but this is innovation. Innovation is analog, it’s digital and understanding how these channels work for the brand.”
