The Agency Side of Business

A few weeks ago I was interviewed by Valeria Maltoni on the Agency Side of the Business over at Conversation Agent, a top 20 marketing blog. I discussed Razorfish, my own career path and how agencies are evolving.  Below are two extracts the first when asked how Razorfish is evolving with the rise of social media.

What's interesting is that on the advertising front, we're seeing that social media being the perfect complement to all the traditional forms of advertising. It doesn't replace advertising as we know it but extends it enabling companies to form much deeper, longer term emotionally driven and more balanced relationships with consumers.

I think agencies are about to transform significantly. Firstly the separation between digital and traditional agencies is going to continue to blur. Separating those two worlds doesn't make sense anymore. Everything is digital even TV is going digital.

Secondly, agencies are going to realize that a big idea with multiple executions needs to be replaced by the notion of many small ideas that are created in response to consumer behavior and are adapted, changed or pulled as consumers interact with it. These small ideas when strung together create the brand story. To think along these lines requires a totally different mindset and organizational structure for many agencies.

I also believe that agencies are going to need to focus on business transformation. Helping businesses transform themselves through digital technologies to increase the value they provide consumers.

Read the full interview to learn about Razorfish's approach to social media, the evolution of interactive agencies and maybe a little more about me. Valerie asked some thought provoking questions.