New Research Suggests Ad Agencies Are Out Of Touch
Ad Agencies are out of touch with the needs of marketing directors and have failed to adapt to new interactive communication methods, according to new research from the Haystack Group and Brainjuicer.
416 senior clients and agency chiefs took part in the survey, which aimed to discover why client marketers and ad agencies have grown apart in the last few years.
According to the research, many advertising agencies are out of touch with the commercial realities which face marketing managers. It suggests that ad agencies need to undergo a radical rethink of both agency structures and attitudes.
Robert Foye, managing director of Coca Cola new products, comments: “Agencies have to do their work better, they have to be much more integrated, think much broader and they have to provide solutions that work through a more difficult environment.”
The research also criticises agencies’ failure to update ideas and practises in line with new interactive communication methods. At a speech to the Marketing Society last week, Suki Thompson, managing director of the Haystack Group, commented: “The biggest changes in recent years, the arrival of interactivity which has effectively blurred the distinction between traditionally separate communication disciplines has been largely ignored by mainstream agencies.”
Earlier this month Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the world’s largest marketing and advertising group, WPP, warned the industry to refocus on ideas and go media neutral (see Sorrell Tells Ad Industry To Go Neutral).
However, many in the industry view media neutrality as nothing more than this year’s industry buzz-word. Ford Ennals, managing director of Britannia Music, comments: “Media neutrality has zero meaning. Clients have always sought to maximise the effectiveness of their spend and look for areas where they can get the greatest return, regardless of who’s buying the media.”
The Haystack Group: 0207 290 2660 thehaystackgroup.com
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