A study by the Winterberry Group based on interviews with 70 senior agency executives found that agencies are adapting their services and price structures and are increasingly forced to compete with specialized service providers.
In addition, it appears that marketers are increasingly looking to develop internal resources to handle the digital channel.
Following are the key highlights of the study:
1. The complex demands of the multichannel selling environment, require that agencies provide clients with a unified offering spanning both “above-the-line” and “below-the-line” marketing channels.
2. Heightened demand for marketing program accountability is forcing agencies to adapt their service offerings, pricing structures, reporting capabilities and managerial focus.
3. Compressed margin availability, expanded client scrutiny and the emergence of alternative service providers are raising the competitive pressure for agencies of all sizes.
4. Integrated service providers are seeking to command a greater presence in the agency environment, but struggle to sell their strategic and creative offerings to marketers who associate their brand with other services.
5. Clients are increasingly leaning on internal strategy and creative capabilities-as well as procurement departments-to support marketing initiatives and generate leverage in negotiations with external agencies.
6.The prevalent “agency holding company” model is poorly equipped to provide the organizational agility and cross-channel service offering that today’s marketers demand.
Link to the pdf file of the report.
Via Winterberrygroup
