Newsflash! Marketers Want Knowledgeable Agencies!

Although somewhat obvious and nothing unpredictable, its good to be reminded of the basics. Here is a top ten list for agencies of the future thanks to Sapient and AdRants, including some sarcastic commentary from our friends at Adrants:

1. Greater knowledge of the digital space. (Seriously? That's a stunner!)
2. More use of "pull interactions." (Oh yes they did. They created a new buzzword for social media)
3. Leverage virtual communities. (Apparently, none of the surveyed CMO lived through the Second Life debacle)
4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending. (It would certainly be nice but, in most cases, it's never gonna happen. By definition, most senior management is disconnected from reality.)
5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing. (CDO? Seriously? Did they just create yet another CxO title?)
6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy. (See number five.)
7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior. (Um, yea. Like this is a new one. Not that all agencies deliver on this but this is supposed to be some new quality for agencies of the future?)
8. Demonstrate strategic thinking. ( A survey was needed to determine this finding?)
9. Branding and creative capabilities. (See number eight.)
10. Ability to measure success. (Well, duh! Of course, it's well known most agencies do not deliver will on this one.)

For the full article:
http://www.adrants.com/2008/09/newsflash-marketers-want-knowledgeable.php

How to create a culture of high performance

Thanks to Rob for finding this article from Accenture. Some thoughts include:

1. Maintaining the right balance between market-making and disciplined execution

2. Obsessively identifying and multiplying talent

3. Using a selective scorecard to measure business performance

4. Recognising technology as a strategic asset

5. Emphasizing continuous renewal

For the full article visit:

http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/3F0FC8D5-0029-4AA9-A0B3-5F5508F97ECE/0/OutlookPDF_Jan07_Leadership_02.pdf