Advertising industry

RSW/US Survey: Is the Advertising Industry Adapting Well to the Modern World?

Good news, Agencies!!  Marketers say yes.

This is an upbeat finding of the RSW/US 2016 Agency New Business Survey Report: marketers generally see the advertising industry adapting well to the “modern world”.

Our recent post,  If our Agency new Business Survey was a Fortune Cookie… related that when asked how the industry is adapting to the modern world, marketer responses show they feel good about agencies’ preparedness.

Advertising Industry

The agency remarks presented in our earlier post exhibit considerably more anxiety about their own ability to adapt to the modern world.  But…

Please, don’t panic!

Without discounting the effects and implications of new marketing technology, new media channels, changes in consumer media consumption habits and more, it’s worth taking a deep breath and looking at what Marketers say brings them the most benefit through their agency relationships.

The top three benefits Marketers identified in the Agency New Business Survey were:

  • Creative expertise – 96% of Marketers
  • Innovative ideas – 79% of Marketers
  • Strategy – also 79% of Marketers

If you are feeling the turbulence of industry change like weather fronts colliding, you have plenty of company.

weather-fronts

It is certainly important to instill a process of studying industry changes and a culture of adapting and adopting the ones that are vital to your business and your clients’ objectives.

Recently new titles such as “Chief Marketing Technologist’ and functions such as “marketing technologies” and “data scientists” (Forbes: The Top 10 Trends Driving Marketing in 2017) will have bearing on your work and relationship with clients, as well as implications for agency new business opportunities.

Do the homework.  Do it daily.  Determine how your firm needs to evolve to stay abreast – or even ahead – of your clients’ and prospects’ developing needs.  For new business, fear not the niche!   (Review the advice of Michael Gass in our earlier post featuring his advice, “Fish Away from the Boat.)

And, keep on delivering those benefits Marketers say they value most: creative, innovation, strategy.

You can DO this!

Mark is a 30-year veteran of the consumer packaged goods, advertising, and marketing service industry. Mark started his career at DDB Needham in Chicago prior to earning his MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Business School at Northwestern where he majored in Marketing and Economics. Prior to starting RSW/US in 2005, Mark was General Manager for AcuPOLL, a global research consultancy. Sneider worked in Marketing for S.C. Johnson and KAO Brands. Sneider has been invited to speak at numerous Agency events and network conferences domestically and internationally including the 4A’s, Magnet, NAMA, TAAN, and MCAN. Sneider has been featured in prominent industry publications including Adweek, Media Post, e-Marketer, and Forbes. When not working (which often seems like not often), Mark likes to run miles, go to church, and just chill with a hard copy issue of Fast Company.