The Rise of Crowdsourcing
In the era of seismic change now occurring on Madison Avenue, ad agencies are starting to strap on an extra seat belt. There is a lot of talk about revamping traditional ad agency models, e.g., digital, hybrid, tradigital or simply, creation of the “new agency”. Traditional agencies are pushed to their limits by the explosion of digital and social media marketing projects as clients demand greater expertise. Agency compensation models fortified with high overhead are under pressure since it isn’t easy for a large agency to monetize the creation of a Twitter background page or Facebook fan page. This leads us to the need for a compensation model that reflects activity-based pricing delivered more efficiently. For new ad agency start-ups, the answer may be what we call the “Fifth Model”. This is another step in the long evolution of ad agencies adapting to changing market conditions for well over 100 years.
The “Fifth Model” Recognizes the Value of Social Media Marketing
Marketers can connect with customers using social media more efficiently vs. outbound marketing tactics. For example, downloading a digital coupon for a free taco may not only cure one’s short term hunger but, for the marketer, it is a viable reward for loyal customers and drives traffic at a price far less than traditional ads. Even when the value of the free taco fades, a smart marketer now understands the importance of engaging customers. Armed with a social media strategy, many brands now understand the drill: listen, engage, feedback, analysis = win.
Recently I have had this conversation too many times with” social media” agencies looking for guidance in pitching a prospective client. They live by the old rules of offering a host of “great” ideas and suggest the client pick what they like. All this does is open the discussion to a myriad of “their” ideas as well as others offered up by the client and leads the client to believe that they do not have a firm grasp on what can work best… at least in their opinion.