#pubcon

Finding the Right Agency

Presented by: James Loomstein

Digital Space Consulting

Create. Connect. Engage.

#pubcon @jloomstein

•  Digital agency with over 10 years experience in content, creative, communications, and analytics

•  Passionate about the tools, platforms, and technology used to connect and engage consumers

•  Focused on empowering brands and customers by enabling them to research, relate and engage with each other

•  Extensive experience in local search, PPC, SEO, conversion optimization, targeting/segmentation, and marketing strategy

Wait, About Me…

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#pubcon @jloomstein

History

Worked  for    “Big”  agencies  

Started    my  own  agency  

Now  work  with    other  agencies    on  client  work    

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How I see it

The era of the standalone 500+ employee full-service agency are over

Mobile, social, video, etc. have moved agencies towards specialization & niche service offerings

Hiring a single agency to run your company in so 1998 – everyone has to learn how to play together

CASE IN POINT –  I worked on a large CPG account for an Omnicom agency –  Our weekly status call included 26 partner agencies –  Territory control pushed ahead of client success –  In one instance - it took 5 months to get a Facebook page approved

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#pubcon @jloomstein

The web is specific and specialized. 30 years ago, brands had about five different things they could do for marketing (direct mail, print, radio, billboard, and TV). Today – over 1,000 different tactics exist with new opportunities on an almost daily basis. The problem is that we (the agencies) are not looking at the right problem. It’s impossible for anyone (or any agency) to be a master in everything (creative, development, analytics, mobile, content, social, video, email, etc.). The one-stop digital shop is a dying breed – the overhyped 500+ employee agency is falling apart.  

The problem remains --- tying actions and activities to results and ROI. - James Loomstein

The Advertising Model is Changing

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But the bigger problem

CLIENT

is a changing ecosystem

SEO Specialist

Agency of Record (AOR) PR /

Communication Agency

Media Buying Agency

Creative Agency

Search/Social Agency

Branding Agency

Broadcast Agency

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Where the industry is headed Ad Category First Half 2012 First Half 2013 % Change

Search $8,128 $8,728 7.4%

Display Related $5,586 $6,078 8.8%

Banner Ads $3,622 $3,780 4.4%

Digital Video Comm. $1,053 $1,307 24.1%

Rich Media $495 $640 29.3%

Sponsorships $416 $351 -15.6%

Mobile $1,242 $3,038 144.6%

Classified & Directories $1,160 $1,291 11.3%

Lead Generation $834 $853 2.3%

Email $78 $78 --

Total $17,028 $20,066 17.8% Note: Display Related includes banner ads, digital video commercials, rich media, and sponsorships. Source: Internet Advertising Bureau

Digital video, rich media, mobile, and classified/directories all experienced double digit growth in the first half of 2013.

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#pubcon @jloomstein

•  Strategic partner or order taker •  Channel specialist or one-stop shop •  Deep vertical market expertise •  Fee structure (percentage of spend, time based, retainer, performance based) •  Measurement against internal strengths and challenges

How you need to think

No matter the selection criteria - Understand collaboration and niche specialization is the next evolution of the agency model

about selecting an agency

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#pubcon @jloomstein

FUNDAMENTALLY… •  What are the primary objectives we want to complete? •  Do we have the internal resources to be successful? •  Do we need full-service, boutique, strategy, specialty, or order taker? •  Who will manage the agency relationship? •  How do we measure success? •  Do we have a plan (or a plan for a plan)?

AND ALSO… –  Research as much as possible –  Make sure they understand your sector –  Make sure they can be a part of your team

How to select the right agency

Use agencies to fill in skill gaps and manage workload. Fine tune based on where each get the best results. - @SFerika

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#pubcon @jloomstein

INTERNAL LEVEL • What problem are we trying to solve? • Have any form of insights been gained for how our customers consume our company digitally (search, mobile, social, video, vertical directory)? • What is our biggest internal challenge? • What are the immediate goals for implementing an online marketing campaign? • What does success mean in terms of an online marketing campaign?

ORGANIZATION LEVEL • Finding the right skills to match in-house experience • Conflicting interest and struggles for budget, work, and creative freedom • Death by committee (“……it just doesn’t feel right”) • Thinking about how we think

– -- like a consumer / our bosses / and a search engine

Ask the right questions

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#pubcon @jloomstein

AGENCY LEVEL •  What are your best practices in managing [social media]? How do you stay

current on new and emerging trends? What trends do you see on the 2015 horizon for our brand?

•  Describe your strategy for [SEO] and what tools you use for enterprise [SEO] management?

•  How do you define [social media] objectives and success? What is your process for creating a [social media] strategy?

•  What is your methodology for site optimization •  What training and technical support is available •  What cost savings opportunities can you provide our company? •  What part of your services are outsourced to a third party? •  Describe how your agency manages projects for enterprise accounts?

Ask the right questions

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COLLABORATION BETWEEN AGENCIES ISN’T ALWAYS EASY, BUT IT’S ALWAYS WORTH IT •  First – Define the ultimate goal of collaboration among agencies •  Second – Determine who plays quarterback •  Third – Identify your internal resource structure, capacity, and limitations •  Fourth – Determine your required level of control •  Fifth – Date before you get married THREE KEY QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR IN ALL OF YOUR AGENCY PARTNERS •  Agency partners should live for, and be focused on, the best ideas that drive results –

regardless of who came up with them •  Self-awareness of key strengths and the role each plays on the integrated team •  Works with other agency partners proactively without client direction/mandate to

collaborate, comes up with big ideas, and executes

How to partner with an agency + build collaboration

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#pubcon @jloomstein

WHAT TO LOOK FOR •  Expertise and familiarity

–  Deep domain knowledge –  Real time knowledge of your target consumer –  Data driven marketing intelligence –  Passion and familiarity for the space

•  Creativity –  More than features and functionality –  Designed to reflect target consumer’s life experience –  Integration across a wide spectrum of digital media

•  Project team –  Pitch team vs. work team –  LinkedIn and Twitter profiles –  Focus on stories (not credentials)

What to look for in an agency partner WHAT TO EXPECT •  Strategy

–  Ideas/concepts

•  Discovery –  Ability to define marketing objectives

•  Logistics/organization –  Timelines, event schedules, deliverables –  Resource / planning documentation

•  Reporting –  Benchmarks –  Competitive / Industry / Consumer –  What’s you should be thinking about next –  Reporting that solves problems

Do they have a key understanding of your business? Are their values and approach aligned with yours? - @KelseySpellman

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•  Focus on accountability •  Demand analytics and reporting •  Require flexibility (on them and you) •  Challenge them to say “no” to the project •  Don’t hire an order taker (unless that is what you need)

How to get MORE out of your agency

WHY SPECIALTY AGENCIES MAKE SENSE •  More tactical expertise •  Access to agency decision makers •  Lower spending minimums

•  Decide who are the deciders •  Determine / focus on the right KPIs (content, outreach, etc.) •  Setup an IGNITE session (strategic planning day) •  They understand your needs and obligations to your boss •  Use the tools they use

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#pubcon @jloomstein

How to get the MOST out of your agency Standardize monthly tasks

list, weekly check-ins, scheduled reports

Your objective with your agency is scalability and

repeatability

Stay smart for your sake and that of your agency

Work with agencies that like to work with others

Invest in tools that either save you time, make you money, or make you look

smart

Stop obsessing over what image to use in your

monthly email newsletter

<

Focus on RCS

Create platform partnerships - Hubspot, Magento,

ExactTarget

Build on what’s working – Improve upon what is worth improving upon

Track metrics that matter

Complete digital audits

Educate & evangelize from the ground up Stop chasing shiny objects

!

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•  I INTERVIEWED PERSONAL CONNECTIONS who serve as current marketing directors within the healthcare, travel, and CPG space

•  I ASKED QUESTIONS: –  How do you identify agencies to work with –  What do agencies need to do to be successful/make you successful –  Where do agencies drop the ball –  What do you wish agencies knew before they started working with

you –  What is the best thing an agency can do to make your life easier

•  HERE IS WHAT THEY SAID…

How In-house Marketing Directors view the world and get the most out of their agencies

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#pubcon @jloomstein

WHAT DO YOU WISH AGENCIES KNEW BEFORE THEY STARTED WORKING WITH YOU •  Come in with a thoughtful analysis from the perspective of

our audiences •  Understanding why they were hired and what the #1 reason

is that they are the agency for a particular project •  Prove that we NEED to work with them •  Be ready to discuss and show best practices in our field and

successful examples of our customers journey and experience

How to get the most out of your agency

WHERE DO AGENCIES DROP THE BALL •  Continue to promise and say "yes" to everything •  Not thinking through the pros and cons of an

efficient and effective solution/approaches •  Not measuring/tracking our efforts and

providing insightful feedback to adjust our course

•  Thinking they have all the answers

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#pubcon @jloomstein

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY WHICH AGENCIES TO WORK WITH •  Can they share their business plan, budget, relevant clients •  Understanding who is the day-to-day team (not just the biz dev team) •  The ones that don’t show up with canned client roster or general case studies •  Sometimes getting an agency that says they can do everything is not always the answer for your particular business

issue

How to get the most out of your agency

WHAT DO AGENCIES NEED TO DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL/MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL •  Communicate / be consistent (avoid mis-alignment) •  Show value •  Take time to understand our needs/concerns •  Bring clear and thoughtful strategy and insight to the table •  Work closely with us to help establish valuable KPI's (business level) •  Be fully briefed and understand how success is measured (in-house marketing team level)

Beware of the agency that has all of the answers before finding out the question. - @SueBrady

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#pubcon @jloomstein

WHAT IS THE BEST THING AN AGENCY CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER •  Be a great partner and have a vested interest in

the solution they implemented •  Constantly communicating with the in-house

marketing leads •  Strong project management and production

processes •  Accountable and responsible •  Stop being the wizard behind the curtain

How to get the most out of your agency

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WHERE DO YOU STRUGGLE INTERNALLY WITH RESPECT TO YOUR DIGITAL AGENCY? •  Delegating work out to the agency when no one

internally has enough experience to understand if the agency is doing good work

•  Finding the missed opportunities •  Understanding trends

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RFPs are tough on you and the agency

AGENCY BACKGROUND •  Agency history and expertise •  Specific vertical industry experience/expertise •  Target customer

AGENCY STAFFING •  Project team alignment / background •  FT vs. outsourced vs. dedicated resources

TECHNICAL SUMMARY •  Project description •  IT requirements / roles

CLIENT REFERENCE AND WORK •  Average tenure and retention rate of agency clients •  Case studies and example work

PRICING AND CONTRACT TERMS •  Pricing structure •  Add-on fees

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND EXPECTATIONS

•  Methodology and approach •  Delivery schedule •  KPIs

CUSTOMER SUPPORT •  Training and onboarding •  Availability of agency executives vs. project team •  Frequency of team phone calls, on-site visits, and reporting

Assess your budget based on the “range” of services you’ll need. Instead of saying the project has a cost of “X” amount – state you are willing to spend within a range from $X to $Y.”

Have a better plan

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#pubcon @jloomstein

RFPs are tough on you and the agency Have a better process

PHONE SCREEN Vetting process Talk them out of the project

SUBMIT RFI Response (Q&A format) Showcase thinking

AGENCY PROJECT Approach / methodology Case study

RFP RESPONSE Critical thinking Campaign strategy

PRESENTATION

Project team

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#pubcon @jloomstein

•  Continued breakdown of marketing silos •  Mobile first strategy moves to the forefront •  Agencies shift in business models to more integrated services

–  In-bound marketing –  Content discovery /amplification –  Website performance –  Lead nurturing –  Personalization/localization

•  Agency shift from project based work to retainer based structure •  Lines continue to be blurred as market move to greater convergence among paid, owned,

and earned media •  Greater integration between search and social (social signals) •  Continued strong shift towards video •  Search continues to get smarter and focuses on intent (content/context) •  Increased consumer adoption of voice and vertical search •  Search engines (Google/Bing) continue to become a part of the customer journey – not the

entire journey •  Freshness, depth, and uniqueness of content will drive search results •  Link earning > link building •  Everything will turn to paid media

2015 Digital Trends

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#pubcon @jloomstein

BLOGS •  B2B Marketing Blog – www.webbiquity.com •  DigitalNext at www.adage.com •  Small Agency Diary at www.adage.com •  Adobe at www.cmo.com

RESOURCES •  www.aaaa.org •  www.adage.com •  www.digitalmarketingdepot.com •  www.iab.net •  www.marketingland.com •  www.emarketer.com

Resources GET SMART •  Fast Company •  Harvard Business Review •  Inc. Magazine •  Wired •  Copyblogger •  Pro Blogger

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•  Search Engine Journal •  Search Engine Land •  Search Engine Watch •  Social Media Explorer •  Social Media Examiner •  Social Media Today •  Moz Blog

PEOPLE •  Seth Godin •  Gary Vaynerchuk •  John Battelle •  Chris Brogan •  Greg Verdino

•  Lee Oden •  Bruce Clay •  Brian Solis •  Neil Patel •  Jay Baer •  Joe Pulizzi

#pubcon @jloomstein

DigitalSpaceConsulting.com

James@digitalspaceconsulting.com

Linkedin.com/in/Jloomstein

Slideshare.net/jloomstein/presentations

Twitter.com/jloomstein

Contact Information

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Appendix

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Selected Digital Agency Capabilities

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Source: Third Door Media

Selected Digital Agency Capabilities

Professional Services

Channel Services

Search Social Media

Public Relations Website Mobile Email Display

SEO Paid

Search

Strategy Branding Media

Planning Consumer research

Link Analysis Link Building

Local Keyword Research

International

Bid Management Landing Page Optimization

Affiliate Re-Marketing

Content Reputation

Brand Compliance Influencer Outreach

Community Video

Placement Outreach

Event Brand

Monitoring

Design Development Ecommerce Microsite

Development Apps

Design Paid Media

Programming Development

List Database Lead Gen

Media Planning &

Buying Re-Marketing

Creative

#pubcon @jloomstein

•  Making mobile a priority (mobile first strategy) •  Hiring professional journalist/writers •  Repurposing content •  Developing rent to own content strategies •  Developing professional editorial practices •  Becoming a media company (Red Bull, Coca Cola, River Bend Pools) •  Understand it’s not about creating content – it’s about creating

passionate subscribers for your brand RIGHT MESSAGE. RIGHT AUDIENCE. RIGHT CHANNEL. •  Story telling on Facebook •  Listening well on Twitter •  Glam it up on Pinterest •  Creating art on Instagram •  Getting animated on Tumblr

What brands need to think about in 2015

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