Now, after 10 years in the digital space, I find myself spending my time talking to clients about building things. What do customers need to make smart decisions? What applications do we need to build to satisfy that need? Where are our customers when they make a decision? How do we make sure the things we build can be delivered wherever (and whenever) they need them? How do we build a link between the digital and the physical world? How do we help consumers share the things we build? This isn’t news to anyone; we’ve all seen it coming for awhile. At every industry conference you’ll hear someone make a compelling case that the future of creating and sustaining brands is in building experiences, not just in producing great advertising. What’s not so apparent is the impact this change is having on the role that advertising agencies play within client organizations. It’s not just about the work that agencies do, but rather, it’s about the actual role they should be playing in setting business strategy, designing product and service offerings, delivering service after the sale, creating innovative distribution channels and developing new revenue models. For a growing number of brands, the digital experience is becoming as important as the actual physical product.
Agencies haven’t played this role very long. They used to, but, with the rise of strong client marketing groups, agencies have focused squarely and exclusively on producing great advertising, on saying things. That limited perspective won’t cut it anymore. Clients are desperately dealing with a laundry list of challenges: A sinking economy. A connected, in-control consumer. A drive for lower costs. The disruption of traditional media channels. An expansion of global competition. The list is long and growing. In this environment, clients need ideas that will transform their business. In the past, when our only tool was paid media, it was virtually impossible to develop an idea that could change a client’s fundamental competitive position. Now, digital has the potential to re-imagine a consumer connection, or reinvent a business model. And we have a long list of consumer touchpoints with which to work, starting with the Web, then expanding to mobile applications, social, gaming, viral, digital-out-of-home, widgets, gadgets and more. Now, anything is possible. With this expanded palette, we can build experiences that become an integral part of the brand. Experiences that have the ability to add value, create new categories, surprise, delight, serve, simplify, entertain and tell a story in an entirely new, richer way than ever before possible. We are beginning to put examples of transformational business ideas into market for global brands such as Levi’s, which views the company and