Advertising Agencies, to evolve or die?
Challenges of change
The new millennium brings a more demanding, expert and selective consumer, no longer a passive receiver of old massive messages. Changes in marketing communication during the last 20 years that appeared from the evolution of new technologies and their role that are taking in consumer behavior represent a major challenge for traditional advertising strategies. Media separation, the appearance of new target and communication techniques and the importance of data base among other reasons have produced a crisis in advertising industry that is forgetting new needs.
The term "Advertising Agency" has been the same since 50īs, keeping the same structure and operation. This idea has created a big difference between the advertising in massive media and the new interactive media, taking the risk of affecting client-agency relationship.
At the beginning, advertising industry was reluctant to the challenges that a new communication model offered, particularly the Marketing Integrated Communication (MIC), developed in Northwestern University (Chicago) on early 90īs, without considering the transition of a massive marketing to a personal marketing. An example is that we still hear, referring to communication techniques, the terms of "below-the-line" and "above the line" when we can say that "there is no line".
CHANGE ENDURANCE
Nowadays, new media gives communication and close consumer opportunities than ever, even though agencies have the risk of being trapped in a pleasant creative endeavor for media. This practice can cause a lack of attention in consumer's behavior (for example, in many cases brand exposure is now a consumer choice), that along with lack of MIC knowledge and missing quality personnel for practicing it, can turn into an obstacle that stops the evolution of agencies.
Another risk is the missing analysis of creativity in a publicity message, apart form the results that it causes. The problem is that for recognizing ads they take as reference the artistic work that is made instead of marketing and sales efficiency.
What agencies say about the polemic is that exceptional creativity can generate successful sales or the acquisition of brand equity. This can be or not true, however clients agree that agencies are not attached to their business needs. Is in this way that, form the clients point of view, the never ending seek for a Leon de Oro de Cannes turns into a problem referring to marketing goals. This is a serious problem that we need to considerate.
To justify their interests, agencies look for arguments that prove the importance of a "persuasive advertising" or the making of a "brand difference", ignoring that they can get and adequate brand exposure. Agencies had been little by little losing authority in marketing areas and external brads (what clients seek more frequently).
"An unnecessary need" is a painful phrase that more keen clients refer to, due to the conviction that agencies are empty of people willing to listen and creative people with lack of marketing knowledge.
Communication strategies seem to evaluate publicity strategies that were applied for long time. Fore this situation, communication experts had showed themselves neutrals in the analysis, taking advantage of publicity industry weaknesses. What is worst, taking an important part of the share of publicity investment for agencies survival.
ADVERTISING REVOLUTION
Some agencies had established their industrial goals, planning again their communications practices, becoming part of a new advertising area: respectful, willing and open to dialogue and sensible to the constant changes of time. Many are now offering a great number of services, having as a main point a MIC philosophy. At the same time they are more accessible to offer creative alternatives following client's need with affordable budgets.
If we take into consideration that a MIC application is perceived as a drastic change, opposite to traditional diagrams of advertising massive communication, will considerably increase. Agencies had experienced many of these changes during the last five years, even though the main detonator was the fact of enjoying the client's budget (each time used for other communication strategies by the client or other organizations). However, these agencies had chosen MIC systems.
Is in this way that is more advisable that agencies turn into business experts with the plus of generating ideas, not creative and publicity services, but with more strategies. And now the main argument is to state that they are better companies for implementing a MIC system that any other experienced communication enterprise.
Thereīs no doubt that clients have a big responsibility for carry on this evolution, because they have to trust and assign agencies MIC development.
It' important to support a MIC system in a communication ambiance for an advertising agency. This support is reached thanks to agencies that have accepted to leave inflexible trends that avoid them from adapting to clients needs.
Nowadays advertisers are looking in agencies professional humbleness, innovation and knowledge; they require solid and sensible agencies capable of using different communication means, a more comprehensible research, a right use of direct marketing, public relations and less traditional solutions.
A responsible use of a MIC system by the agency will be required, without losing and modifying the relation client-agency. If not, a full inability for gathering messages and processes will end up in hindering them.
One common problem that agencies face is that they keep a relevant business design, far from new professional requirements. The legitimacy of an agency is situated in marketing leadership, establishing their goals and their ability to develop global, interactive and one-to-one communication, but above all in realizing that the only strength that an agency has is ir's own creative and intellectual force that is better than an operative capacity.
Advertising is still an essential mean for brand communication. The legitimacy of agencies consists in offering creative, important, adequate and useful solutions according to brands communication.
