By: Dan Ziman

Dan Ziman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:30:49 +0000

Enjoyed this summary, Steve. I attended this session as well. Found it very interesting to hear how these companies were dealing with the overlap of agency capabilities and noting who was really strong vs. “yes, we can do that”. The reality is that campaigns and channel communication is becoming more integrated and while no one company can really have expertise in every area, we all need to get better at how all will work together. As a manager of many external vendors, it’s extremely hard.

By: Sean Corcoran

Sean Corcoran — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:47:53 +0000

Great post Steve. You really captured a lot of the content from the panel and I think you’ve nailed a few of the big issues in the industry. I really like your comment “I have always viewed my agency as an extension of my own staff” – at Forrester we’re working to break down the marketer-agency relationship down to its simplest form (pushing aside conventional wisdom built over decades) and at the end of the day, your agency is really just an extension of your own resources. How many agencies you have, the roles they play and how effective they are often reflects the direction of the marketer. Treating them like partners rather than vendors is not a new statement but still very true. I would also add one other thing that came up in our discussion and that is the positive effect of an agency saying “no” to a client. Marketers’ expectations are often out of line with the capabilities of an agency and agencies often over-promise to ensure they keep the client relationship alive (especially in this economy). I believe marketers should expect and even reward agencies that sometimes say no because transaparency and trust are key in these relationsihps – just like in social media.

Comments on: How Many Agencies Does it Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

By: Dan Ziman

By: Sean Corcoran