It’s been my experience when talking to interactive shops and looking at their work that they’re more focused on executing ideas rather than brand-building strategies and initiatives that can be used across all media. They’re good at what they do, but it’s a niche, and they’re not scrambling to hire the right people to change that.
A new survey reported in Adweek seems to support that:
Digital agencies are improving their skills to help clients strategically, but still fall short in their ability to lead broader marketing and brand strategy, according to a new report by Forrester Research.
That inability means Web agencies in the near term will continue to be relegated to the role of implementer, while a client’s traditional shop takes the lead, said Brian Haven, a Forrester analyst.
“The interactive agencies are in a position where all their staff is focused on executing on digital,” he said. “They need people who understand that broader relationship between online and offline media.”
What that says to me is that interactive shops need to get out and start hiring the right people–people who can crossover to new media, whether their experience reflects it or not. Because it seems to me that if interactive shops did that, they could dominate. After all, most of us are digital immigrants, not digital natives. What do you think? Is this report right or wrong–or both? How can interactive shops start taking the lead?
