Beyond Mad Men, and more than DM, the next stage is customer engagement agencies
MercerBell boss Nick Mercer went to New York in a bid to understand how the next generation of agencies are shaping themselves as customer engagement agencies, combining direct, digital, data, technology and consulting. As a result of what he learned, he now plans to change his own agency.
I’ve just returned from a New York study tour. We are on the cusp of major changes that will affect what agencies look like over the next few years.
A typical CEA needs to have expertise in direct, digital, data, technology and consulting. Many of the top US CEAs have acquired smaller specialist businesses to enable them to offer this broader range of expertise and services.
Looks like someone just woke up.
Thanks Nick, agree wholeheartedly. Glad the trip was worthwhile and here’s to the CEAs of the next 5 years
Great piece Nick.
And I couldn’t agree more.
The potency of a solid data driven strategy will always outperform a good creative idea.
The elevation of DM/CRM agencies from poor cousin to industry leaders has been a long time coming.
Here’s to the future – Carpe DM!
Thanks for those words, Nick. It’s great to see MercerBell again shifting to stay at the forefront of digital marketing trends.
To the cynical first commenter: sure, talk of the role of digital/social/data in customer experience and CRM isn’t new news, but who’s really doing it in Australia, actually DOING it, as opposed to just talking about it?
I admire MercerBell’s ambition and wish the team all the best in achieving it!
Nick, totally agree with your assertion that agencies need to evolve from being ‘campaign’ driven’ to….well, something smarter.
The other challenge agencies/consultants face is to devise a revenue model that doesn’t rely on paid media or fixed term activities. We do all the work to earn a customer-for-life, yet it is rare for an agency to last more than a few years.
It will be fascinating to watch as the industry evolves in the next few years, to see which agencies survive and which ones whither and die (or are eaten!).