Will Pure-Play Agencies Survive?

The shift in marketing dollars from traditional to digital media may be well under way, but companies are happy with their full-service ad agencies and generally unlikely to adopt a digital-only shop for their online campaigns, according to research from RSW/US, which works with full-service and specialized agencies for lead generation.

Two-thirds of marketers told RSW/US they were highly satisfied with their primary agency, awarding a rating of at least 7 on a 10-point scale. Even more said they would use their primary agency again.

When it came to digital expertise specifically, however, clients were unimpressed. Less than two-fifths of respondents rated their full-service agencies 7 or higher in this area, consistent with RSW/US’s 2009 findings. Even so, relatively few companies, small or large, used an exclusively digital agency for their online and social marketing campaigns.

Despite their dissatisfaction with full-service agencies’ digital efforts, more than one-half of companies polled were very unlikely to turn their online and social campaigns over to a digital-only agency if they weren’t already using one. Only a few (14%) rated the chances at 7 or higher out of 10.

“With so many marketers still not quite sure what to do in the social/digital space, there is a big opportunity for agencies to shore up their skill sets and their resources (or access to) to create a better offering for marketers,” according to the “2010 New Business Report.”

The report found word-of-mouth was a major factor in agencies finding new business, including advice and recommendations from colleagues (38%) or from marketers in another company (34%). Being approached by an agency at the right time also influenced 37% of respondents.

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