Skyword Digital Agency of the Future Full Report

Industry Report:
Insights from 15 Digital Agency Thought Leaders

The Digital Agency
of the Future
New Organizational Structure, Skill and Technology Infrastructure

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................01
About This Report.............................................................................................................................02
Strategy: Embrace the Converged Media Model ..................................................................03
Operations: Build a Customer-Centric Organization............................................................05
New Talent: Strategy, Community, Content and Analytics..............................................07
Technology: Tech Stack for Marketing Insights and Workflow Efficiency.................10
The Content Opportunity: Cultivate New Markets and Revenue Streams................12
The Digital Agency of the Future: Conclusions.....................................................................14
Insights from 15 Digital Agency Thought Leaders..............................................................15
Agency Contributors to This Report..........................................................................................17
Additional Industry Resources.....................................................................................................17
Endnotes...............................................................................................................................................18
About Skyword...................................................................................................................................19

Executive Summary
The Digital Agency of the Future
increase their digital authority, the agency of the future
cannot afford to plan and execute digital campaigns in
silos. Beyond deeper channel integration, agencies will
be expected to create more than brand awareness and
recognition. They will need to define and drive relationships
for brands by developing content that will engage
audiences and motivate them to return. In addition,
agencies must rework traditional metrics, such as eyeballs
and impressions, and monitor performance across channels
to identify opportunities for growth.

Today, brands are looking to their agencies
for help in navigating the new, ever-changing
realities of marketing online. In our digital and
consumer-driven world, where the customer’s
pathway to purchase is more fragmented than ever,
marketing channels can no longer be addressed, executed
and measured as separate entities. Brands will expect
agencies to embrace a new media model where the
planning and managing of paid, owned and earned channels
is integrated. By taking a converged approach, agencies will
help their clients drive audience engagement, build brand
credibility, and accomplish their business goals.

As digital agencies increase their investment in earned and
owned media services — with content marketing at the core
— they need to rethink their organizational structure and
technology tool kit. Agencies will increasingly rely on the
skills of new converged media specialists (converged media
strategists, planners and buyers, content marketers,
community builders and analytics gurus) to plan, execute
and optimize social and digital campaigns. The technology
setup for the digital agency of the future will disseminate
content assets across channels, provide real-time
performance analytics to optimize efforts, and drive
effective audience development for brands.

Digital advertising will continue to drive a significant
portion of agency revenues; however, this alone won’t
sustain agency value, ensure future growth or drive
marketing traction for brands. In order to survive and
thrive, digital agencies need to invest in content marketing.
According to CMI1 , 33 percent of marketing budgets for
business-to-business (B2B) companies are now spent on
content marketing, making content the new digital currency.
By offering content services as a core capability, agencies
will become the fuel for their clients’ marketing programs
across the converged media continuum, empowering brands
to meet their target audiences at each junction in the
information discovery and buying journey.

With more than 80 percent of companies3 investing in and
growing their budget for content marketing, This report
provides insight into how the agency of the future must
embrace a new content-driven model and providing content
strategy, execution and analysis as key services to continue
to play an integral role in helping brands meet their business
objectives.

There is no doubt that consumers claim the driver’s seat.
Consumers now solve their own problems, researching
products and services, with the help of search and social
media. In 2011, consumers consulted an average of 10.4
new media or traditional sources2 before purchasing — a
two-fold increase from the year before. As brands aim to

The rise of ‘content marketing’ has also been fuelled by the realization that actually a lot of
the success of, say, SEO or Social Media or Email Marketing or most forms of marketing isn’t
about ‘doing more SEO’ or ‘investing in social’ but is about creating great content that people
will want to read, link to, talk about and share”

– eConsultancy

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About This Report
The team at Skyword interviewed marketing and
advertising experts from top digital agencies, asking
them about how agencies are adapting to media
convergence and the evolution of search and social
media. These contributors offered best practices on how
digital agencies can fine-tune their thinking, offerings,
talent development, and technology infrastructure to
support brand engagement and relationship-building
along the new consumer journey.

Agencies that contributed to this report include Omnicom’s
Resolution Media, allen & gerritsen, CP+B, Mindjumpers,
iProspect, Voce Communications, Likeable Media, Raidious,
The Search Agency, Beehive Media, Pappas Advisors,
Magnitude Media, McLellan Marketing Group, Digital
Influence Group, Scratch Marketing + Media and King
Content. They provided insights on the following topics:

Strategy: Embrace the Converged Media Model
Consumer audiences are increasingly difficult to reach, and increasing demand for content across
channels poses a systemic challenge for agencies seeking to create and distribute branded content.

Operations: Build a Customer-Centric Organization
An overview of the delivery model, capabilities and service offerings that agencies will need to
provide in order to compete in the future.

New Talent: Strategy, Community, Content and Analytics
An exploration into the new skills and talents needed to provide clients with integrated
marketing services based on audience insights.

Technology: Tech Stack for Marketing Insights and Workflow Efficiency
Insights on the technology that will enable agencies to provide clients with scalable content
marketing and production.

The Content Opportunity: Cultivate New Markets and Revenue Streams
Building new content service offerings will be crucial for all agencies to ensure they remain
both relevant and profitable.

2013 – “The Year of Original Branded Content”
A discussion on why the ability to support consumers as they evolve between paid, owned and earned
media channels will correlate directly to the success and effectiveness of agency-brand relationships.

Digital agency experts discuss why the ability to innovate and collaborate will be the cornerstones
of success for the digital agency of the future.

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Strategy
Embrace the Converged Media Model

E

mpowered consumers are changing the way
brands reach and engage with them. However,
brands require consulting in integrated strategy
and expertise in user experience, creative services and
media buying. An agency’s ability to apply integrated
solutions is directly tied to its effectiveness in growing
existing relationships and winning new clients.

through mobile devices, with half of American adults now
owning a smartphone. 5 With the Internet in their pockets,
Americans have become voracious consumers of audio, video,
social media and gaming content. Sixty-two percent of
Americans access news content on their mobile phones6,
making it the most consumed type of media content on
mobile devices .7 Therefore, news and educational content
creation has become imperative for agencies, brands and
traditional publishers looking to capture the attention of
the consumer on the go.

Real-Time Connectedness
Today, 2.4 billion people have access to the Internet
globally. 4 Growing numbers of people access the Internet

The agency of tomorrow does not necessarily have to offer paid, owned and earned media
services, but they have to know how to integrate these marketing channels effectively.”

– Jamie Pappas, Principal, Pappas Advisors

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Strategy
The Era of the Empowered Consumer

This trend, known as media convergence, represents the
blending of tactics across channels to reach and engage
the social consumer. A converged media model — applied to
growing brand awareness, engagement, sales and customer
service — is the only way brands and agencies can align
their marketing efforts to attract and retain the attention
of the new social consumer.

The reality is that brands no longer sell to customers.
Consumers choose to buy products and services based on
what they learn from online communities, online content
and their social networks. This holds true for both businessto-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) brands.
According to Google’s Zero Moment of Truth Macro Study8,
consumers consulted an average of 10.4 new media or
traditional sources before purchasing in 2011 — up from 5.3
sources in 2010. The Marketing Leadership Council report
titled The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing 9 reveals that
today’s business customers have their first engagement
with a company representative after they are already 50-60
percent through the purchasing decision-making process.

Jeremy Cornfeldt, President, iProspect, confirms the
need for agencies to embrace integration:

By creating an approach that focuses
on a client’s overall business health,
not just channel performance, agencies
will position themselves for long-term
partnerships centered on helping to
grow their clients’ businesses”

Brands Looking to Content to Engage
the New Social Consumer
Socially empowered consumers are pushing brands and
agencies to reconsider their engagement model and to
focus budgets on creating original content across the entire
buying cycle. By providing a seamless dialogue, from first
touch and initial sale to brand advocacy, agencies can guide
brands in building prospects and customer trust. As Drew
McLellan of McLellan Marketing Group points out, brands
need to “stop selling and start sharing and helping.”
Agencies with the know-how and resources to cultivate
content that shares their clients’ unique perspectives on
breaking news and trending topics will find success. .

- eremy Cornfeldt, President,
J
iProspect

The Converged Media Opportunity
for Digital Agencies
Brands are looking to digital agencies to navigate the era
of the empowered consumer, seeking help in leveraging
content to create better online experiences and engage
with consumers across an array of channels.

Media Convergence: The Blurring Lines
of Marketing Channels

Agencies are now expected to provide both the strategic
guidance and the comprehensive buyer and channel
understanding to help brands engage customers during
each stage of the consumer journey. To that end, agency
professionals are facing a number of opportunities and
challenges as they align with brand partners to deliver
converged services.

It used to be that marketers could focus the majority of
their budgets on TV or radio ads to get the attention of
the consumer – but not any longer. Consumers are now
exposed to over 3,000 brand messages each day, with 75
variances by customer touch point10 , often referring to
more than two content sources or screens at the same
time. While traditional media still plays a role in reaching and
engaging the consumer, leading marketers are leveraging
content across multiple channels to effectively broadcast
brand messages.

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Operations
Build a Customer-Centric Organization

Marketing and advertising agencies are undergoing a massive transformation.
The ability to understand the fluid value from leveraging paid, owned and earned
media is a must.”

– Jonas Nielsen, CEO Founder, Mindjumpers

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Operations

F

or digital agencies to survive and thrive, they must
figure out how to provide content services to their
clients through internal capabilities and strategic
partnerships. A stronger understanding of the relationship
between audiences and the content they engage with is
critical for agencies striving to provide value. The agency
of tomorrow will offer digital advertising, audience insights
and engagement and content marketing to create and
sustain authentic, compelling experiences across channels.
Understanding how to operate converged media campaigns
while driving business value for both brands and consumers
is important for larger integrated agencies as well as smaller
digital specialists. This operational knowledge is crucial for
building audiences and driving growth for agency clients.
Adapting to a converged media model is easier said than
done for the majority of today’s digital agencies. Growth
has been the historic result of their ability to offer highly
specialized services, such as public relations, search engine
optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social
media marketing and digital advertising. Originally thriving
as “centers of excellence” with separate departments and
offerings, agencies need to rethink their model. In this new
model, agencies must foster open collaboration, reduce
costs, and jointly drive results for their clients.

For agencies, sustaining growth requires strategy and
resources that best suit their own needs and the needs
of their clients. “We can’t all be good at everything at
the same time,” says Dave Kerpen of Likeable Media. To
continue promoting a multifaceted approach, Kerpen
invests in employees with diverse backgrounds and builds
strong partnerships with outside firms, as well. Changes
in operational structure alone will not ensure the smooth
transition from specialized to integrated services. The
agencies that succeed must also move away from the
stand-alone campaign mentality, instead focusing on
integrated, ongoing programs to support each stage of
the buyer’s journey.

The successful agencies of tomorrow will require both
a change in operational structure and a shift in cultural
mindset. They need to evolve their approach from what Bob
Collins, Content and Digital Strategy Director at Beehive
Media, explains as “brand-centric to customer-centric.”
This transition to consumer centricity requires agencies
to evolve centers of excellence, so that they foster
expertise across all channels and functions, recognizing
that customers aren’t searching for particular brands or
companies, but looking to solve a problem, address a
need or engage in an experience of interest or passion.

The agencies that help brands become content
powerhouses and reap rewards in 2013 and beyond
will leverage talent, technology and an integrated
operational structure.

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New Talent
Strategy, Community, Content and Analytics

Agency teams will need generalists, who understand the new world order of
marketing, and specialists (e.g., strategists, content creators, writers, SEO specialists),
to get it all done.”

– Lora Kratchounova, Principal, Scratch Marketing + Media

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New Talent

W

The Conversationalist

ith increased focus on generating compelling
content to fuel earned and owned media channels,
agencies are expected to become “always-on”
service providers, and create a consistent customer
engagement across all channels. By equipping teams with the
following roles, agencies will build and sustain a complete skill
set to support evolving media and marketing trends:

Engagement is the ultimate new agency
value. Today’s consumers want to interact
with the brand and voice real-time
questions and concerns, making it crucial
for agencies to offer clients audience
engagement services. Understanding
consumers and knowing how to engage
with them is both where the money is
today and where it will be tomorrow.

The Data-Driven Account Owner
Agencies will rely on the “Data-Driven
Account Owner” to drive lift for individual
clients across all service lines. To grow
into trusted consultants for their clients,
agencies must report on the holistic
benefit of integrated service delivery.
Thus, performance data is central to
reporting on brand lift across different
service lines, providing the insights that
drive future success. As brands continue
to depend on the integration of multiple channels to spread
messages and connect with consumers, their employees
will be skilled across multiple areas, including social media,
SEO, SEM and public relations.

“The Conversationalist” brings a mix of deep audience
understanding and storytelling ability. Inherently, this
person is a consumer champion — advising clients on how
to position assets for maximum traction, engagement
and brand loyalty. The Conversationalist is a digital native,
keenly versed in adapting agency creative and content
for the web and social platforms. The person in this role
is also comfortable measuring all aspects of marketing,
and is willing to adapt with evolving industry and
technology trends.

Customers only come from audiences.”

Agencies will rely on their Data-Driven Account Owners to
carry a solid understanding of emerging marketing trends,
technology and tool kits. The account services leadership
group will expand its core competence, generating a new
content strategy that ensures that specialist teams launch
each element of the strategy effectively. Through channel
integration, agencies will help brands build and sustain both
prospect and customer relationships.

- Taublee Jackson, President Ceo, Radius

“Customers only come from audiences,” says Taublee
Jackson, President and CEO at Raidious. “You can either buy
them with paid media, borrow them with earned media or
build them with owned media.” The Conversationalist will
be able to sustain audience and customer growth using all
channels. To that end, the Conversationalist will also act as
the content amplifier – skillfully adapting and distributing
content provided by a team of talented storytellers.

Simultaneously, these corporate entrepreneurs will be
the audience champions, using content to help audiences
before selling to them. Using audience insights, the agency
Data-Driven Account Owners will help brands publish the
right content at the right time and on the right channels to
expand brand reach and turn prospects into customers.
.

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New Talent
The Agile Content Creator

The Customer Insight Specialist

The “Agile Content Creator” is a brand
journalist – creating educational and
engaging content that supports the buyer’s
journey without rehashing corporate
marketing materials. “The more complex
your story is, the more you need to break it
down into tangible bites of engagement,”
says Bob Collins. This is where the skillful
storytellers come in: Simplifying complex
information, and creating lasting relationships
with prospects and customers in the
process, they inspire and support customers along every
touch point for a more rich, rewarding brand experience

There is no doubt that brands and agencies
have more data on prospects and customers
than ever before. This massive amount
of consumer information, including
demographic, website interaction and
purchase history, presents enormous
opportunities for brands to better understand
their audience and tailor the delivery of
communications to meet buyer needs.
However, as Doug Haslam of Voce Communications points
out, “Data is useless without people who know how to
prioritize it and pick out the trends.” To prove itself a
trusted partner, the agency must recruit employees
who can turn data into actionable insights.

Data-Driven Account Owners and Conversationalists
will look to Agile Content Creators to provide them with
authentic, relevant and timely content – key for connecting
directly with consumers. Mike Schneider, formally of
allen gerritsen, confirms, “If a brand is ready to have a
conversation with its audience, the appetite from that
audience for content is endless.”

To help brands grow, agencies will need to leverage data
signals from social media and the web to determine what
the brand’s audience wants and then create content
accordingly — often on the fly and at scale. “Agencies need
people who can digest analytics and understand the science
behind their marketing efforts,” says Leslie Poston. The
Customer Insight Specialist will interpret the large amounts
of data from multiple sources to equip the agency’s
Data-Driven Account Owners, Conversationalists and Agile
Content Creators with the intelligence they need to drive
effective content programs.

The importance of understanding how to engage the
increasingly mobile consumer is another important skill set
within this role. Having robust mobile capabilities – from
knowing how to design and create content for the mobile
screen, to understanding how to effectively participate in
relevant conversations in real-time — will prove critical.

Since the digital agency of tomorrow will need to be nimble,
creative and responsive, it will increasingly rely on its
Customer Insights Specialist to connect the customer touch
point “dots” for the rest of the agency team on a daily or
even hourly basis. Finding the people to fill this role will be
a challenge, as analytics capabilities will continue to be one
of the biggest talent gaps for agencies. While agencies can
easily find business analysts and statisticians with a deep
understanding of numbers, finding people who can grasp
the new world of communication, and the way that data
impacts the brand and the business, is rare.

.

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Technology
Tech Stack for Marketing Insights and Workflow Efficiency

Technology
The build versus buy debate will play out differently at each agency, but for paid media the
imperative will always be to link tools and information into a dashboard that is intelligent
enough to inform account strategy. And as agencies creep toward real-time delivery models,
workflow technology will also be vital to remaining efficient and profitable.

Agencies’ analytics resources and technology resources need to be
hyper-connected.”

– Kevin Green, SVP of Strategy Analytics, Digital Influence Group

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Technology

A

s agencies creep toward real-time delivery models,
workflow technology also will be vital to remaining
efficient and profitable. Innovative agencies see
technology solutions as enablers and extensions of their
capabilities. Increasingly, agencies are relying on outsourced
technology solutions to help scale their efforts, gain the
insights they need to guide initiatives and optimize the
performance of in-market programs.

Driving Digital Strategy
Effective technology solutions for social listening and
monitoring will help agencies better understand the customer
while supporting both real-time decision-making and program
optimization. The imperative will always be to link tools and
information into a dashboard intelligent enough to inform and
guide account strategy across all channels.

Aiding Workflow and Delivery
As agencies move toward real-time delivery models,
workflow technology will be vital to remaining efficient and
profitable. Expect that agencies will continue to outsource
a large portion of their underlying technology infrastructure,
as they simply cannot build all they need to sustain an
integrated marketing program. The agency marketing
technology stack will continue to merge best-in-breed
monitoring, content planning and production, content
dissemination, customer relationship management (CRM)
and analytics solutions. A comprehensive solution will help
agencies leverage their resources and talent to generate
optimal results for their clients. .

Also important for agency technology will be content
planning, including cloud-based services for content
creation and dissemination. This core of agency technology
will be built with client data and tools in mind. Integration
with client-side tools — such as marketing automation, CRM
and analytics systems — will help to aggregate the audience
insights required for campaign optimization and reporting.
And beyond developing for the front-end (client userinterface) and the back-end (agency user-interface), Ivan
Perez Armendariz, Chief Digital Officer at CP+B, suggests
that the agency of tomorrow will also see itself adding
physical computing to its technology stack. This includes
open source hardware such as Arduino and 3-D printers
such as Maker-Bot, as well as: integrated communications;
document, project, creative asset and time management
tools to complement social listening; publishing; and
analytics. “Agency technology stacks will include software
development across the front-end, back-end and native
operating systems,” says Armendariz. The industry will also
see the growth of internal and external collaborative
applications housed in the cloud to help agencies ideate
and work more closely and productively with clients.

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The Content Opportunity
Cultivate New Markets and Revenue Streams

$43.9 spent on custom

82% of brand and

61% of online marketers

content production and
distribution last year.

agency marketers expect to
increase content marketing
efforts in 2012.

worldwide use content
marketing on a weekly basis.

- ContentWise

- eMarketer

- Outbrain

We’re going to see an influx of ‘content marketing’ roles added to agency teams, as
well as a ‘newsroom’ approach and mindset within all agency operations.”

– Dave McAnally, Content Team Director, Resolution Media

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The Content Opportunity

2

s

013 will be the year of the content strategist,”
says Craig Hodges, CEO at King Content. Brands
and agencies alike will value this expertise as the
demand for content increases. The market for branded
content is already strong, and will continue to grow
stronger. Consequently, the ability to build new content
service offerings will be crucial for all agencies to ensure
they remain both relevant and profitable.

2013 will be the year of the
content strategist.”
- Craig Hodges, CEO, King Content

While content is at the core of many emerging lines of
business, each agency will move toward developing content
services in a way that aligns with its core competencies.
Accordingly, services will vary among agencies such as Digital
Agencies of Record (AORs), Search Engine Marketing (SEM),
PR and Social Media agencies (representing the digital
services continuum). Agencies will differentiate themselves
with content services that are true to their heritage.
To engage clients in content conversations and win their
content business, agencies must first learn to communicate
and sell the value of their emergent content offerings. That
messaging will need to fit in with agencies’ existing value
proposition, as follows:

However, the brand dollars with the largest profits will be
reserved for the agencies that embrace content as the
foundational layer of their marketing. The new talent at
these “always-on,” agencies will support brands on-the-go
and on-the-fly through the creation and distribution of
content at scale.
The new agency talent will embrace and know how to
navigate the evolving world of media convergence.
Recognition and reward will be given to the Data-Driven
Account Owners, Conversationalists, Agile Content Creators
and Audience Data Insight Specialist, helping brands deliver
real business results across digital and mobile channels
.

• For AORs: Mapping out content strategies

and roadmaps
• For PR: Creating branded content to feed

conversations
• For the SEM and Social shops: Optimizing content

for discoverability

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Conclusions
The Digital Agency of the Future: Conclusions
Media convergence is a disruptive force affecting all
aspects of agency life and operations. Strategically,
agencies can prepare for this convergence by planning and
synchronizing service delivery across the user experience,
content creation and media buying.
Exploring an alternative operational model is a major
part of adapting to the changing media and consumer
landscape. A key aspect of this new model is the need for
customer focus — delivering sustained value through
client-centric organizational structures.
No organizational transformation goes without challenges.
Attracting the right talent is one of the major pain points
for digital agencies of all sizes. Agencies are struggling
to bring in the needed talent and skills to address the
proliferation of channels and customer touch points.
These touch points are generating growing amounts of
collectable and targetable marketing data, which in turn
requires robust statistical and technological sophistication
for its analysis.

Another key challenge faced by agencies lies in their ability
to identify, embrace and leverage technology as a service
— for insights and as a profitability enabler. Aside from
implementing workflow and tools to improve operational
efficiency, agencies will be expected to be fluent with
both predominant and emerging marketing technologies.
Successful agencies will emerge as technology consultants,
helping clients select, deploy and leverage the best
marketing technologies to meet their specific needs.

To that end, there are two major talent gaps agencies
will need to address — both driven by the need for robust
audience insights. Media-buying agencies need these deep
insights to plan, execute and optimize campaigns. These
same insights need to be leveraged by creative teams
that are responsible for building brand experiences and
interacting with customers on social platforms in real time.
These are two distinct competencies, and to bring them
together, the agency of the future will likely evolve from
a merger of the deeply data-driven and extremely
creative-led agency.

In conclusion, while we have outlined the pillars of the
changing agency landscape, we acknowledge that the path
to becoming the agency of the future will vary greatly. We
welcome digital marketers to partake in the conversation
and offer their insights, advice and predictions for agencies
in 2013 and beyond. To follow the conversation on
Twitter, use hashtag #futureagency..

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Insights
Thought leaders discuss why the ability to innovate and collaborate will be the
cornerstone of success for the digital agency of the future:
• In 2013, mobile will become a primary owned channel that requires the same
“
level of investment and attention we’ve seen deployed against social networks
the past 3-5 years. Agencies that can assist organizations in bringing together
marketing, public relations, customer service, etc. to support macro programs
will find greater success across all marketing disciplines – including driving innovation and improving brand preference.”
- Kevin Green, Digital Influence Group
• We are going to see an influx of ‘content marketing’ roles added to agency teams – just like brands have added
“
in-house content marketing talent over the past few years. You’re also going to see the ‘newsroom’ model built
out within agencies. SEO engagements are going to shift to include elements of content creation (strategy,
development) as part of the standard offering. It will no longer focus simply on traditional on-site SEO and
social SEO.” - Dave McAnally, Content Team Director, Resolution Media
• . Delivering valuable content for your consumers is essential for all brands – it will be key for agencies to have both
“
the ability to understand data and the targeting to deliver the right content in the right format to users on their
desired device, while also connecting experiences across devices.”
- Jeremy Cornfeldt, President, iProspect
• 2013 will be the year of the content strategist – brands and agencies will clamor to employ them.”
“
- Craig Hodges, King Content
• The innovative agencies will be about the combination of social, interest, commerce and aspiration to create a rich
“
profile that delivers better content on mobile. Agencies that get people to opt in and who learn to nimbly analyze and
use the data [that] people offer brands daily are going to be the winners.”
- Mike Schneider, formally of allen gerritsen
• Building out the ‘always-on’ service model, not just talking about it, but creating relevant and interesting stories
“
on a daily bases that tie the context of the ‘now’ into what’s relevant for the brand, will be crucial. Piggybacking on
trending stories alone won’t cut [it] in 2013 – it will be about making meaningful brand connections with
those trending stories.” - Jonas Nielsen, Mindjumpers
• 2013 will need to be the year of the collaborative agency – agencies will need to either work with cousin agencies in
“
.
other media (paid, owned, earned) or build out aspects of all three media offerings in their own services.”
- Doug Haslam, Voce Communications

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Insights

• Engaging with consumers, understanding what they want, listening to feedback and leveraging data and analytics will
“
.
make agencies successful in 2013.” - Dave Kerpen, Likeable Communications
• Successful agencies will move beyond the ‘Big Idea’ – in today’s media environment, you can never generate enough
“
weight behind a single ‘Big Idea’. The future is all about a thousand little ideas that can be executed in real time and on
the fly.” - Taulbee Jackson, Raidious
• 2013 will include less telling stories about your brand and your company and more celebration of the passions and
“
.
needs of your customers – increasingly via visual means. Owned and paid media will strive to become earned media.
CMOs will have to overcome the current divide between digital marketing, brand marketing, PR Social programs to
successfully develop and implement compelling brand experiences. We are entering a world where digital innovation is
merging with traditional marketing fundamentals to create new approaches, new brand leaders and new models for
success.” - Bob Collins, Beehive Media
• In order to find success in the coming year, agencies must be able to tie the results of earned media back to business
“
.
goals and objectives, and to common measures of success. Agencies must stop describing the value of earned media
in terms of a soft or qualitative ROI – in earned media, engagement with the brand and the brand’s content is the ‘Holy
Grail’. So, place engagement at the top of the list when it comes to measuring the ROI of integrated marketing and
communications initiatives.” - Jamie Pappas, Pappas Advisors
• The things to look for in 2013 are almost all happening behind the scenes – the most innovation will come from the
.“
products that make the marketing engine work, whether it’s your CRM tool or your analytics.”
- Leslie Poston, Magnitude Media
• The successful agencies in 2013 will know how to start with their clients’ business goals and create long-term
“
.
strategies that weave online and offline tactics – they’ll know how to play in the old school world and how to
capitalize on the new world’s opportunities.” - Lora Kratchounova, Scratch Marketing + Media
• Mobile is going to have a central seat at the marketing table – mobile search queries on both smartphones and tablets
“
.
will continue their dramatic growth. Mobile display ads will start to take off – the game changer will be mobile display
retargeting innovations. There will also be a dramatic increase in the number of mobile optimized sites, with user
experience improving dramatically too.” - Mike Solomon, The Search Agency
• Content marketing will be key for agencies, expressed as the ability to fluidly move from owned, to paid, to earned,
“
.
[helping] companies garner tangible, immediate business results.”
- Jeremy Cornfeldt, President, iProspect
• This is the year that physical computing makes the Internet of Things the Internet of Everything. Products and devices
“
connected to the Internet will hit critical mass. The sharable content that arises from this connectivity will deliver the
most compelling and relevant brand messages and digital advertising.” - Ivan Perez, CPB

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Agency Contributors to This Report
Ivan Perez Armendariz, Chief Digital Officer at CP+B, @IvanPA, http://www.cpbgroup.com/
Bob Collins, Content Digital Strategy Director at Beehive Media, @robertcollins,
http://beehivemedia.com/think-it-do-it#

Kevin Green, SVP, Strategy Analytics at Digital Influence Group, @KevinMGreen,
http://www.greenmatterthoughts.com/

Doug Haslam, Client Services Supervisor at Voce Communications, @dough, http://doughaslam.com/
Craig Hodges, CEO at King Content, @King_Content, http://www.kingcontent.com.au/blog/
Taulbee Jackson, President / CEO at Raidious, @raidious, http://www.raidious.com/news/
Jeremy Cornfeldt, President, iProspect, @iProspect,
http://www.iprospect.com/blog/within-iprospect

Dave Kerpen, CEO, Likeable Local Chairman at Likeable Media, @davekerpen, http://www.likeable.com/blog/
Lora Kratchounova, Principal at Scratch Marketing + Media, @ScratchMM, http://scratchmm.com/blog/
Drew McLellan, CEO at McLellan Marketing Group, @drewmclellan, http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/
Dave McAnally, Content Team Director at Resolution Media, @ResolutionMedia, http://resolutionmedia.com/
Jonas Nielsen, CEO Founder at Mindjumpers, @mindjumpers, http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/
Jamie Pappas, Principal at Pappas Advisors, @jamiepappas, http://pappasadvisors.com/resources/blog/
Leslie Poston, Founder Emerging Media Director at Magnitude Media, LLC, @leslie, http://magnitudemedia.net/
Mike Schneider, former SVP, Director Incubator at allen gerritsen, @SchneiderMike, http://www.schneidermike.com/
Mike Solomon, SVP Marketing Strategy at The Search Agency, @thesearchagency
http://www.thesearchagents.com/author/mike-s/

Additional Resources
Skyword (2012). “How to Kick-Start Your Content Marketing: A Seven-Step Approach Delivering Success”
- http://www.skyword.com/kick-start-your-content-marketing-program/

Google/Shopper Sciences (April, 2011). “The Zero Moment of Truth Macro Study”. Retrieved from:
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/library/studies/the-zero-moment-of-truth-macro-study/

IBM Corporation (July, 2012). “2012 State of Marketing Survey”. Retrieved from:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/marketing-solutions/campaigns/surveys/2012-marketers-survey.html

Marketing Leadership Council (2012). “The Digital Evolution in B2B Marketing”. Retrieved from:
http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd-resources/content/digital-evolution/pdf/Digital-Evolution-in-B2B-Marketing.pdf

Rebecca Lieb, Jeremiah Owyang (July 2012). “The Converged Media Imperative: How Brands Must Combine Paid, Owned
and Earned Media”. Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/Altimeter/the-converged-media-imperative?ref=http://www.
web-strategist.com/blog/2012/07/19/altimeter-report-paid-owned-earned-converged-media/

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Endnotes
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/b2bresearch2013cmi-121023151728-phpapp01-1.pdf

1

http://www.zeromomentoftruth.com/

2

http://www.toprankblog.com/2012/11/100-b2b-content-marketing-statistics-for-2013/

3

http://www.businessinsider.com/mary-meeker-2012-internet-trends-year-end-update-2012-12?op=1

4

http://www.journalism.org/node/31038

5

http://www.journalism.org/node/31038

6

http://www.businessinsider.com/state-of-internet-slides-2012-10?op=1

7

http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-zero-moment-of-truth-macro-study.html

8

http://www.executiveboard.com/exbd-resources/content/digital-evolution/pdf/Digital-Evolution-in-B2B-Marketing.pdf

9

http://www.slideshare.net/Altimeter/the-converged-media-imperative?ref=http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2012/07/19/
altimeter-report-paid-owned-earned-converged-media/

10

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About Skyword
Skyword delivers all that organizations need to reach and engage their audiences with quality, original content designed
to succeed in search and social media. Quality content is essential for reaching and engaging consumers today, but the
creation process is messy, inconsistent and immeasurable. The Skyword Platform makes it easy to produce, optimize and
promote content at any scale to create meaningful, lasting relationships with customers. Skyword for Agencies is an
offshoot of the Skyword Platform designed to meet the specific needs of marketing and advertising agencies that
manage original content programs for multiple clients. Skyword also provides access to a community of more than
20,000 professional writers, and its content strategy and editorial teams can help ensure the ongoing success of
clients’ content programs.
Skyword on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

Contact Skyword today and inquire about:
• Content Strategy Advisory Support: Skyword content strategists will help you discover your customers’ content

needs, evaluate the competition in the marketplace and design a winning content marketing program.
• Skyword Writer Services: Skyword’s writer recruitment team identifies writers that have domain expertise in the

areas you seek to address within the Skyword network of 20,000 professional writers and growing. Skyword helps
recruit and manage the writers that best fit your needs.
• kyword Editorial Services: Skyword copy editors ensure both content quality and brand alignment. Skyword’s
S
editors have worked with some of the most recognized publishing brands in America.
• kyword for Agencies: The agency version of the Skyword Content Production Platform allows agencies to
S
seamlessly manage content programs for multiple clients; create content optimized for search and social; streamline
editorial supervision and provide real-time content analytics to help demonstrate measurable value to clients.

WEB

www.skyword.com

PHONE

855.SKYWORD (855.759.9673)

EMAIL

sales@skyword.com

25 Thomson Place | Boston, MA 02210 | 855-skyword | www.skyword.com
Follow Skyword on: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, LinkedIn, and Google+

Skyword Digital Agency of the Future Full Report

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