Sapient, who, it seems, hasn’t been in the news since the digital boom of 1999, is out with a sponsored study of chief marketing officers which resulted in the creation of a “top ten list for agencies of the future.” At the risk of boring you with the details of a study that offers no new insight, here’s the list:
1. Greater knowledge of the digital space. (Seriously? That’s a stunner!)
2. More use of “pull interactions.” (Oh yes they did. They created a new buzzword for social media)
3. Leverage virtual communities. (Apparently, none of the surveyed CMO lived through the Second Life debacle)
4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending. (It would certainly be nice but, in most cases, it’s never gonna happen. By definition, most senior management is disconnected from reality.)
5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing. (CDO? Seriously? Did they just create yet another CxO title?)
6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy. (See number five.)
7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior. (Um, yea. Like this is a new one. Not that all agencies deliver on this but this is supposed to be some new quality for agencies of the future?)
8. Demonstrate strategic thinking. ( A survey was needed to determine this finding?)
9. Branding and creative capabilities. (See number eight.)
10. Ability to measure success. (Well, duh! Of course, it’s well known most agencies do not deliver will on this one.)
So there it is. In case you needed a refresher course on what agencies need to be doing…according to Sapient, of course.
