If they all look alike, how am I going to know which Ad Agency to pick?

Click here to watch RSW/AgencySearch Spotlight Video on this topic.

Back in early part of the summer I had an opportunity to speak to a group of Omnicom agencies in San Francisco about the challenges facing ad agencies now and in the future.

One of the big issues that we discussed was the blurring of agency lines.

Digital firms are starting to look like full service firms, PR firms are offering social media services offered by digital agencies, and full service firms are beefing up their digital practices in an attempt to be more competitive in the digital space.  They are all starting to look alike.

An agency’s goal is somewhat righteous and somewhat self-serving.

Righteous in the sense that they are responding to your needs as a marketer to better manage your business in a fully integrated sense.  It’s certainly easier if you can one-stop shop all the services you need than to try to manage many different parts and pieces.  Problem with that is just because an agency offers it all, doesn’t mean they’re good at it all.  That’s where the self-serving part comes in.  What agency doesn’t want it all?

So what does this mean for you, the Marketer?

So this is where you need to really dig and be more aware of what sits under the hood if you’re in the market for a new agency.

There are three things you should look for/consider/probe for when looking for a new agency – each outlined in a recent video we created that speaks to this topic.

You can access the video by clicking here:  RSW/AgencySearch Video:  Blurring of Lines