Social Networks a Threat to Agencies?

Perhaps you’ve heard the news. Traditional agencies don’t get social media. But just how do social networks and other emerging channels threaten agencies? Is this the start of the end?

A recent article from the Financial Times, Social networks threaten advertising growth, is one more in a long line of shots fired. At the heart of this and other articles is the idea that agencies are not evolving their businesses as people evolve their media consumption, entertainment and communication behaviors.

While the article focused on the UK marketplace, one point jumped out. Two-thirds of agencies are not ready for this change. As I do the math, that would mean that one-third of agencies are ready for the change. And if that’s the case, then it is time for the doom-and-gloom coverage to end.

Let’s face it. Advertising agencies are slow to embrace new channels.  A decade ago, they were slow to adapt to interactive advertising, making way for new agencies like Avenue A.  Some of the large agencies embraced search a little more quickly, but new players like iProspect and Efficient Frontier developed expertise as independents in the space.  Now, new agencies and marketing services companies are stepping in to provide these services, and many become major players in their own right or are acquired by larger agencies. 

There is no doubt that as personal forms of communication become media channels, marketing and advertising will change. And with it, agencies will change. Some will come, some will go, and some will evolve. But agencies will live on as strategic partners of their clients.