One of the biggest, most explosive, most far reaching changes in the advertising industry ever, has been the internet, and with it, digital advertising and marketing. It has created new companies, made others obsolete, and totally changed the way marketing is now conducted. It is a worldwide phenomenon. It is not going away, and those firms that don’t adapt to the new medium, won’t be in for business for much longer.
The old concept of a Mad Men type advertising agency, with three martini lunches, and scheduling ads for newspapers, magazines, radio and television is about as relevant today as churning your own butter. The new reality today is Digital Marketing. And the pioneers, innovators, and movers of this new marketing strategy are the digital agencies that make it all possible. But what exactly is a digital agency, and how does it work? Let’s take a look.
Today’s Agencies
Take the old Mad Men ad agency paradigm, throw out the three martini lunches, most of the print, and concentrate it all in the internet/digital realm, and you have today’s modern digital agency . It is constantly evolving, ever changing, and the most dynamic business you can possibly find. It delivers billions of messages and impressions a day, to billions of people worldwide. It lets internet browsers in Melbourne, buy condos in Miami. Or sell ski chalets in Switzerland to browsers in Sydney.
It has become the biggest bazaar the world has ever seen. So vast, so deep, so ever-morphing, that the only ones who can often make sense of it are the folks who work in digital agencies. They are the experts, the rain-makers, the gurus, that can take your marketing dollars and reach any of your prospects anywhere, anytime, with pinpoint accuracy. They save you marketing dollars, eliminate waste, and can actually track the impact and effectiveness of your ads/messages. And that’s just the beginning.
You Want Creative? You’ve Got Creative!
Digital agencies didn’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Like their forerunners they employ the best, the brightest, the most creative to get your message out there on the net. Digital graphic artists make full use of the spectrum of new visual technologies available to create web pages that have dramatic impact. Copywriters, with the ability to research complex subjects in seconds, as opposed to weeks, can make their copy more formidable and compelling in ways that could never have been done in print advertising. And here’s something else to think about: with call tracking, and other response information gatherers, digital agencies can tell their clients who is buying their products, where, and why. Try getting that from an ad in a newspaper or magazine!

Keeping On Top Of the Latest in Technology
That’s another thing digital agencies do. You have enough to do running your own business, and certainly don’t have time to check out the latest in digital/internet technology. But digital agencies do. Why? Because they have to, to keep their own businesses totally up-to-date, and competitive in the online dynamic. So, if a new customer tracking system comes along, they’ll make sure you get it. Think the guy down the street who got a web designer to do his site will get the same thing? Nope, that web designer cares about one thing – creating web sites. Anything after that is the client’s responsibility. Oops!
All Service All the Time
This new breed of digital agencies is all about service, from beginning to end.
When you hire an agency, you’ll formulate a digital marketing plan that will make the most of your marketing dollar. They’ll research you, your customers, and your competition to create a web presence that will make a solid impression on customers and browsers alike. Then they’ll create an online media plan covering other platforms that will give you the greatest exposure – like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and others. And finally, they’ll help you track your browsers and buyers, so you can target them in the future.
As you can see, the role of today’s digital agency encompasses all facets of online marketing, from planning to creation, to tracking, to maintenance. It’s not the future. It’s here now.
