Advertising in the New Media Economy: How to Revolutionize the Agency Model

Today’s complex media ecosystem makes it vitally important to redefine the brand-agency relationship.

The advertising industry is in a constant state of change, driven by the innovations of the digital era. The ongoing shifts in the marketplace have a decisive impact on traditional practices in media planning and buying. In particular, the digital revolution has created a state where every product is an interface. To stay relevant and innovative, it is thus essential to follow and respond to the dominant market trends that will shape the industry in the mid-term:

• The Evolution of TV as an ad format will fundamentally shape media buying. The TV audience’s constant decline is the result of an ongoing rise in online video viewing. Yet, recently, digital engagement has seen a road block in the emergence of ad-blocking and ad-skipping.
• Customization at Scale is a potent mix of science and creative input designed to optimize media buying practices. The value of programmatic has experienced limitations while content has become the new Eldorado. Combining them is an effective way to move beyond static retargeting.
• The Convergence of Mobile and Social into a transversal media layer will break open the outdated insistence on isolated media channels. Mobile and social provide dynamic insights on cross-platform consumer segmentation which is key to programmatic optimization.
• Creative Collaboration with Influencers will be key to sustaining visibility and cutting through the media noise. To keep up with rapid expansion of media formats, agencies need to engage with influencers as creative consultants in addition to leveraging them as media channels.
• The Value of UI and UX Design continues to rise as media channels and platforms are caught in severe fragmentation. As media shift to a direct-to-consumer economy, brands need to act as publishers. The key to success lies in content and data. UI and UX is where both come together.

Organic marketing is driven by the mission to make a difference through a content-driven approach that emphasizes community value. The concept of the community aims to create a service for consumers rather than just a disruptive ad experience. The goal is to realize the network effect and maximize impact of both creative and media initiatives. Therefore, developments such as crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, new makers, community spaces, and dynamic audience metrics have to be addressed.

Organic marketing is achieved through serialized storytelling, franchise/IP development, and long-term engagement. The goal is to focus on content that is tailored to and driven by the community in order to realize the full potential of brands in the crowded marketplace.

The constant creation of data puts emphasis on accountability. To empower brands to develop a more dynamic relationship with consumers, it is essential to push a more productive approach based on scenario modeling and analysis. ROI should be relative to context. AI as the next-best action model is an extension of this approach, leveraging predictive analytics and cloud-based first-party data to make stronger use of CRM-like solutions and develop more meaningful relationships between brands and consumers.

Mobile-social is the new reality of the digital world as platforms increasingly go native and establish complex media ecosystems. Device penetration is on the rise, as is global connectivity, which makes it essential to design creative and media initiatives accordingly and live with the work of our clients 24/7. Consumers increasingly move onto platforms to follow content and influencers. To address this new reality, agencies have to focus on solutions that build cross-platform activations and insights.

We look for ways to address the emergence of new formats (cf. video, mobile), new screens (multiple displays), and new business models (counteracting ad bots and fraud). Our work is driven by the growing value of user interface and experience design. UI/UX is what connects consumers to content in the oversaturated and fragmented media landscape. Agencies need to evolve into user experience shops that consistently take account of new design developments.

The increasing fragmentation of the media landscape calls for an integration of media and creative with the active layer of the interface as the key consumer focus. The key goal is to foster engagement in a time where ad skipping and blocking increasingly take hold. The communication industry has to explore the integration of a variety of emerging formats, from mixed realities (AR/VR) to vertical video, silent auto-play, six-second Vines, and other short-form content. This is where our future becomes real.

18 is the innovation research facility of Havas Media, headquartered in Paris, with offices in Bogota, Los Angeles, Seoul, and Tel Aviv. Together, we are building a satellite network of innovation hubs to be 18 months ahead of new developments in the converging industries of media, culture, technology, and data science. In each office, we connect with established market leaders, first-rate universities, and startups.

Written by Thomas Jorion