The rise of digital pros at traditional agencies signals a new era for new media 

In the not-too-distant past, clients had just a few expectations of agencies handling their digital marketing: build an easy-to-navigate Web site, create some catchy online ads and place the ads on relevant sites.

But increasingly, knowledgeable marketers are demanding more of their new-media ad dollars, such as mobile-device campaigns and connecting with consumers through blogs.

And those spearheading agency digital efforts are no longer just tech-savvy hipsters doing their own thing while the rest of the company goes about its business. Well, they may still be edgier, but they now have their own keys to the executive washroom.

Several large agencies have named chief digital officers to fully integrate interactive into the services they offer. Among the recent examples: New York-based Ogilvy North America hired Jean-Philippe Maheu for its new CDO position. Arnold in Boston named Jonathan Sackett its CDO. San Francisco’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners tapped Michael Parker as its new director of digital strategy. And Y&R, New York, appointed Tarik Sedky as its CDO to lead a new digital entity.

“The CDO is now expected to oversee what once were multiple divisions of companies,” says Sackett, formerly director of digital operations at Draft FCB in Chicago. “There may have been an ‘emerging media’ group, a ‘Web marketing’ group, an ‘SEO/SEM’ group. The new position of CDO is designed to help unify these offerings and develop both depth and breadth in the digital marketing mix.”

He adds: “To be a chief digital officer type of position, you can’t just specialize in Web or mobile or creative or strategy. You really have to be fairly knowledgeable in each of those silos.”

Goodby’s Parker, who was managing director of Tribal ddb in Canada, says it’s time for senior-level agency positions focusing on interactive advertising.

“Years ago, I think you could get away with a lot more. It was still kind of the Wild West. Clients probably had a lot more tolerance for experimentation, but also [for] making mistakes,” Parker says. “Today, they have the same level of expectation of the Web group as they do of how the agency’s going to deliver in TV or anything else.”

Keeping the Digital Dialog Going

Maheu, who previously served as CEO of Razorfish, says about 20 percent of Ogilvy’s U.S. business is digital. Under his leadership, the agency is focusing on what he calls “digital influence.”

“How do you leverage the digital [and] social media, blogs and activities in social media to help connect with the audience? How do you enable the audience to connect with one another?” Maheu asks.

“Before, there was one-way communication. Digital allows you to have a dialog. What’s more interesting is, it allows you to engage the audience in a dialog whether you are a part of it or not. And how do you enable that discussion? How do you track [it] in a way that is useful to your audience?”

Similarly, Sackett says marketers must utilize connections they make with consumers through interactive media. “Mobile marketing seems to usually be a one-off,” he says, “but what is that going to do for your brand? What is it going to do for your direct-response model if you don’t use it? Nothing. You’re either bringing your customers where you want them to be or you get them where they are.”

To that end, Arnold is growing its technology group to expand its offerings. “My immediate goal is to make sure that we’re spreading a certain mantra,” Sackett says, adding, “Whether it’s plasma screen, mobile or Web, that we’re all saying the same thing.”

At Goodby, Parker is planning to help clients reach customers wherever and however they experience brands. “We’re thinking of a lot more distributed-content kind of strategies, a better balance [between] what resides on your Web site vs. what you’re taking out across the Web,” he says.

“The promise of mobile and the marketing opportunities around it have been out there for a number of years now, but it feels like that’s really starting to take hold,” Parker comments. At Y&R, Sedky reportedly is tasked with helping grow digital revenue to 15 percent of the agency’s total by 2010.

Catalyst for Change

As these CDOs take the reins, they predict a strong future for interactive advertising in large agencies.

“Digital was viewed more as a channel in the past, where the creative process, the ideation process, started at the beginning more with the traditional side of the business, and digital would be one way you can execute,” Maheu says. “Now, both the agency and clients realize that digital is not just a channel. It’s really changed the whole marketing process.”

Parker adds that clients continue to increase their understanding of what digital marketing can do for their brands.

“New-media marketing is obviously getting more important to clients,” he says. “I think the elevation of people in the industry to more senior roles within management in agencies and organizations can only be a good thing. It’s an indication that it continues to be strong and it’s getting stronger.”

Could there one day be a CEO who started as the founder of an interactive startup? Parker says the time may not be too far off.

“I think the next step is you’ll see some of these people from the ‘senior interactive’ perspective get into the ranks of running agencies.”