• PaidContent.org, Wednesday, June 4, 2008 10:45 AM

At the EconAds conference earlier this week, ad executives discussed the role of traditional agencies in the digital revolution. Greg Smith, COO of Neo@Ogilvy North America, said the agency's role now extends beyond advertising. That means creating actual content, such as branded information or entertainment, contests, sweepstakes, etc. "Too often we default to 'let me tell you about the product' as opposed to demonstrating," Smith said.

Asked if the agency world would see more consolidation, Smith replied that it isn't good enough to "just go out and buy (another company) and then look to integrate it. ... WPP is very smart because they take positions in a lot of companies without acquiring them outright."

Smith also believes that the worsening economic climate favors digital. "People are looking for more and more accountability." That's good news for search, said Penry Price, Google's vice president of Ad Sales for North America, who said the search giant expects to maintain healthy growth, despite the looming threat of a recession.

Read the whole story at PaidContent.org »