• by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, October 16, 2008

Yesterday morning, I was the opening speaker at a conference in Mexico City for traditional ad agencies co-hosted by AMAP (the 4As of Mexico) and Mexico IAB. The conference title was "Don't Bite Your Tail," a reference that for agencies to continue to avoid digital today (as many in Mexico do) was tantamount to a dog biting its tail. My keynote focused on why embracing digital was so important today, especially given the emerging economic crisis. While my talk was developed with a Mexican ad agency audience in mind, I think that it makes sense to summarize it in my column today, since most of these principles transcend geography and probably apply to many readers here as well. I titled the talk "Time to Embrace Digital: Top 10 Reasons Not to ‘Bite Your Tail.'" Here they are:

#1 - Digital is where the people are. The numbers and growth of global Internet usage, and its availability on multiple devices, speak for themselves. It is the fastest growing channel in the history of media. If clients want to communicate with customers at scale, their agencies better be able to help them use the Internet. It can no longer be bypassed.

#2 - It's what your clients want. All surveys of marketers and marketing executives from around the world today say that they want the same things from their commercial communication channels. They want consumer insights, measurability, targeting, interactivity and return on investment. No media channel can deliver these elements like the Internet can.

#3 - Your clients are going there, with or without you. Marketers today are embracing the Internet, whether or not their agencies are directing those efforts. Many marketers are doing direct deals with media companies on their own, and virtually every major consumer marketer today has online initiatives to build direct consumer relationships.

#4 - Your media suppliers are going around you. Most large media companies operating online today are selling packaged marketing solutions, not just media. Clients are demanding it, and many agencies are so under-resourced that they need their media suppliers to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to combining media with back-end measurements and building cross-media and cross-company combinations. Further, quite a number of online media companies also have in-house agencies and in-house creative resources.

#5 - All media is becoming digital, and television is next. Analog television will soon be a thing of the past, as it is shifting to digital and Internet Protocol (IP)-driven. IP is now a major factor in cable television infrastructure and in television peripherals, like gaming devices and video recording and playback devices. Even print is going digital. We see more dynamic print products and fully digital pre-press and post-press systems. Lessons learned on the Internet will soon be applicable on all media.

#6 - Metrics of success are changing on you. As a recent Booz Allen Hamilton survey of marketing executives revealed, the metrics of success for marketing are changing, and digital will be the big winner. Marketing and media metrics are shifting, from: demographics to behaviors and interests; from impressions to engagement and actions; from platform-specific to campaign-centric; from usage and segmentation to purchase funnel; from estimate to census.

#7 - Consumers are taking control -- so work with them. Pull is supplanting push and to most consumers today, it's all about "me." It's time to stop shouting and start listening and responding. Nowhere is this better evidenced or better responded to than online.

#8 - Recessions require more measurability and more ROI. There is nothing like tough times to force tough decisions. As CFOs (and creditors) take more control of more business decisions, un-measurable media will lose and measurable media will gain. It is that simple.

#9 - It gives you something to talk about with your children. Mexico is a nation of young consumers with growing influence. Everywhere in the world, emerging young consumer groups are where market growth will be found. Working on the Internet gives agencies a chance to better understand those audiences and better anticipate how to communicate with them in the future.

#10 - Potential to leapfrog mature markets and do more. Advertising is essential for independent media, which is critical for the development of a healthy democracy. Mexico and other emerging democracies need to recognize the importance of developing robust sources of news and information online that are independent of undue control from either governments or crime syndicates. Further, this recession will hit the mature economies the worst and create opportunities for emerging economies to leapfrog them. Agencies can make a big difference here, since the Internet enables low-cost, long-distance entry into large markets such as entertainment, where Mexicans are now among the world's best film directors.

I believe that these points are global. If an agency fails to embrace digital today, especially given the emerging financial crisis, it's like biting its own tail. What do you think?

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