• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 16, 2015

Not that this is a particularly new refrain -- after all, every ad agency exec works very hard to snuggle up to the CEO of the companies for which they work -- but Possible CEO Shane Atchison is re-trumpeting the refrain saying digital agencies must connect with and speak the language of the client CEOs. He cautions digital agencies in particular may find themselves under a head stone if they can't provide meaningful, business-focused counsel and not simply advice on the best media spend.

In an interview with Mumbrella, Atchison said, “To stay relevant, we have to share knowledge and ideas beyond a media plan and media spend. From all of my conversations, when I speak to CEOs there’s a greater desire to embrace digital, but then you get into the safe zones further down the company structure in the marketing department. I don’t think the barriers are in the technology or strategy. Between when the CEO is saying yes and the CMO, that’s where the challenge is."

Atchison also noted that -- and, again, this is the same old refrain that always seems to get lost on ad agencies -- many digital agencies fail to make the connections between the goals and results of a digital campaign and the effect it has on bottom line ROI. He says, “If we can do that, we’ll be relevant for eternity.”

Why this is even a thing (reminding ad people that ROI is the only thing that matters) anymore, is a bit baffling but, then again, pontifications like Atchison's do serve a purpose. Ad people all to easily are distracted by shiny new objects (Periscope, Vine, Blab, Snapchat, content marketing, native advertising, WhatsApp, the collaborative economy, cinemagraphs, extreme content marketing -- no, really, it's a thing, social selling, emojis and the list goes on) and often times forget what really matters: ROI and sales.