Company Marketing Chiefs Turning Away From Large Traditional Agencies

Over half of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) agree large, traditional agencies “are ill-suited to meet online marketing needs” in a survey sponsored by Sapient. These same advertisers felt traditional firms “have difficulty thinking beyond traditional print and TV media models.”

Most CMOs polled said they were seeking “blended firms...with roots in technology that can also offer creative and traditional print expertise. Gaston Legorburu, head of the Experience Marketing practice at Sapient, said two of the biggest challenges CMOs pointed out in the survey were how to measure the effectiveness of their marketing spend and “how to operationalize” the new digital focused strategies.

The survey asked CMOs to rate the most important criteria for choosing a marketing partner. In order of importance they are:

1. Quality of Creative Content
2. Innovation and Strategic Value
3. Price/Cost
4. Sophisticated Analytics and Measurement Systems
5. Proficiency in Emerging, Interactive or Digital Media
6. Traditional Print, Offline and Media Buying Services