My ex-boss, who left the company the other week, was interviewed in the Wall Street Journal (subscription req.) about the challenges facing her in new job and those facing a traditional advertising agency as it tries to integrate digital. Some key points from the interview:
- an agency appointing a ‘digital czar’ is not enough, you need to have the people to implement the plans
- you can’t just drop a bunch of digital people in the middle of a traditional agency as they’ll all just wonder what they are doing. Digital needs to be more than an extension of the ad campaign.
- to understand digital you need to live it, otherwise you will never get it as a creative medium. it’s not something you can just read about
The points rang very true, it’s difficult in an agency where many live TV but few seem to live digital.
