Can digital agencies do Strategy?

It’s difficult to find a digital agency that operates at the level of a strategic management consulting firm.  Can they make the transition?  It would mean a new group of relationships.  Some of the management consultancy’s have done precisely this.  Diamond Partners, an off-shoot of McKinsey, used to do technology strategy only.  But now they build websites too.  Some of the larger defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin have digital ad agency capabilities and Public Relations teams that are as big as the Madison Avenue agencies.



Now digital agencies are going closing the gap as well.  I take a small excerpt from adweek’s article, “Digital Agencies Get Back to Business”, written by Brian Morrissey.



Razorfish and peers like R/GA see opportunity for mature digital agencies that have managed to move up the ladder with clients while developing a track record for delivering technology to advance businesses. The ideal is a client that invites shops in to craft a plan to take advantage of digital technology to move the business in a new direction, said Barry Wacksman, chief growth officer at R/GA. This can take time, he allowed, but there’s more pressure than ever on businesses. Digital shops can bring not only the expertise of management consultants, but also the tech shops to execute, he said.



So the answer goes back to business strategy.  Mr. Wanamaker’s quote, “Half the money I spend on advertising, the problem is, I don’t know which half.”  With web analytics tools such as Omniture and Google Analytics, digital marketers and online advertisers can see how their online ad spending translates to revenue.  And if they aren’t, there is no excuse.  The technology is relatively cheap and easy to deploy.



A new breed of management consulting company is emerging.  We at Lima Consulting Group believe we’re at the heart of it.  We’re more than an advertising agency, we’re digital marketers who integrate business strategy to get results.  We have a four step methodology for developing, deploying and measuring profitable online marketing strategies.  See our capabilities brief to learn more about how we help companies move their customers through the online marketing funnel to attract and retain the most desirable customers for their businesses.