The traditional role of the marketing agency is being displaced by a wave of organisations delivering better and faster on client needs. Whether it’s publishers such as the Guardian with its GLabs agency, tech companies like Google with Zoo, or content creators like Buzzfeed, all are providing more effective, more agile and faster responses to client needs.
Much of this comes as a result of two major things: first, these companies understand brand audiences better than brands themselves; second, the misaligned focus by agencies on creative work that is far removed from the day-to-day development of a holistic customer experience.
In-depth research we collaborated on with Queen’s University Belfast and Adoreboard shows clearly the importance of aligning brand communications with the emotional response of customers. Our evidence shows that when the right emotional response and use of language is blended with a unified view of the customer across all interactions, hard and measurable business performance is improved.
To ensure that creative work aligns with clients’ business goals, technology products must be applied at speed and scale to bring deep insight into understanding what impacts consumers. Agencies must have a data-driven understanding of the brand consumer: their dynamic and changing behaviours, the parts of the customer lifecycle that matter, and the real emotions that drive equity and sales.
The imperative to align creative talent and craft with the fast changing nature of a client’s business through the use of data and technology is one that cannot be ignored.
In a global study by Havas Media, consumers stated they would not miss or care if more than 70% of brands around today were to disappear. The brands that people find the most meaningful and impactful every day are those very same companies now offering marketing services to our clients.
Havas Helia believe strongly that data is an incredibly powerful medium for creativity; if this opportunity is embraced, agencies will be able to continue to compete and deliver beautiful, effective work. Our unique one-day event, field.work, is a chance to inspire clients and celebrate the creative use of data by some of our leading global partners.
field.work takes place on 16 April at Shoreditch Studios
Ben Silcox is chief data and digital officer at Havas Helia
This advertisement feature is brought to you by the Marketing Agencies Association, sponsors of the Guardian Media Network’s Agencies hub
