Throughout our website, documentation and when you speak to us face to face, you’ll hear us mention “Agile Marketing Services” – but what does this mean?
The traditional model for marketing and communications agencies is dying (slowly and painfully – and most painfully for clients it would seem). The buzzword of yesteryear was “integration” – “integrated” marketing services or using an “integrated” marketing agency. Meanwhile, although it is still valid to adopt an integrated approach to marketing in essence, the way integrated marketing campaigns are currently implemented needs radical evaluation.
The popular phrase, “when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”, best describes the landscape for traditional or integrated marketing agencies. Services are mostly delivered in-house and often assume a “one-size-fits-all” approach. These services are difficult to scale and work in the interest of the agency, rather than the client. For example, if an agency has a team of social media managers, you can bet your bottom dollar that their proposal will include social media management – the point is that the solution is built around the services the agency can supply, not what the client truly needs.
So how do we fix this?
Agile marketing services flip this problem upside down. Agile marketing takes inspiration from agile development and agile project management where teams work more flexibly to improve the speed and effectiveness of campaigns. The key element of our interpretation of being “agile” is working towards client-centred goals. In this sense, we remain agile to achieve what is best for the client and adapt the services we offer to suit their own unique needs.
To this end, the new agency model must remain lean, nimble and most importantly, scalable. In-house services shift focus towards strategy, project management and core services, drawing upon trusted partners to deliver additional services only when needed. The agile marketing agency delivers strategic planning, expertise and on-going analysis to create organic, short-burst campaigns which are constantly changing and evolving. This iterative process ensures the continuous delivery of value.
Agile marketing agencies adhere to a set of overarching principles and importantly remain adaptive to the needs of the client. Teams are built dynamically and scale upwards and outwards as required.
Agile Marketing agencies…
- Work towards client-centred goals and see client satisfaction as the highest priority
- Align themselves with the client’s needs and objectives
- Openly plan for and adapt to change throughout a campaign
- Act autonomously in the interest of the client
- Deliver iterative, short-burst campaigns
- Utilise feedback loops to constantly improve
The key message for clients is that through agile marketing, agencies are able to create a blend of services which have been tailor-made to deliver their objectives. As this mentality continues to gain popularity within the marketing sector, clients will notice changes to company structures, increased collaboration and more in-depth analysis.
Are you, or do you work with, an agile marketing agency? Let us know your unique approach!