Justin Pearse:
As the world's leading advertisers wake up to the potential of mobile to build brand, it's time to ask the perennial question: will it be pure-play or integrated agencies that win the business? Despite the hype around mobile marketing and advertising reaching fever pitch, there are no signs yet that big interactive agencies are moving into mobile en masse to crush the pure-play mobile marketing agencies that have driven the market since its inception. In fact, it appears that, instead of a threat to the pure-play mobile agencies, current moves into mobile by the big agencies are actually providing opportunities.There's scarcely an interactive agency in the land that doesn't pride itself on being full service, offering a media-neutral, integrated approach. However, for the majority of agencies, mobile remains an area notable by its absence. There are signs of change in the last 12 months, though.
As the world's leading advertisers wake up to the potential of mobile to build brand, it's time to ask the perennial question: will it be pure-play or integrated agencies that win the business?
Despite the hype around mobile marketing and advertising reaching fever pitch, there are no signs yet that big interactive agencies are moving into mobile en masse to crush the pure-play mobile marketing agencies that have driven the market since its inception. In fact, it appears that, instead of a threat to the pure-play mobile agencies, current moves into mobile by the big agencies are actually providing opportunities.
There's scarcely an interactive agency in the land that doesn't pride itself on being full service, offering a media-neutral, integrated approach. However, for the majority of agencies, mobile remains an area notable by its absence. There are signs of change in the last 12 months, though.
In March last year, AKQA set up AKQA Mobile, headed by mobile industry veteran Dan Rosen. In September, Ipsh, the US mobile marketing agency bought by Omnicom in 2005, opened in the UK as part of the Zulu network, sitting alongside agencies including Agency Republic and Claydon Heeley. The year ended with news that Aegis was on the verge of acquiring its first mobile agency, Marvellous Mobile. With such moves by such big players, are the pure-play mobile marketing agencies' days numbered? Despite the imminent Aegis move, Marvellous MD Jon Carney thinks not. "I heard the MD of US mobile ad network Third Screen claiming recently to have run a number of million-dollar campaigns in Q4 of last year," he says. "You wouldn't give that to a traditional or digital agency as few would be able to cope or really understand mobile." At Ipsh, MD Craig Patton reflects Carney's views that mobile specialists will continue to lead the market and that being part of a network merely adds the support needed to scale and gives access to sister agencies and their clients. "The big agencies do get mobile but they don't see it as a significant enough opportunity to move in that direction," he says. It's the combination of a rising interest in mobile with a lack of understanding of the medium at agencies that's providing a wealth of opportunities for mobile specialists. "Six out of the ten agencies in the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2006 guide outsource to mobile agencies, and half of these make suppliers sign NDAs," says Jonathan Bass, MD of mobile agency Incentivated. "Exclusive deals do happen and our strategy is to sign these this year, such as the one we have with LBi." Many believe that the bigger agencies will use this outsourcing process to explore opportunities for creating their own mobile arm. "They'll stress-test all the suppliers but resist buying until the latter half of the year, then in effect look at buying people," says Bass. Enpocket MD Dave Barker is also seeing the benefit of agencies' rising interest in a medium that his agency is equipped to handle. "Full service agencies like AKQA aren't offering technology but a place where clients can talk to their digital agency and explain the options," he says. "It'll use a pre-vetted list of suppliers, which is where we pick up a lot of business." Enpocket has already signed preferred supplier relationships with agencies including Tequila and Agency.com.
In March last year, AKQA set up AKQA Mobile, headed by mobile industry veteran Dan Rosen. In September, Ipsh, the US mobile marketing agency bought by Omnicom in 2005, opened in the UK as part of the Zulu network, sitting alongside agencies including Agency Republic and Claydon Heeley. The year ended with news that Aegis was on the verge of acquiring its first mobile agency, Marvellous Mobile.
With such moves by such big players, are the pure-play mobile marketing agencies' days numbered? Despite the imminent Aegis move, Marvellous MD Jon Carney thinks not.
"I heard the MD of US mobile ad network Third Screen claiming recently to have run a number of million-dollar campaigns in Q4 of last year," he says. "You wouldn't give that to a traditional or digital agency as few would be able to cope or really understand mobile."
At Ipsh, MD Craig Patton reflects Carney's views that mobile specialists will continue to lead the market and that being part of a network merely adds the support needed to scale and gives access to sister agencies and their clients.
"The big agencies do get mobile but they don't see it as a significant enough opportunity to move in that direction," he says.
It's the combination of a rising interest in mobile with a lack of understanding of the medium at agencies that's providing a wealth of opportunities for mobile specialists.
"Six out of the ten agencies in the NMA Top 100 Interactive Agencies 2006 guide outsource to mobile agencies, and half of these make suppliers sign NDAs," says Jonathan Bass, MD of mobile agency Incentivated. "Exclusive deals do happen and our strategy is to sign these this year, such as the one we have with LBi."
Many believe that the bigger agencies will use this outsourcing process to explore opportunities for creating their own mobile arm. "They'll stress-test all the suppliers but resist buying until the latter half of the year, then in effect look at buying people," says Bass.
Enpocket MD Dave Barker is also seeing the benefit of agencies' rising interest in a medium that his agency is equipped to handle. "Full service agencies like AKQA aren't offering technology but a place where clients can talk to their digital agency and explain the options," he says. "It'll use a pre-vetted list of suppliers, which is where we pick up a lot of business."
Enpocket has already signed preferred supplier relationships with agencies including Tequila and Agency.com.
Robin Grant
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