new media age

What are the opportunities and challenges for agencies in 2013?

Last week Econsultancy published its Top 100 Digital Agencies Report, detailing the who’s who of those in the digital marketing industry.

While many of the names are similar, the emergence of new players indicates that the market is still undergoing continuous disruption as consumer behaviour changes and agencies race to keep ahead of technological change.

To explore some of these issues, we asked Sitecore CEO Michael Seifert for his opinion on the opportunities and challenges for agencies in the coming year. His answers are below…

Top 100 UK agencies fee income reaches £1.18bn

Research from both Econsultancy and other sources consistently shows that marketing spend on digital in the UK continues to grow, particularly as marketing becomes more strategically important. 

With companies looking to provide the best experiences for their customers and fend off the competition, agencies have been pivotal in driving continuing success in this sector.

The Top 100 Digital Agencies Report, sponsored by Sitecore, ranks agencies according to fee income from their UK digital activities. The total fee income reported by the top 100 agencies this year is £1.18bn, up 23% from the £962m that these agencies earned last year.

Announcing The Digitals awards shortlist

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So, after reading through a whopping 850+ entries, we have decided upon a shortlist of 156 for our Digitals Awards. 

All entries were judged during the first phase by Econsultancy’s internal staff then sent to our external judges, comprised of some of the finest minds in digital marketing and ecommerce. 

The judges work at firms such as House of Fraser, John Lewis, Poke, Santander, LBi. BSkyB, Samsung and more (You can see the full list here). 

There have been some really fantastic things going on in digital in the past year or so, and we believe that the shortlist represents real innovation and best practice in our industry.

Well done to all who have been shortlisted, and commiserations to the others who just missed out (some by very narrow margins).

The winners will be announced at our Awards night on June 27…

Four examples of digital excellence from #TheDigitals judges

To celebrate the launch of our new digital marketing and ecommerce awards, #TheDigitals, I’ve rounded up four examples of innovation and digital marketing excellence cited by judges over the course of our Q&A series with them.

The Digitals celebrate, recognise and award excellence in digital marketing and ecommerce.

The awards will draw the best of the best from around the globe, and with extended entires your submission can still make the cut if you get it in before the new deadline of March 26!

TUI Travel’s Digital Director on the importance of UX

Alun Williams, Digital Director Europe for TUI Travel, is an “unashamed and self confessed hardcore ecommerce practitioner.” As a judge for The Digitals this year, Williams is holding UX close to his heart.

Read on for why the right user experience improves the bottom line commercially, and don’t forget entries close Wednesday this week. Here is how to enter.

Deloitte director of strategy on ‘mobile first’ and ‘digital transformation’

digital transformation

So many great insights have been gleaned from speaking to The Digitals judging panel prior to the main event in June.

Here Olivier Binse, Director Strategy Telecoms and Media at Deloitte, shares his views on how we are moving from “mobile first” to “mobile only”and what digital transformation means in context to the The Digitals.

If your company or client is doing great things bridging the gap between online/offline through mobile, or indeed in any aspect of digital, remember you need to submit your work before the March 13 deadline.

Amaze CEO Natalie Gross on Burberry’s digital high street presence

We’ve been hearing lots of great advice and best practice from speaking to The Digitals judging panel prior to the main event in June.

Here Amaze CEO Natalie Gross talks about Burberry’s multichannel approach to the High Street as well as how Amaze approaches digital excellence.

If your company or client is doing great things bridging the gap between online/offline through mobile, remember you need to submit your work before the March 13 deadline.

#TheDigitals Judge Grant Arnott on what marketers can learn from the adult industry

Plenty of great of advice has been coming to us in the form of Q&As we are hosting on the blog to promote our industry awards showcase The Digitals.

Here Grant Arnott, Managing Director of The Media Pad, explains (among other things) how the porn industry (content aside) has led the way in digital for some time!

More tips from judges on how to make your award entries stand out are on the way..

Q&A with The Digitals judging panel: Ciaran Norris of Mindshare Australia

Entries for The Digitals, our new awards that recognise the best in digital marketing and ecommerce, are currently open. 

To celebrate their launch and build a better understanding of what it is all about, we’ve invited several of the esteemed judges for a Q&A.

Entries for The Digitals have been coming in from around the globe. Ciaran Norris, Chief Digital Officer at Mindshare Australia, is the first in our international judge Q&As.

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