Moving consumer experiences forward: What it means to be a modern marketing partner

Fast Company

5 days ago

The agency landscape is going through a period of significant consolidation and transformation. As holding companies restructure, independent shops get acquired, and traditional players merge, a new clarity about the agency model is emerging—one that goes beyond the industry's past identity crisis.
After two decades of watching talent and attention shift toward Silicon Valley's tech giants, agencies are now positioned at the forefront of a profound shift back to human-verified solutions. This reset isn't about rejecting technology, particularly as AI platforms stand under the spotlight. But we all need to put AI in its proper place: as a tool wielded by human intelligence, creativity, and empathy.
This is the moment to get this transitional period right. As brands navigate increasingly fragmented audiences and rapidly evolving platforms, they're seeking agency partners who know how to serve up real value, delivering answers in an AI-driven world, and pairing it with authentic design. Brands that inspire culture and build community will dominate. Fail to deliver on this, and your brand won't just fade—it'll vanish into irrelevance. Agencies, having weathered the tech industry's dominance, are uniquely positioned to deliver this balance.
This moment demands that we rethink what an agency truly is. At Digitas, we've evolved from our roots as a 'direct marketing start-up' to become an established innovator, but our mission remains unchanged: inventing what our clients don't yet know they need. That forward-looking perspective has never been more vital than in our current rapidly evolving landscape.
But as with any period of change, marketing professionals need to do a better job of clarifying what their roles and responsibilities are—and why they're important to clients and consumers.
Let me lay the cards on the table: The term 'advertising agency' no longer captures the scope of what modern marketing demands.
The very nature of marketing is experiencing a fundamental transformation surrounding the ways that brands connect with consumers across an ever-expanding array of touchpoints. This new reality requires a partner and modern marketing talent who can navigate the full spectrum of modern marketing. I'm talking about everything from commerce strategy to cultural storytelling, from data science to creative innovation—a veritable herd of unicorns at the helm.
What sets agencies apart is our ability to serve every kind of client across any industry or location. I get it; who knows your brand better than the people working inside every day?
Those benefits may be of limited value, however. After all, you and your internal stakeholders are not the audience you need to attract and maintain. Agencies bring together multidisciplinary talents and perspectives, synthesizing diverse skills and viewpoints. This ability to see across varying mindsets, cultures, identities, geographies, and business needs isn't just an advantage; the outside frame of reference is essential for marketing success in a complex global marketplace.
Information is increasingly shaped and filtered by AI, calling on us to pioneer a new industry model, one that recognizes the need for human agents who know how to direct those virtual agents.
Many advertising and marketing leaders have sought to assuage professionals' career fears by saying adoption of AI isn't about replacing human creativity; rather, it's about amplifying it. True enough. But after that, the details get a little fuzzy.
THE MODERN AGENCY ADVANTAGE
The future belongs to those who can harness AI's efficiency while maintaining the human touch that drives genuine connections and fosters transparency and community.
We're moving beyond factory-oriented processes to create an environment where creativity flourishes in every aspect of our work, from media buying to data science.
For the agencies that invested in data-driven marketing in a way that made it foundational to their work, that effort is paying off now as we move into the AI era. But data alone isn't enough. The real magic happens at the convergence of media, data, technology, and creative. This intersection is where tomorrow's marketing leaders are born, whether they start as data scientists, creative directors, or strategists.
The modern agency advantage lies in our rejection of the assembly-line approach to marketing. Every function, from media buying to creative development, demands genuinely new thinking. When a data scientist joins our team, they're not just crunching numbers—they're becoming future agents of brands and learning to translate analytical insights into strategic guidance that drives business growth.
Our strength comes from our ability to balance and integrate multiple disciplines. The market's priorities may shift—right now, technology and media are particularly hot—but success comes from combining these elements in ways that serve our clients' specific needs. It's not about choosing between media planning, creative, or digital capabilities. Everything we touch must support and reinforce the entire spectrum of marketing tools at our disposal.
This integrated approach allows us to be more than service providers. We become true partners in our clients' success. By maintaining empathy for both the consumer and our clients' business objectives, we can make strategic recommendations that go beyond the expected. Sometimes that means advising against a Super Bowl ad in favor of performance marketing, or suggesting a shift in resource allocation based on data-driven insights.
The promise of modern marketing isn't just about personalization at scale or the latest technological innovation. It's about understanding what makes someone feel like a super parent, an accomplished professional, or whatever aspiration drives their decisions. That understanding comes from a combination of contextual intelligence and human insight that no algorithm alone can provide.
It also recognizes that the funnel as we've known it is dead. The funnel is fluid now. That means a consumer's experience exists within a networked ecosystem. To deliver on that, you need to balance tech, media, data, and intelligence.
Agencies that thrive understand that. And those that can maintain their humanity while embracing technological advancement. We're not just adapting to change—we're actively shaping it to create the future of marketing one advancement at a time.