Are You Advertising Agency? Branding? Digital? What?

Here’s a list of what today’s advertising agencies call themselves—and things can get confusing, especially given service synergies:

·     Advertising agency

·     Full-service agency

·     Integrated agency

·     Marketing agency

·     Branding agency

·     Digital agency

·     Influencer agency

·     Storytelling agency

·     Media planning and buying agency

·     Creative agency

·     Branding agency

·     Social media agency

·     Web design agency

·     SEM agency

·     SEO agency

·     MarTech agency

·     TikTok agency

·     Direct marketing agency

·     eCommerce agency

·     Recruitment agency

·     CRO agency

·     B2B agency

·     Challenger brand agency

·     Promotion agency

·     Out-of-home agency

·     Design agency

·     Experiential agency

·     Strategic consultancy agency

·     Performance marketing agency

·     AR/VR agency

·     Public relations agency

·     Strategic consultancy

·     AI agency

·     In-house agency

To help me position and title of my soon-to-be new book, I turned to Google Trends to see what marketing agency-identifying terms people search for. I’ll admit I was surprised to see that “marketing agency” was the clear search-term winner, followed by “digital agency,” “advertising agency,” and then “ad agency.”

“Marketing agency.” Really? In fact, I was hard-pressed to find even a handful of agencies that called themselves a marketing agency.

More about this coming soon.

How Many Work From Home Work Peaks Do You Hit A day?

Now We Have — Triple Peak Syndrome.

Triple Peak is yet another new term related to work from home. What’s Triple Peak?

From Microsoft: “Microsoft found that its employees had peak work periods before and just after lunch. The pandemic and work from home changed that. Microsoft found that its people added another work peak between 6 and 8 PM.

Findings from Microsoft and its researchers suggest that the 9-to-5 workday is fading in an age of remote and hybrid work and more flexible hours. That pattern was first spotted early in the pandemic, when Microsoft Teams chats outside the typical workday increased more than in any other time segment, particularly between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Newer data suggests the trend is here to stay. Traditionally, knowledge workers had two productivity peaks in their workday: before lunch and after lunch. But when the pandemic sent so many people into work from home mode, a third peak emerged for some in the hours before bedtime. Microsoft researchers have begun referring to this phenomenon as a “triple peak day.”

Flexibility is good. Endless work hours are not.

A Management Cure. Today’s new workplace requires management consciousness and communication.

I just read a study about the new world of work from home + work-life balance from Beamery – “the leading talent operating system that helps companies attract, engage and retain top talent.” The study should keep any agency manager thinking about digital agency work from home up at night. I highlight the digital agency because of the digital management workload and 24/7 activity.

The study, “Employees Have Upper Hand in Pandemic-Induced Power Shift, According to New “Beamery Talent Index” sheds some number light on this management and employee issue. I am into this big time right now as I am currently writing the definitive digital and advertising agency management book. Clearly, the new world of managing an agency in the post-pandemic universe (it’s over right?) will be a critical element of the book. I found Beamery during my research on the HR side of the business.

Beamery and the Digital Agency Work From Home Issue

Here from the research – some major findings:

Two-thirds of U.S. and UK workers who experienced more work flexibility during the pandemic want employers to prioritize work-life balance moving forward and three-quarters acknowledge they are now being heard – but still – half are looking for a new job.

Of the 5,000 employed adults surveyed in the U.S. and UK, almost three quarters (72%) are confident in their ability to find a new job, half (53%) are considering leaving their current role within the next 12 months, and 23% are actively looking for a new job. The majority (81%) say the pandemic gave them time to make that decision with some soul searching leading a quarter (26%) to change their career path and goals.

In fact, more than a third (37%) actually think their work-life balance was better during the worst of the pandemic and 42% want flexible working opportunities returning to the office. In their current roles, 45% of office workers say they will be returning to the office full-time, whilst just 29% will have flexibility as to when they go in. For organizations looking to reassure and retain staff, it’s optimistic to see that almost three-quarters (71%) think their employers clearly understand what matters to them in a post-COVID workplace.

The Key Is Being A Conscious Employer

This finding is worth repeating: “For organizations looking to reassure and retain staff, it’s optimistic to see that almost three quarters (71%) think their employers clearly understand what matters to them in a post-COVID workplace.” [Read more…] about Digital Agency Work From Home