digital perspectives from the creative agency front lines

Digital Perspectives from the Creative Agency Front Lines

2016 Trends Report

2Proscape: Digital Perspectives from the Creative Agency Front Lines

• This special report compiles feedback solicited from 383 professionals working at 60 creative agencies worldwide.

• These creative agency professionals were surveyed about their biggest opportunities, toughest challenges, and the strategies that drive client success.

• They also shared plans for the next 5 years, including the technologies they’ll be using, the platforms and operating systems they predict will be most popular, and the devices their clients will use to engage customers.

Executive Summary


• Phablets and wearables skyrocket in popularity over the next 5 years.

• iOS remains the most popular platform but experiences significant challenge from Android.

• 56% of agency clients desperately need a mobile app this year.

• Outsourcing technology projects remains a popular alternative to developing websites and mobile in-house.

• 80% of agency clients are using mobile marketing apps for sales enablement.

• App development with a platform is gaining momentum, driven by benefits like quicker time to market, reduced complexity, and ease of use.

Key Takeaways


Trending Technology and Talent at Creative Agencies


91%

78%

36%

Platform PopularityBased on the platforms creative agencies and currently building for:

• iOS is still the dominant platform.

• Android is a close second, bolstered by support from Google and Galaxy – and it’s a less expensive alternative to Apple.

• Windows will gain momentum driven by the emergence of Windows 10. Microsoft states that Windows 10 has been installed on 110 million devices and will reach 1 billion within 2 to 3 years.1

Android vs. iOS vs. Windows: What Brands Want Right Now


• The popularity of smartphones and tablets among agency clients remains steady over the next 5 years.

• Phablets skyrocket over that same period, pointing to the potential convergence toward a universal device size.

• Wearables also increase dramatically in importance, but marketers will have to learn how to make use of the smaller screen size

Devices of Today and Tomorrow: Where Will Wearables Windup, and How Fab Are Phablets?

Tablets and Smartphones Hold SteadyPhablets and Wearables Skyrocket

0%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

100%

50%

60%

70%

80%

10%

20%

30%

40%

90%87%

84%

78%

76%

46%

73%

47%

7%

Smart Phones - 73% 78%

Tablets - 87% 84% Phablets - 47% 76%

Wearables - 7% 47%


In-House - 66% of agencies have hired aprogramming/scripting resource to answerthe digital call.

Sister Company - 22% share work, time, andcosts with a sister agency in their work.

Outsource - 12% outsource either locally of offshore.

In-House vs. Outsource

66%

In-House

• Roughly 2/3 of agencies are handling tech in-house, while 1/3 are going to sister agencies or outsourcing their tech needs.

• Expect the trend to continue or swing more heavily in favor of in-house tech as new platforms emerge to remove the complexity from mobile app development.

Solving Tech Challenges: In-House vs. Outsource & Everything In-Between


Technologists are a scarce resource for creative agencies, making technology work more expensive and difficult to complete.

According to MIT, top tech graduates seek out the following companies more frequently for the first step in their careers:

Their average starting salary adds another hurdle for creative agencies seeking top tech talent.

Industry Outlook: Here’s Where All the Best Technologists Are Hiding Out

$228kCompensation

Total

Signing Bonus - $25k

Stocks - $100k

Starting Salary - $103k

via Business Insider2


Mobile, Interactive, and Digital Client Trends of Today & Tomorrow


• Of the clients working with creative agencies who currently do not have a mobile app for marketing, 56% need one this year.

• Agencies expect to build mobile apps for marketing for 51% of their clients this year, and 70% over the next 5 years.

• Given that U.S. millennials’ have $1.3 billion buying power3 and over 85% own a smartphone, it’s not surprising that brands are investing time, money, and resources to build apps4.

Mobile Apps for Marketing: Who Has Them, Who Doesn’t, and Who Desperately Needs Them

in 5 years70%

How many agencies will build amobile app for thier clients?

in 201651%

How many agencies need a mobile app?

56%Need One Now

43% of agencies currently do not have a mobile marketing app


• “Sales enablement” is the most important current and future use of mobile apps for marketing, as reported by clients of the creative agencies surveyed.

• Sales enablement is defined by IDC, the same definition used in this survey, as “getting the right information into the hands of the right seller at the right time and place, and in the right format, to move a sales opportunity forward.”5

• Sales reps represent a variety of roles, like a pharma rep., real estate broker, salon stylist, brand ambassador, bank teller -- each can benefit form a mobile app for marketing.

How Are Clients Using the Mobile Apps They Currently Have?

Less Important Emerging Very Important

Content Libraries andDirect to Consumer Sales

SalesEnablement

Research andLead Generation


• 80% of agency clients are using a sales toolkit which arms their team with everything they need for sales enablement.

• By empowering that sales toolkit with a mobile marketing app, there is never a doubt the sales person has the most current marketing materials customized for the specific situation and customer.

• When integrated with a CRM system, the mobile empowered sales toolkit can be tracked and analyzed.

What’s Helping Clients Most?

80%

Sale

s T

oolk

it

Prod

uct S

pecs

Bran

d Aw

aren

ess

71% 53%


• Content libraries and direct-to-consumer apps are less important for clients using mobile apps for marketing.

• Putting content in Google Drive, Drop Box, or the CRM system library may not be enough. If a rep can’t find content, it’s useless.

• Direct-to-consumer sales apps need to have a specific use in order to succeed. A consumer may download an app if it helps them complete a common, recurring task.

What Can Clients Likely Live Without?

Content Library and Directto Consumer Sales

Content Repository

Direct to Consumer Sales

24%

11%


Return on Digital Agency Services: Client Trends of Today & Tomorrow


• Email marketing and mobile app development with a platform provide agency clients with the biggest benefits.

• Using a platform for mobile app development makes it easier to test, measure, and iterate.

• As new technologies emerge, like a platform for app or website development, programmatic buying or A/B testing, they make previously manual or time-consuming opportunities reach their full promised benefit.

The Digital Services that Give Brands the Most Bang for Their Buck

Digital Services

Paid Search

Paid Social

Display Ads

Organic Social

HTML App Development

Website Optimization

Website Dev. with Platform

Data and Analytics

CRM Integration

Email Marketing

App Dev. with Platform

Least Profitable

Most Profitable


• The services that provide clients with the biggest benefit can also be the most difficult or headache-inducing for creative agencies.

• Agencies should sink their resources into finding technologies that make the difficult but profitable services easier to do – such as platforms for website and app development.

• Email marketing, while slightly less profitable, should remain a staple since it’s a significant benefit for clients.

• Organic social, display advertising, and paid social could be low-hanging fruit if done at scale.

The Digital Services that Give Agencies the Biggest Headaches vs. Profitability

Paid Social

Display Ads

Organic Social

Website Developmentwith Platform

App Developmentwith Platform

Email Marketing

Most Profitable

Mos

t Diff

icul

t

Least Profitable

Easiest

Custom HTMLApp Development

Paid Search

Website Optimization

CRM Integration

Data and insights

Digital Service Headaches


Custom app development services are difficult to provide because they are expensive (in terms of the expert resources required and time to create). Developing an app with HTML5 has some advantages over custom development using native code, but it has limits, including:

Why Custom Development Services Are So Difficult to Provide

HTML5 Doesn’t Work Alone Most HTML5 apps integrate Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript, which includes the APIs for working with text, objects, and arrays.

HTML5 Framework Limitations Each framework brings its own limitations and issues, which often appear as an application becomes more complex.

User-Experience Inconsistencies Developers frequently build apps for the most common devices and browswers to ensure the functionality across all environments, which can hurt user experience (UX). Security Risks

Security Risks Developers must guard against cyberattacks, improper API usage, and malicious code from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or text messages.

Memory and Performance Limitations The more complex the object model, the longer it takes to navigate. HTML5 apps can experience lengthy load times if they have not been carefully designed. via TechTarget6


• Using a platform is making mobile app creation as easy as website development with a platform.

• When asked why they use a mobile app platform, the creative agencies surveyed cited shorter time to market, reduced complexity, and ease of use as among their top reasons.

How a Mobile App Platform Can HelpTi

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Redu

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Com

plex

ity

Ease

of U

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Low

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Ease

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Dist

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to U

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Depl

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App

Sto

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Build

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App

Data

and

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ortin

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Prep

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Deliv

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stom

Con

tent

CRM

Inte

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ion

0%

50%

100% 83% 76% 77% 73% 73% 69% 62% 62% 62% 50% 50% 41%

What’s Most Important to Respondents


Creative agencies are well prepared for current challenges as well as those they’ll face over the next five years. They understand their clients’ goals as if they were their own, as well as the technologies they’ll need to provide in order to meet these needs. Many have made strides to make providing these solutions easier – from platforms that make development work easier to improved analytics tools that help them make better decisions.

AppendixSurvey Participant Demographics Number of individuals surveyed: 383 people employed by 60 different creative agencies.

Date Survey responses were collected: January 2016.

Methodology: Participants were invited via an email invitation. Survey responses were collected through an online website survey. All participants who completed .the survey received a gift card of nominal value in exchange for their time. The average time to complete the survey was 15.5 minutes.

Bias: The results as presented do contain a natural bias as all participants were either: (1) Employed by agencies that utilize the Proscape Marketing App Cloud platform to create mobile apps for their clients or; (2) Subscribers to the Proscape Blog about digital marketing and mobile marketing apps development.

Summary

United States - 32%

Mainland Europe - 24%

Asia - 15%

South America - 8%

Middle East - 5% United Kingdom - 16%

Region

Agency Type

AgencySize

50 Employees or Fewer - 30%

500 Employees or More - 28%

50 - 500 Employees - 42%Member of Agency Network - 65%

Independent Agency - 35%


Derek Pollock and Bill Conn are on a mission to empower brands and agencies to successfully engage with their customers using mobile technology and mobile apps.

Derek Pollock Prior to Proscape, Derek founded, operated and sold another digital media tech startup and also spent time in management, marketing and sales with the IBM Company. Derek holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors.

Bill Conn Bill is a tech startup veteran, editor, and writer with a passion for connecting B2B professionals with great ideas. Prior to joining Proscape, he provided marketing and brand leadership for Toolbox.com, PeopleLinx, and The Advertising Specialty Institute. Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and English from the University of Pennsylvania.

About Proscape

Proscape’s cloud-based SaaS platform empowers marketers to create apps quickly without coding, deploy apps through multiple channels, and make informed decisions based on insights from customer activity and preferences. Proscape is used by hundreds of agencies and thousands of brands, including Publicis, Havas, Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann, Heineken, Lancome, Fiat, and more.

For more information, visit www.proscape.com.

About the Authors


1. Microsoft says there are 110 million devices with Windows 10, The Verge, http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9442377/ microsoft-windows-10-download-numbers-surface-users

2. The truth about life in 2015 at Stanford, where 21-year-olds are offered hundreds of thousands of dollars right out of school, Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com/life-at-stanford-in-2015-2015-4

3. The Millennial Generation is Changing the Face of Consumer Marketing, Boston Consulting Group, http://www.bcg.com/news/ press/15jan2014-millenial-generation-changing-face-consumer-marketing.aspx

4. Mobile Millennials: Over 85% of Generation Y Owns a Smartphone, Nielson, http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/ news/2014/mobile-millennials-over-85-percent-of-generation-y-owns-smartphones.html

5. Don’t Understand Sales Enablement? You’re Not Alone, IDC, http://www.slideshare.net/lml999/idc-sales-enablement-jan-2009- presentation

6. Understanding HTML5 Mobile App Development, TechTarget, http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/feature/ Understanding-HTML5-mobile-application-development

References