The Biggest Challenge for Irish Ad Agencies in 2012

The biggest challenge facing Irish Ad agencies in 2012 is they have to eventually realise that they cannot manipulate online audiences the same way they have tried to manipulate other media audiences over the last fifty years. The audience cannot be contained in a similar manner to national press, on a national radio or TV station, so trying to apply similar rules just doesn't work. At the same time, agencies need to understand where online/digital fits in an overall media plan. It's not a bolt on, nor is it the be all and end all in reaching individuals via tracking mechanisms. The audience advertisers want to reach know the tracking mechanisms and avoid them;besides most agencies are so simplistic in online KPIs, that they just use a click through percentage which is an ever diminishing metric. Bulk buying on networks is not the solution, it's part of it. The answer is to think where it all fits in an integrated manner. That's the only thing agencies can carry forward from the 'old' media .