The lowdown on digital space -- a good guide for the novice; a wake-up call for those who think they know it all.

It would be lovely to have been born 60 years ago. Everything was so much simpler then. Marketing required the understanding of just a handful of channels and media types. We could rely on decades of accumulated marketing experience to guide us. And the rules were well defined.

But we weren't. Like it or not, we've all been born into the digital age and the information economy. It seems the only rule is that change is constant, random and relentless.

It's no wonder that traditional advertising agencies have often been the slowest to embrace this change. When you've spent years honing and refining the craft of the 30-second spot or the full-page ad, having to master a new bunch of nerdy tools is a bit too much to ask.

For years, most agencies chose to outsource all the digital stuff, hoping in vain that they could become digital by osmosis. It never happened.

Some agencies established elaborate digital departments internally but tended to force them to play by the old rules -- and operate as a separate silo; just another ball to juggle and another piece of the revenue pie to carve up.

And a few visionary agencies got with the programme, re-inventing themselves completely. They embraced change, maintaining all their old skills but re-skilling in new ones.

So with more than a decade's worth of fits, starts, successes and failures to learn from, what are the attitudes and behaviours an agency needs to thrive in the digital age?

It's not just about technology. It's about psychology… and sociology.
An understanding of human motivation and socio-cultural trends is still the key to any successful campaign. Observations and insights must dictate the most appropriate technology to employ, not the other way round.

It's not about your knowledge. It's about your network.
No-one knows it all. If they claim to, fire them immediately. The most valuable team members know what they don't know. And better still, they know the people who do know.

It's not just about telling. It's also about selling.
You can't force someone to become digital. But you can convince them that it is beneficial to do so. A little enthusiasm and evangelism never goes astray. This goes for clients as well as employees.

It's not just about learn and do. It's about do and learn.
One of the most exciting parts about digital projects is that more often than not, you're embarking on something that's never been done before. There are few templates or guides. We're forced to make it up as we go along. Therefore, each project must serve as an opportunity to learn, share, grow and improve.

It's not just about learning. It's an equal dose of unlearning.
The title of Paul Arden's book says it all: "Whatever you think, think the opposite."

It's not about top-down or bottom up. It's about both at the same time.
You're going to need experts. And you're going to need executors. Experts need people to help them execute their ideas and strategies. Executors need experts to teach them best practices.

It's not about a digital department. It's about digital projects.
If you want to get your team moving swiftly up the learning curve, get them on the doing curve. Just make sure they have the experts, processes and resources in place to support them.

It's not about making digital the new epicentre of the organisation. It's about making it permeate.
It's tempting to buy in a high-profile digital team and give them the star treatment. Equally important is investment in training, research, processes and systems. It may even be better to not have a digital department at all -- instead, infiltrating digital experts within existing departments.

It's not about geography. It's about chemistry.
The beauty of the digital age is its virtual nature. One's location is no longer a barrier to getting things done. But you have to get the chemistry right: good communication and collaboration tools and systems to allow people to play well together in this new borderless world.

It's not about digital creative or digital 'strategy'. It's about problem solving using digital tools.
All marketing briefs are an invitation to solve a problem. Being digital just means understanding how the new toolkit can help solve certain problems. If a low-tech solution is cheaper, faster or better, then why go high tech? Whatever works best, works best.

It's not even about digital. It's about integration.
A piecemeal strategy is doomed. The best digital idea in the world cannot work in isolation. The more closely aligned each component of the strategy is, the better it works.

John Lambie is regional digital creative director of BatesAsia 141. Read full bio.

Manish Sinha is VP, strategy, and VP, strategy for digital and new media, Asia Pacific of BatesAsia 141. Read full bio.