What kind of talent is needed to take agencies into the future? Here are some ideas.

In the first part of this two-episode article, we tried to assess what could be the mindset of the marketing services agency of the future.

Then comes the next issue. What would be the skill sets that would drive this agency of the future?

To begin with, we have been too caught up with conventional structures within the marketing agency. Of course they are tested and work many a time. But I think they need an extra layer to cope up with the changing times.

The thing to understand is that it is not about doing away with the old and bringing in the new. The existing skill sets are essential. They form the core structure and are not redundant. But in their pursuit of excellence, they now need new thinking, new processes and new specialists.

It is the same players, but on steroids. (In a good sort of way)
First of all, I am assuming that every agency already has a digital platform champion. This is not the future. I hope you don't think this is a future profile. This is present and happening. Right now.

And no, distributing a "digital" or "integrated" title to existing skill sets does not count. This is someone who has had ample experience in the field of managing digital platforms. Anyone with that experience in today's environment would mean that the person would have a 'digital marketing mindset'. And while skill sets could be developed sooner, it is the mindset that makes the difference.

But then, most people understand that by now. This leaves us to start the real story.

So here are the job openings of the future marketing agency, implications to marketing, and why they are important now:

The social scientists (Sociologists)

Who are they?
Sociologists are professionals who study human society and social behaviour via group formations and social, political, religious, and economic institutions. And in doing so, they are trained to understand how individuals interact with each other in given contexts.

It is a very interesting field of work. Their job involves getting insights into the different ways individuals, groups, and institutions make decisions, exercise power, and respond to change.

In a different avatar -- that of an anthropologist -- they could even compare different cultures and how they grow, develop and interact with each other.

What are the marketing implications?
Marketing is, essentially, the art of establishing a 'connect' with the people. (This is my definition, of course -- stripped down to the usual bare bones -- but it applies to product, place, promotion, price, target market and positioning, the essential elements of conventional marketing strategy). The connect could be physical – such as retail touch points or product designs; it could be practical – such as establishing pricing decisions; and it could be psychological – such as developing predispositions.

Again, nothing radical happening here. The conventional marketing wisdom stays, but the mindset changes. You bring in a human element -- the 'connect' to all the elements -- and make it the centerstage.

To establish this 'connect', one needs to understand the interplay between various elements, specifically the social units, and, at a more micro level, the people that make up the units. We need to know the motivations, influences and triggers. The marketing services industry realizes this, but doesn't have the right resources -- yet.

Why is it more important now?
In the digital age, an individual's voice, predispositions and even relationships get amplified. Their personality types (What Malcolm Gladwell might call the connectors, mavens or salesmen) start affecting others in their circle of influence (or what I call micro-influence), which in turn might directly or indirectly affect predispositions (I love this word) and purchase behaviour.

Brands would now increasingly need to understand the cause and effect of this interplay between an individual and the elements of his social sphere. Advertising and media would need to address the main players and how to use them to gain a higher ground.

Of course the present planning and insights functions stay. But add this layer -- and get your insights on steroids.

The Psychologists

Who are they?
While social scientists study group-related behaviour, psychologists study the human mind and human behaviour, usually of individuals. They can investigate the physical, cognitive, emotional, and even social aspects of human behaviour.

What are the marketing implications?
Psychologists, try to explain why people act as they do. They could classify personality types and aid actions accordingly. Conventional marketing does lay importance to psychographic segmentation, but rarely through mainstream integration of psychologists.

If you as a marketer can get to understand what personality types to target (try to see the five-factor model of personality traits), what motivates or influences your target segment to act in the way they do ,and their reactions to a certain stimulus, could you then create a different level of connect with your customers?

Why is it more important now?
Again, the digital medium.

Of course by now you would have heard of examples like, say, the "Whopper Sacrifice" on Facebook. A clever idea, based on a general understanding that ties on the computer could be both close and loose. And how incentivization could lead to people to sacrifice some of those loose ties.

Or the "Subservient Chicken" campaign (when was that -- ages back? And just a coincidence -- the same brand behind both examples). This campaign exploited the psychology of people wanting to dominate (or boss around) others. Cheesy, but cool. And it engaged hundreds of thousands.

These are clever ideas with great execution, but probably based on a general understanding of psychology and the nuances of a digital platform. In my opinion, an empirical understanding of the participant's motivations would take this to the next level.

The psychologist could thus put your clever ideas on steroids.

The trans-media story planners

WTH is this? (Prequel to who are they?)
Advertising relies a lot on storytelling nowadays. Trans-media storytelling redefines storytelling as a fluid collection of nuanced perceptions and responses orchestrated by the consumer. In simpler English, it is the flow of content across multiple media platforms.

No, I am not talking about cross-media or integrated media. It is about making the storytelling so fluid that consumers could consume it and even be a part of the story, pick it up from where they want to and pull different parts of the stories themselves. (Some details from a previous article on iMedia Connection).

Who are they?
Since this is a new concept, you would probably not find someone with the title of trans-media planner on the resume. But could you get someone with the right mindset? Or develop someone from within the existing talent pool you have?

The art of storytelling is key to this discipline. And yes, the story itself is not fluid or nuanced, but the way it is told and where it is told is. In that sense, it requires great media execution too!

This skill set understands the nuances of what works beautifully well across different media, and even channels which are tradionally not considered media. (Like developing a comic book). As I said, it sounds a bit conceptual, but really it is not as abstract as it sounds.

Alongside, I must admit I am in a bit of suspended conviction on this one. Trans-media is a concept developed only recently. Either this is a load of bull, or it has the potential to change the face of advertising. Either way, the theory is too good to neglect completely.

I have myself suggested a trans-media concept recently, and realized the excitement it brought into the standard media/ideation process, and the people involved.

What are the marketing implications?
Trans-media storytelling is a peculiar concept, especially because it is very new and difficult to implement across all product categories. However, it can be a particularly powerful tool that is immensely scalable and has a larger shelf life (what I refer to as the "buzz life cycle").

The possibilities of establishing the "connect" with the audience in a way that they become a part of the story or at least remain in constant contact with the brand message are humongous, and limited only by imagination.

Why is it more important now?
Well, first because this is a relatively recent concept by itself. We will surely see some action on this in time to come.

Then, the logic is quite simple. In today's fragmented media landscape, brands use different channels to engage different audiences. Consumers can participate in the brand conversation in increasingly meaningful ways, and brands have lesser control, especially over media. It only makes sense to be a bit fluid through media in communications.

The definition of media has changed, and brands need to be where the audience is, while yet seamlessly conveying the brand message.

This is media and communications on steroids
So that's about it -- for this article. But it is not over.

Apart from these, I have few more jobs (equal, if not more important) for the agency of the future. For the sake of readability, I am listing them out on my blog.

Shalabh Pandey is author of chasingthestorm.com and an independent digital marketing professional in Singapore.