Retainer pricing.

Since brands are taking on more work and acting as their own agencies, we will certainly see a shift in the pricing of retainers. Brands can do more independently, and it means less work for agencies. To keep the dollars at the same level, agencies will have to create new niches that brands need and can’t do themselves.

Budget allocation.

With programmatic exploding and mobile spend increasing, we are witnessing a big change of the priorities in the marketing industry. It naturally follows that budgets will take a hit. The projects and pathways that receive a nice pile of dollars today may get less money next year. Be prepared.

Hiring and retaining talent.

Brands are looking to hire agency marketers because they have the experience to conduct business in-house and lead new teams. Agencies must take on the challenge of incentivizing talent to stay, and may need to readjust the way they hire in the first place. A new world calls for new skills.

Lori Schwartz, managing partner at StoryTech, speaks to iMedia about these changes, and why agencies need to guide their clients through this chaos now more than ever.