Euro RSCG's philosophy is called “Future First” — a belief that if it can have a disproportionate share of knowledge about the future of consumers, brands and categories, it can turn those insights into a competitive advantage for its clients.
And if the proof is in the pudding, 4D, the agency's digital and marketing services division, has plenty of evidence. Here are a few “firsts” it worked up for its clients:
EVIAN The first brand to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the most downloaded piece of commercial content (Evian “Roller Babies”)
VOLVO The first brand to incorporate a live Twitter feed into a new homepage unit on YouTube (what Google referred to as a new “Best Practice” in its Annual Report)
DOS EQUIS The first beer brand to reach 1 million “likes” on Facebook
“There is a tremendous appetite for doing entrepreneurial things and taking small bets and big bets that are going to benefit the agency for the long term,” CEO Jeff Brooks says.
He sees a number of major trends emerging in the space.
Channel Management In a notable shift from wanting to “be seen” in every social media channel, brand clients are now raising concerns about over-exposure. That means working with their agencies to make more informed and strategic decisions about where to be and where not to be, he says.
Workforce Enablement Clients are trying to figure out how to best internally operationalize social media marketing, which permeates every corner of an organization. Euro has developed several models to provide guidance.
Technology Leadership As more content moves to more screens, clients are asking for social applications to follow suit, a main driver in Euro RSCG Worldwide's acquisition of the social software company, Socialistic. Socialistic is run by digital and social expert Colleen DeCourcy, formerly chief digital officer of TBWA Worldwide. In addition, Euro recently opened an in-house technology lab called MadSci (short for “Mad Science”), a forum for prototyping new technology-enabled ideas.
Measurement Basic measurements are at hand-like the number of fans and likes. But the only way to improve measurement is to develop tools and methodologies that connect the dots between activity in the social media channels and activity in the real world.
“This is not an easy task, and it's why a number of agencies, including our own, are investing more time, money and talent in data analytics and modeling. It is only with this more sophisticated approach that the coveted correlations clients seek will begin to be uncovered,” Brooks says.
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