Choosing a Digital Agency: Advice From SAP and Adidas [Video]

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What do brands want from a digital agency?

With more brands using specialist digital agencies to increase their social, mobile, and digital outreach, SAP and Adidas execs share how they select an agency, evaluate performance, and manage when things don't work out.

Crispin Sheridan, senior director of search marketing at one of the world's largest software firms SAP, and Gavin Lum, digital marketing, senior manager from leading sportswear brand Adidas, participated in a panel discussion at SES Shanghai recently.

Watch the video below:

0:01 What's the key factor you look for in a digital agency?
1:10 How do you evaluate performance of an agency?
2:08 What happens when the client and agency relation crumble?
2:48 How does the situation play out in China?
4:18 Agency networks or start-ups, which would you choose and why?

Excerpts from the interview:

"The worst thing that can happen is when the pitch team is different from the actual team that is servicing the business. Usually when agencies go for a business pitch, they bring out the big guns from different parts of the world and say they can do amazing things. We buy the idea but then the actual team that delivers the campaign is a completely different team..." – Gavin Lum, senior digital marketing manager, Adidas.

"The key is to have a mix of agencies, startups, and new ideas but also some established people who really understand the brand and the strategy and make sure the business is moving forward. And one of the challenges there is getting agencies to "play nice together" and it can take a long time but when it works out it's very valuable..." – Crispin Sheridan, senior director of search marketing, SAP.

Mainland Chinese readers can view the video here.