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As the industry prepares to turn the page on another year marked by massive change, ACA is asking the experts to predict the trends they think will disrupt 2017. First in this series is Stephan Argent of Argedia Group, with his forecast for agency search management.

Well here we are again, that time of year when we attempt to not make complete fools of ourselves by making marketing predictions on the year ahead.

This time last year, my predictions included the continuance of what I called “media fever.” With lingering questions around transparency and reporting, together with the ongoing rise in importance of technology and data, that’s a theme that I believe will continue again in 2017.

But aside from an extended period of media fever, what are the key themes we’re expecting in marketing and agency search management next year?

Here’s my take on where things are going and what advertisers can expect:

Talent acquisition and retention. As anyone in marketing communications knows, talent is everything. But with agencies under ongoing pressure from their client counterparts to deliver more, faster and cheaper, talent is getting burned out, squeezed out and yes, fed up – particularly in media. I believe attracting the best talent (and keeping it) will be crucial for advertisers in 2017. Why? Because it’s not just the data that’s important in driving marketing decisions – it’s the ability to derive usable insights and generate strategic and creative output from it that makes or breaks us. So, no matter how comprehensive advertiser’s data sources are, it’s got to be supported by talented people who are going to stick around long enough to be of value to their agencies and their clients.

Greater emphasis on customer experience and personalization. While brilliant strategies, creativity and great ideas will always be in demand, solutions that focus on creating richer, more personalized customer experiences will be even more highly sought after than this year. Search responses go way beyond agencies being able to demonstrate their ability to “cut through clutter.” What will set agencies apart are personalized solutions that facilitate deeper, imaginative connections with brands, through intimate understanding of customer journeys.

More granular measurement. With greater experiential personalization comes an increased requirement for measurement and understanding of how those personalized experiences are affecting customer behaviour. Advertisers are going to want to know exactly how their agencies are extracting proof points from their efforts and demonstrating their ability to adjust and adapt their campaigns along the way. And perhaps – at last – everyone will perhaps settle on some realistic formulae that make up genuine ROI metrics.

Pay for performance. We’ve already seen a sharp rise in the emphasis advertisers have been placing on pay for performance this year, but with increased emphasis on data and measurement, I believe pay for performance clauses will become almost ubiquitous in agency contracts. Clearer metrics will make thresholds for performance payouts (or penalties) easier to define and advertisers will have to proactively carve-out upside budgets that may then become payable to their high performing agencies.

Video production capabilities (and costs). Personalization coupled with an increased appetite for video content and consumption will further highlight the requirement for high-quality, low-cost video production. Because advertisers see video as a highly-measurable traffic driver for their businesses and their own media properties, they want to know how agencies can deliver without the complexity, time and cost of television production. Seamless in-house production capabilities supported by those who know their client’s brands inside and out will have an advantage.

The death of the RFI and RFP? And finally… I wrote an article at the end of last year entitled RFI, RFP – RIP? which really struck a chord with readers. While I don’t think either the RFI or RFP-type request can ever die completely, I do believe there’s a healthy desire to see the process of procurement methodology streamlined. As a result, at The Argedia Group, we created our own “search-lite” process that eliminates creative or strategic requests, focusing on chemistry and future capabilities rather than historical successes. As advertisers continue to struggle to do more with less, while maintaining control of their marketing efforts, I believe “pitch lite” will become even more popular next year.

All of which goes to show that whether it comes down to ‘pitch-lite’, smart thinkers analyzing your data or keeping your team and your agency superstars happy – our business still comes down to the people who support us and creating a meaningful connection between all of us to make what we do worthwhile. (Thank goodness.)

Stephan Argent is CEO of The Argedia Group, Canada’s leading agency search and management consultancy. Read more like this on his blog, ‘Marketing Unscrewed’.