Maybe the best digital agencies are not digital?

The Won Report has just been published.  It's an annual report that looks at the best digital advertising and agencies around the world based on the quantity and quality of the awards won.

Here is the full list of the best campaigns and best agencies from around the world - the winners may surprise you. The three agencies who have won more digital awards than anyone else are Crispin Porter, Dentsu and DDB Sao Paolo.  The highest rank pure-play digital agency is R/GA New York at #6. The highest British agency is Glue at #14.

Given the recent win of Axe digitally across Europe, the fact that AKQA do above the line for Yell.com and Agency.com do Ikea, how useful are terms like "digital" anymore? Aren't we, or shouldn't we, all just be Creative Agencies.

After all, isn't it all just about using creativity to connect people and brands in engaging ways that drive sales?

Comments

[Mikej]

If you hear any of the crispin porter guys talk about the early days of the agency. They talk about not being able to afford top advertising talent. So they just hired young people who seemed quite creative. Leading to trying new things. (go over to cellar door and check out jo's post on PSFK and one of the speakers views on grads. I have always believed grads are the best source of ideas)
In big markets like the UK and US big agencies are too literal. 'We need to do a campaign so that means TV, little print and some online. Can someone call the online company please'. Too much of that instead of just having great ideas and working them through the different media and how each idea manifests itself in each part. Or even on their own. Anyone can do it. Just got to get in there and understand it best

PS: I llove your Ferris Bueller quote. Key standard movie from my childhood

[tom martin]

Ahh awards... often considered the bellweather of greatness. Often wondered, do the agencies that win all those awards win because they are great agencies or just have the time/resources to enter all those darn award shows. Often wonder if the truly great, creative agencies are so busy doing client work and so interfocused, that they either don't or can't (for lack of time) bother to enter these illustrious award shows.

[Jason Lonsdale]

Absolutely agree -I find it odd that digital agencies define themselves in such a way.. (its kinda like being a "television ad agency" or a "print as agency").

We do ideas -thats what we do. Then we figure out how that manifests itself do as to best reach our desired audience (which gets us to my other bugbear -the idiocy of not keeping media planning inside creative agenies... but thats another post)