The golden age of advertising was all about big ideas, glossy TV spots, and splashy billboards. Think Mad Men: a single campaign could define a brand for years. But today, marketing looks nothing like that. It’s fragmented, algorithmic, and deeply entangled with creators, commerce, and data.
Also Read | Adam Mosseri: Longer Captions Won’t Increase Reach
That’s the world Amy Lanzi, CEO of Digitas, lives in every day. In a recent Decoder interview hosted by Hank Green, she broke down what a “modern marketing agency” actually does — and why brands, creators, and platforms all need to rethink what advertising means in 2025.
From Advertising Agency to “Networked Experience Agency”
Digitas doesn’t even call itself an ad agency anymore. Lanzi describes it as a networked experience agency, a mix of five connected practices:
- Creative experiences (what a brand looks and sounds like)
- Integrated media (where and how to spend ad dollars)
- CRM (emails, texts, loyalty programs)
- Commerce (frictionless buying everywhere)
- Social transformation (collaborating with creators, building cultural presence)
The goal isn’t just to buy impressions. It’s to move people from like → love → loyalty.
As Lanzi puts it, “You can’t just put communications out there and hope people care. You have to earn your way into their networks.”
The New Currency: Signals, Not Spots
In the old world, everyone saw the same ad. In today’s ecosystem, personalization comes from signals, the tiny behavioral cues people give off across platforms. Reddit conversations, TikTok shopping behaviors, and even Minecraft streams in a living room can all point to where consumers are heading next. Digitas has even co-built tools with Reddit and TikTok to surface these cultural signals faster for brands.
The key, Lanzi says, is turning signals into both acquisition and retention. That means not just chasing new customers, but nurturing the 20% of loyalists who drive 80% of sales. Ignore retention, and you risk burning your core audience while chasing growth.
Creators Are Brands’ “Best Friends”
Few topics spark more debate than creator vs influencer. Lanzi draws a clear line: Influencers are defined by what they do for brands. Creators are defined by what they make for their audience.
And in her view, the future belongs to creators. “Creators inform, collaborate, and act like a brand’s best friends,” she says. They help brands co-create products, test ideas, and authentically show up in culture. That’s why Digitas has invested in platforms like Influential and Captivate, which give clients access to millions of creators worldwide. For modern brands, creator collabs aren’t optional, they’re a system.
AI: Helpful, but Not in Charge
No marketing conversation in 2025 is complete without AI. Lanzi acknowledges the fear: will machines replace agencies? Her answer is clear: not yet.
Digitas uses AI to automate low-value work like reporting, freeing strategists to focus on insights and creative thinking. But human judgment still matters for brand governance, safety, and ideas. “Humans matter,” she stresses. “Creative ideas, not just content, are what drive brands forward.”
Why TV Still Costs More Than YouTube
Hank Green pressed on a mystery many creators feel: why do advertisers pay more for TV spots than YouTube ads, even though audiences are shifting online?
The short answer: legacy buying models. TV is still sold through bundled media deals, integrations, and talent packages. YouTube, by contrast, is an auction-driven, dynamic marketplace. The metrics, pricing, and incentives don’t line up, at least not yet.
But the rise of connected TV is starting to blur the lines, as streaming platforms adopt digital buying models. Expect this gap to shrink over time.
Complexity Is the Opportunity
If advertising feels messy today, that’s the point. Lanzi argues that complexity actually makes agencies more valuable.
With dozens of platforms, conflicting data dashboards, and shifting algorithms, brands need partners who can measure what’s really working and optimize toward results. Digitas was built on data and analytics, and that’s where it believes the future lies.
“Sales are a pretty good outcome of: did we sell more things?” Lanzi jokes. In other words: forget vanity metrics, focus on outcomes.
The Big Shift: Brands as Publishers
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Lanzi’s interview is this: brands can no longer rely on media companies as the sole carriers of their message.
As platforms like Google and Meta tighten control, and AI reshapes search, brands must act like publishers, creating their own content ecosystems, apps, and communities. And in that world, creators become indispensable allies.
Or, as Lanzi frames it: “Consumers see themselves in creators before they see themselves in a brand.”
For creators, this interview validates the push to be seen as true partners, not just ad inventory. For brands, it’s a reminder that marketing isn’t about making ads, it’s about building trust across fractured networks of people, platforms, and signals.
Also Read | OpenAI Unveils Critterz: The First AI-Generated Animated Film Heading to Cannes
From Mad Men to machines, advertising’s core challenge hasn’t changed: did it actually grow the business? The difference is that today, the only way to answer that question is by balancing data, creators, and culture.