Letter From Kenny Tomlin, CEO
Change is in the air! It’s a new year with a new
President whose administration quickly updated whitehouse.gov with the word that
capitalized his campaign "Change!"
I'm convinced that the desire and ability to change are more responsible for
innovation than any other factor - even more motivating than financial gain.
Sometimes we have no choice but to change in order to survive. At other times
we are simply discontent with the status quo and can see a different way. And
then there are those times that we insist on change because it will lead to a
better future, individually and collectively. This is the kind of change we hope
to inspire at Rockfish.
One of our four core values is that "Rockfish Interactive will be flexible and
adaptable. We understand that technology and marketing are competitive
landscapes that rapidly evolve and change. We embrace change as a competitive
advantage." Three years ago Rockfish Interactive started as a digital agency
focused on designing and developing websites and web applications. And while
that core focus has not changed, our business has had to change dramatically to
keep up with evolving technologies and customer demand. We expect 2009 will be
no different.
Here are three primary areas where I believe successful digital agencies will
continue to change for the better in 2009, and where Rockfish is committed to
excellence:
1) Successful interactive agencies will focus on technology like never before.
Gone are the days when an agency can be successful by simply designing nice
looking websites. Today we are building web applications, e-commerce sites,
streaming media rooms, blogs, social media sites, widgets, iPhone applications,
games, and more. Successful digital campaigns and brand experiences have a
multitude of touch-points online that are developed in a variety of
technologies. Those agencies that learn to master new technologies coupled
closely with solid strategy will be the strongest partners for their clients.
2) Successful interactive agencies will embrace social media. We've been
telling our clients for a long time that it's less important to get your
customer to your content than it is to get your content to your customer. Rarely
are a website’s page views the most important factor in measuring success
online. Just like historically a traditional media campaign may have involved
print, radio, and television, today’s companies need to include their own site,
social community sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and content sites such as
Digg or blogs in their digital campaigns.
3) Successful interactive agencies will expand their capabilities and
offerings. Marketing, public relations, media, and software development are
converging at the front door of our industry. The last couple of years have
been times of tremendous growth for digital, and interactive is no longer an
afterthought. In fact, many brands today entrust their digital agency to be
their primary agency of record. At Rockfish we will continue to broaden and
strengthen our team in order to offer more and more value to our clients.
Best regards for a prosperous 2009 filled with unanticipated opportunities!
Kenny Tomlin, Founder and CEO