As we move into a difficult, demanding and uncertain 2009, it is the integration model which makes the most sense.
Streamlining our offering, using all channels together with the common goal of engaging with and retaining customers for our clients, is the best course of action we can take to survive the challenges ahead.
So the question now is how best to fulfil this promise of delivering integration.
As has been the case for a long time, but now owing to a proliferation of its uses, data holds the key.
The secret is in gathering it effectively, structuring it in a relevant way and interpreting the results and applying them strategically.
If accurate and relevant data is weaved into a campaign with intelligence, the benefits are endless.
The most important thing for brands to remember moving into 2009, is that relationships with customers and potential customers are more vital than they ever have been.
Losing a customer or not winning over prospects is far more damaging now than it would have been last year, and as a result, huge effort must be put into ensuring customers are loyal, trusting and satisfied with the service they are being delivered.
With this is mind, it's not all doom and gloom for agencies.
Now, more than ever, there is a need for brands to be talking intelligently and regularly to their customers, and agencies who can achieve this in a cost effective and joined up fashion will fare better than most.
What we will see in the future is more full service digital agencies -- digital will no longer be seen as a specialism but more as a part of a wider strategic direction.
Agencies will continue to incorporate integrated digital executions as other media begins to converge together, and there will be a blurring between the media used and the content it contains, as user generated content and earned media becomes more mainstream.
In addition, agencies will need to demonstrate to brands that they can make the most of the tools and methods available to them, to build an effective integrated communications platform from which to reach consumers.
We will also see a new kind of integration model emerging -- convergence, as all media channels start to be delivered over IP (internet protocol).
This is when communications are designed to incorporate all the new demands of the online world, and most importantly, the online consumer.
Agencies that combine technology, creative, planning and data with rigorous delivery process will be structured to win in this new world.
Accountable marketing which delivers optimal results and reaches the customers effectively always survives, no matter what the economic climate.
Brands cannot afford not to have a dialogue with their customers, and as long as agencies are offering a responsible and strategic service to achieve this, they will always be in demand.
Tim Hipperson, CEO, .