When I observe a random large company I sometimes see the work done by so-called social media experts. Most of Corporate Australia is trained to outsource most of its marketing and advertising work. Well-known digital agencies are always hiring experts to tap into this market. You can read about these comings and goings in B&T or Mumbrella.

Make no mistake, some of the ad agency work is brilliant – think of the TV commercials (TVCs) that you will remember for years. Some great slogans even enter the vocabulary. Branding campaigns, when they aren’t memorable, are hard to analyse because there isn’t any trackable element to most of them. However, many social media campaigns are tactical and need to be measured.

Large agencies are multi-headed, but nice Hydras. They consist of a number of companies in related disciplines, so it is too easy for the contracted incumbent to bring along their sister company experts to the table. The trouble is that the subject matter expert isn’t necessarily the best you could find.

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