More than half (52 percent) of chief marketing officers say traditional, large advertising agencies are ill-suited to meet online marketing needs, according to Sapient's Electronic Media, Marketing and Advertising Buyer Value Study, which polled senior marketing executives to understand what drives their selection of marketing and advertising agencies.

CMOs now view strategy and innovation as a top factor in hiring a marketing agency, according to Sapient - and the majority of respondents understand marketing innovation as the creative use of new and emerging media.

Some 49 percent of survey respondents said traditional advertising firms have difficulty thinking beyond traditional print and TV media models, which no longer are effective ways of engaging consumers, who now get their information and influence one another primarily through digital channels.

Fewer than 10 percent of those polled say they seek to partner with large advertising agencies for their online marketing. Instead, the majority show a strong preference for blended firms - those with roots in technology that can also offer creative and traditional print expertise. Even more (68 percent) prefer to work with multiple agencies to derive the benefits of specialization.

"Two of the greatest challenges companies are struggling with are how to measure the effectiveness of the marketing spend and how to operationalize their entire digital strategy. Most agencies and corporate teams are just not equipped to do either yet," said Gaston Legorburu, Sapient Chief Creative Officer and head of the Experience Marketing practice at Sapient.

For Sapient's study, Evalueserve interviewed more than 100 CMOs and senior marketers from the U.S. and U.K. in a range of industries.

The study revealed that the six most important factors to a CMO when choosing a marketing partner today are (in order of importance to aggregate respondents):

1. Quality of creative content
2. Innovation and strategic value
3. Price/cost
4. Sophisticated analytics and measurement systems
5. Proficiency in emerging, interactive or digital media
6. Traditional print, offline and media buying services

Survey responses from the U.S. and U.K. were fairly consistent, with one major exception. In the U.S., 64 percent of respondents say traditional advertising agencies have difficulty thinking beyond traditional print and TV models, compared with only 40 percent of U.K. respondents.