Madison Avenue

A recent survey released by Forrester Research confirmed a challenge Madison Ave faces today: How agencies can remain central marketing partners in an age of increased specialization driven by an increasingly digital media environment

According to AdAge, a measly 21 percent of clients would recommend their agencies' services to others. However, the report also found a whopping 76 percent of marketers had no way to determine their ROI from their lead agencies - 69 percent said ROI is too difficult to measure.

"There's always an undercurrent of discontent with agencies," said Peter Kim, a senior analyst at Forrester. "What surprised me is that three-quarters do not measure agency ROI. They're dissatisfied, yet on what basis? … it's a feeling that there isn't data to back up."

In recent years, large agencies that for decades dominated the scene have been under assault from much newer and leaner shops that promise channel-agnostic thinking. However, the good news for big agencies is that they still account for over 60 percent of all marketing budgets.