Three years ago, I wrote an article on how to choose a digital agency. Back then, a lot of people really didn’t have much of an idea about what a digital agency actually was. About a year ago, I updated that post. Now, in 2012 it seems like everyone and their cat’s calling themselves a digital agency.

Back in 2009, I defined a digital agency as being composed not only of great technologists, but also of excellent creative storytellers and problem solvers. I said that a great digital agency “rises above the noise by insisting on a creative partnership with its clients, and is constantly thinking up ways that its clients can take advantage of online technology to better reach their customers”.  I was right about all that. But I’d like to add to it, a bit. It has been another year, after all.

As we’ve grown up as a digital agency, it’s become increasingly clear that success also involves having the ability to help create and then hold a clear vision of the client’s needs, growing and creating specialized teams that serve that vision, and in having the experience to be relevant and make great choices along the way. This holds true no matter the project at hand.

It feels like the new Internet really is all about responsiveness. It’s clear that an agile digital agency helps their clients succeed in this new Internet better than a stiff, traditional, old-school concern. It’s impossible to be responsive and agile when your organizational structure and culture is the antithesis of that.

I embraced this agile angle a while ago, back when we started getting into creating video marketing for clients. The theory’s as old as Hollywood- have a strong core group, put together the right team for the job, do it well, and move to the next project. A solid, well-rounded core team of creative storytellers and designers, with access to other world-class talent, provides huge advantages, both to clients and to the agency. The work is better, and the environment is more fun. We’ve taken this approach with all our projects, quietly, in the past year. It’s been tremendously successful for us.

Back in 2009, I mentioned that digital agencies needed to grasp the role of being their client’s partner. That’s still as true as ever. Today, I urge agencies to embrace agility and learn how to create project-based teams. It’ll help keep you relevant and useful to your clients.