Making predictions for what's going to happen in media next week is hard, let alone undergo the ambitious challenge of trying to second guess the next five years. However, we believe our vision, which is based on rigorous research, conversations with key influencers and the collation of pertinent data and statistics, is not far-fetched. In fact, most of the predictions we make are grounded in today's reality; we are building the foundations now for a future-proof media agency in five years. So, take a trip into the future with us, use your imagination and tell us what you think.

Fast-Forward to the Future

It's 2014. You're walking into a global media agency that you last visited five years ago. The first thing you notice is that it does not appear to be organized too differently from how you remember it, apart from the fact that much of the buying process now looks like it is automated. There are client teams scattered around the agency, composed of a range of different specialists: a couple of TV buyers, a radio buyer, an online buyer and duo of planners. So far, so similar. However, on closer inspection you realize that there are some key differences. For a start, the TV buyers no longer call themselves TV buyers but instead are AV (audiovisual) buyers and their remit covers TV and online. They also seem to be talking about targeting and consumer behavior data much more than they did in the past.

You overhear a client-planning meeting and you realize that most planners aren't even called planners anymore. They're MIMs -- marketing investment managers. It looks like their role is now to advise the client on all aspects of his marketing strategy, from whether the brand should change its packaging to whether he should launch a new variant or product. Their role has clearly evolved significantly over the last five years. They seem to be much more multi-skilled and referring to a host of different research experts in the brainstorming meetings from consumer psychologists to neuroexperts to social anthropologists to new product development managers.

Some client teams appear to be populated by product placement specialists, who are on the lookout for opportunities in events and linear broadcast content, as well as ad-funded games and ad-funded widgets. There are a couple of software developers too, who are creating ad-funded applications and experiences on social networking sites. Other teams also have creatives from a sister creative agency, who now work beside the planners and buyers. All these specialists work in the agency's content creation department. It's much, much bigger than it was in 2009 and has become a mini quasi-creative agency in itself.

Other client teams have mobile planners and buyers and there's a new breed of digital marketer. They are calling themselves DRM's, or digital relationship managers, and are in the business of building and maintaining huge databases of consumers. Apparently they're a great source of ideas for planners, and clients even ask to audit these databases as part of the pitch process.

Long gone are the days when all the media agency did was plan and buy a campaign.

How Did We Get Here?

First, we thought hard about how the consumer will be using technology in five years. After all, technology is the biggest driver of change in the evolution of the media landscape. If we can accurately predict what technology will catch on with consumers, then this will lead us to what the media agency will look like in the future.

At Home

Expect a technological infrastructure at home that will enable consumers to instantaneously download several types of content simultaneously in high definition with no lag time. We predict that in five years mainstream audiences in most developed markets will be able to download 100+ Mbps per second. To put this in context, in 2008 a typical home-achieved download speed was between 0.8 - 3.5 Mbps. Consequently, consumers will be streaming instead of broadcasting content. And they will be able to access multiple channels, games and applications on one screen simultaneously. Similarly, there will be huge advancements in storage technology, which will enable consumers to store much more content for access at their convenience. Connectivity speeds and bandwidth capacity will also have advanced beyond recognition. Already we are seeing improvements in this arena with the investment of companies such as Verizon and AT&T in fiber optic networks.

The home will be more connected to the consumer than ever before. Through handheld devices like the mobile phone, consumers will be able to link to their hard drive at home, which in turn will link to home appliances and their car.