How leading agencies navigate through the new era of telling brand stories | WebFlow -Blog

In collaboration with the Society of Digital Agencies (Soft drink), I have moderated a panel discussion with three leaders who have formed the way agencies have formed and collaborate in a rapidly changing digital world: Alex Kress (Founder at Sweden Unlimited), Matt Owens (Partner at athletics), and Ben Visfeld (Chief Design Officer at Buck).

The focus was simply in name but complex in reality: Content, cooperation and connection. How do you tell a compelling brand story in an environment where formats multiply, rewrite the rules and internal teams are better than ever? How do you stay true to the voice of a brand when the tools to make – and the channels to share – evolve faster than being able to keep track of editorial calendars?

The session included a lot of land: the evolution and extensive scope of making content, the opportunities and risks of AI, the reality of co-creation with customers and the balance between running a “content machine” and telling a story that really matters.

Here is a distillation of that conversation, from practical ideas to large image perspectives on how agencies can navigate in a new era of telling brand stories.

What does content mean today

Historically, agencies have considered content as a supporting element of design and brand identity, but times have changed. Content is now an integral part of brand building and has evolved to combine copy, design and brand identity in a multitude of channels and sizes.

For agencies this means different shifts in perspective:

Make modular content systems This ensures efficient re -use on different platforms. Matt Owens added: “We were first designers and makers who only made things. But as we grew, we had to realize that content is really employed by the purpose of a brand and business goals.” To keep pace with these needs, agencies must move their operational model to build modular content systems that connect to the mission of a brand and measurable objectives.

Apply types of content to consumption patterns By analyzing where specific target groups prefer to deal with different sizes. Alex Kress pointed out: “Now customers need an endless power over multiple channels, each with its own style, but all tell the same story.” Building a complete content strategy now includes channel -specific strategies that collaborate with creative implementation to reach customers where they are.

A brand is more than just content, but content, when they are seen as a whole, the brand should represent. As Ben Vonfeld said: “Everything is satisfied. The magic tells one story and expresses it everywhere without selling everything in one go.”

For modern agencies, it is a need to evolve to treat content as part of the experience with telling brand stories, personalized by Channel.

Creating creation in collaboration and partnership

In-house teams are talented and increasingly self-sufficient, often looking agencies as an extension of their ability to create. As a result, the way agencies work with customers changes.

Agencies work to move the creative partner’s perspective to creative partner and enabler. “We are not here to drop a deck with 100 slides and to disappear. We are building something together, and that means thinking about what the customer will set up for success six months after we leave,” Ben said.

Effective partnerships work best if there are mutual respect, clear roles and tools that make cooperation seamless. Building a brand requires the sum of much smaller projects. Instead of simply carrying out requests, agencies must become strategic partners who help customers understand how content can stimulate business results.

Alex added: “The most successful relationships have no ego. We are not here to prove that we know better. We are here to help customers ask better questions, sometimes those they didn’t know they had to ask them.”

The partnership model also creates opportunities for agencies to expand their value proposition. By demonstrating expertise in the content strategy And Implementation, agencies can switch from project -based work to current holder relationships that provide more stable income and deeper customer integration.

Adjust to AI and AEO

The path to brand discovery has changed, especially when it comes to searching. AI changes How content is consumed and brands are found. Large language models (LLMS) reformulating the carefully manufactured words of brands, changing content strategy as we know them.

An example I shared was how our web flow team is Optimize content for AI search assignment And how you can adjust the focus to optimize for answer engines. Alex has expanded this saying: “Make your site question -oriented. Question: What does our audience want to know? Those answers clearly and immediately come up.”

The key is to find the balance between human curiosity-as a typical member of the public would look for and the affinity of AI for the use of well-structured, extensive answers in the output.

Content strategy in the AI ​​era for agencies (and internal teams) is about clarity, authority and authenticity. As Ben added: “We have formed content to match SEO for so long. This is the time to go back to heritage and religious systems …”

The advice for fellow agencies of the panel was to concentrate on answering what your audience is most curious about in a voice that reflects the brand.

AI as a creative improvement

Speaking of the impact of AI, creativity in a world affected by AI was a big subject of discussion point for the panel members. The most important point of attention from Alex, Ben and Matt was this: AI does not replace creatives, but it reforms how creative work is done.

Alex came to the conclusion that “younger creatives sometimes think that the use of Genai plays cheers. We frame genai as a tool that removes the empty page, accelerates ideation and gives you more time to concentrate on the parts of the work that requires human judgment.”

For agencies to really stimulate value, AI must be embedded in their workflow in such a way to show customers that AI and creativity can live harmoniously together to build creative content on a scale. Matt has shared a bit about this: “Some (customer) AI are already enclosing in their workflows. Others are hesitant. We show them safe, targeted ways to test it and then show the results for themselves.”

Acting as a leading force with AI adoption and fluency will establish your desk as a trusted expert and leader in your field – one that can be called for content strategies, not just creative implementation.

Ben ended it by sharing how his team AI embedded in their culture. “We have given everyone a stipendium to try the AI ​​tools that they were most skeptical about. Now we have AI -Freeldag where people share experiments. This investment builds up a learning culture instead of resistance.”

The panel agreed that AI can speed up creativity without replacing it. By approaching AI with curiosity and strategic clarity, you can fit the task -specific AI in the workflow of your team instead of trying to adjust your workflow to AI.

Telling the brand in the future

The agencies that thrive in this new content landscape are those who see the expansion of the consumption channels and accept AI as an opportunity to demonstrate value in new, more strategic ways and to build sustainable customer relationships.

By adjusting workflows, embracing new cooperation approaches with internal teams and positioning content as a strategic engine growth growth, agencies can transform the challenge of various content requirements into a competitive advantage.

Ready to see how leading agencies transform their content strategies and customer relationships? See how you and your team can join forces with WebFlow To build a better brand for your customers.

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