Why marketers need time on the agency side

It's just one month into Damien Cummings' role at Samsung when we sit down for this interview and it seems he has come in at a high point for Samsung.Cummings (pictured) admits he comes to the Korean electronics giant as an "agent of change" and while its marketing has been successful on traditional platforms, it is still early days for digital, which is where Cummings has immersed himself for almost his entire career.But he admits his stint with an agency has given his marketing career additional depth and stresses that every great marketer needs a good understanding of how both agencies and brands work.He said marketers who have only worked client-side can get very narrow minded, are less willing to take risks, don't have a solid understanding of how different industries operate or where to find best practice work."Agency experience gives you a wider perspective, opens you up to new ideas and makes you a better marketer," Cummings said.On the other hand, simply being on the agency-side allows a professional depth and understanding of a brand's challenge, how business really runs and the role of advertising in the wider scheme of how a business operates, he adds.Just prior to his role at Samsung, Cummings was the online director of Asia Pacific and Japan at Dell, managing its e-commerce and online sales revenue.Prior to that, he was the general manager at Neo@Ogilvy and also spent time at companies such as Citibank managing its internet division, and management consultancy McKinsey & Company.