Last week the FT  reported on the challenge that ad agencies and PR firms face in recalibrating their businesses around digital. Mark Hanson spotlights the issue on his Livejournal:

[Clients] are buying outcomes. Outcomes that need to embrace a selection of skills but agencies are still trying to grab budget within the confines of their existing structures.

Brian Sollis covered similar ground when he posed a similar question to readers of his blog last week asking who owns social media?

The answer is clear, your customers and influencers own [and] define it. And, without guidance or participation, they steer the impression and perception of your brand. Social CRM is much more than engagement strategies and tactics however, it requires a completely revamped infrastructure to support effective socialized relationships management through technology and resources.

Last night I spent the evening in the company of a CEO of a management consultancy. He was excited about the prospect of using social strategies in business planning and the development of strategy.

Today Dachis acquired Headshift. Drew Benvie explained the importance of the deal in a blog post this morning:

Dachis is headed by former CEO and founder of Razorfish. It is […] using a $50m pot of money from Austin Ventures to acquire companies that fulfill on its promise “to unlock the value of social technologies for large corporate enterprises.” […]

Business consulting with a deep knowledge of social media […] is in high demand and I hope the new Dachis Headshift partnership will continue to prosper in this sector.

A new business category has evolved.