Google ad chief Tim Armstrong has talked up relationships with agencies, claiming that it will step up its work with them in the future.

Recently Google’s bid to measure media itself and initiatives such as its partnership with Publicis Groupe to target digital opportunities, has sparked agency concern.

It has even been labelled a ‘frenemy’ because of its gung-ho investment in digital movements.

Speaking at an investment bank conference in the US, Armstrong explains “We have agencies who have been working with us for a long time, and those guys aren’t calling us ‘frenemies’. The people who make that [frenemy] complaint, are the people who came to the game late.”

He adds “The amount of work that it takes to run campaigns today will probably only get greater. If we look into a crystal ball and ask ‘will agencies get bigger or smaller?’ – I believe they’ll get bigger.”

He conceded that Google had not yet found the best way to generate ad revenues around YouTube, but asserts that it is “stronger” at selling ads on the video-sharing site.

“Both social networking and YouTube have this problem with advertising. As an advertiser you want to be associated with the end consumer. As an advertiser, you want to make sure that you dont over-correct based on your previous 20 years’ experience. The audience is tremendous, and as an advertiser, you need to approach these things with an open mind.”