CHOOSING AN ADVERTISING AGENCY
\n By Don Kobes
\nOne of the most difficult decisions a business can make
\nis selecting a “business partner” the advertising
\nagency. A wrong choice can be expensive. It can set your
\nmarketing program back to the stone age. A right choice
\ncould propel you to field leadership. Here is a procedure
\nand some practical tips and basic criteria to help you choose
\nthe “best” advertising agency for your needs and budget.
\nFrom start to finish of this exercise allow at least six to
\neight weeks to run this program. Try to avoid any deadlines
\nthat may compromise your decision making.<\/p>\n
Philosophy
\nAgency people often speak of the client-agency relationship
\nas a “marriage”. The relationship, like marriage calls for
\ncommunication between partners, similar goals and no
\nsurprises. Additionally, each partner must be concerned
\nabout the needs, wishes and in this case the business
\nsuccess of the other.<\/p>\n
Successful marriage usually calls for mutual commitment.
\nWithout mutual commitment, success is unlikely. This means
\nwhen you do find your “partner” you should be prepared to pay
\nprofessional rates for professional services. Be prepared to
\nnegotiate a mutually beneficial client-agency contract.<\/p>\n
AGENCY SELECTION -2-<\/p>\n
One note of caution.
\nIf you now have an advertising manager, be certain he or she
\nis directly involved in all steps of this process. Agencies
\nwill work best with those who can influence their future. If
\nyou don’t handle it this way, expect a problematic situation.<\/p>\n
Getting Started
\nTo find the right advertising agency for your company you
\nneed to start with two important pieces of information: The
\nfirst is the size of your advertising budget. The second is
\nwho wants the job? In other words, identify all possible
\ncandidate agencies in your geographical region.<\/p>\n
Keep It Confidential
\nSurveying available agencies is best done confidentially,
\nwithout revealing your hand. This is because agencies are in
\nthe business of selling their services and they’re very good
\nat it. You need remain in control of this decision-making
\nprocess and not lose it to “personality games” of agency new
\nbusiness representatives.<\/p>\n
If, for example, you spoke of the need for an advertising
\nagency to a media representative on Monday, you’d be swamped
\nwith phone calls and proposals by Friday. New business
\npeople at agencies get paid for aggressive pursuit of leads.
\nJust what you want your own sales people to do. Many of
\nthese solicitations would be premature possibly irrelevant
\nand time-wasting. Discretion is the better way to go.<\/p>\n
AGENCY SELECTION -3-<\/p>\n
Where do you look?
\nThe phone book is helpful. It will provide a local listing,
\nbut little else. Another source is identify those companies
\nin and out of your field doing advertising you feel is
\neffective. For example, look at the advertising in this
\npublication. Then, find out who’s doing this good work.<\/p>\n
Another source for agency names is a professional directory.
\nA number of these exist, one is : “The Standard Directory Of
\nAdvertising Agencies”, published by The National Register
\nPublishing Company, 5201 Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL 60076.
\nYou can write for more information or you may find this
\ndirectory in your local library.<\/p>\n
The Standard Directory lists agencies both geographically and
\nalphabetically and provides you with the size of the agency,
\nnames of the principals and a listing of current clients.
\nOnce you have a fairly comprehensive list, you begin
\nnarrowing down the candidates. All this can be done without
\nleaving your office or running up your phone bill.<\/p>\n
A Big Fish In a Small Pond
\nRemember, the size of your budget is a key governing factor.
\nThe size of your account must represent an important piece of
\nbusiness to an agency in order for you to get the attention
\nyou need to make the partnership successful. For example, if
\nyour business is ranked fourth in a shop, phone calls will be
\nreturned. If your business is ranked 400th in the shop–good
\nluck–you’ll need it.<\/p>\n
AGENCY SELECTION -4-<\/p>\n
Use this simple “size” approach to narrow your list to six
\nor eight agency candidates. Hopefully, this will include
\nsome of the agencies whose work you noticed. Don’t be to
\nconcerned with finding an agency who works in your field.
\nYou can bring that experience to the table. Creativity will
\ncome from fresh viewpoints, not stale ones. Agencies working
\nin your field, if they are available at all, may give you
\nadvertising that looks and sounds like all the other work
\nbeing done in the field.<\/p>\n
Assuming you have narrowed the list as much as you can, it’s
\ntime to contact the candidates. The first contact should be<\/p>\n
as brief as possible, with the object of collecting data
\nabout the candidates. The objective is to get them to mail
\nyou this information. With each call, pay attention to how
\nand how quickly your response is handled. This information,
\nwhen it is received will provide you with resources to narrow
\nyour search further. Hopefully, to about three or four
\ncandidates.<\/p>\n
The next step is a round of mutual visits and discussions.
\nTell the agencies what you’re looking for and learn from them
\nhow they work and even how they would like to be paid.<\/p>\n
Chances are, when you talk to these agencies you’ll be
\ndealing with a someone who graduated first in the class at
\ncharm school. Don’t be swayed. You may never see this
\nperson again.<\/p>\n
AGENCY SELECTION -5-<\/p>\n
Candidates you consider to be serious contenders, should be
\nasked present the account team that will be doing the day to
\nday work on your account. These are the people who represent
\nan agency’s abilities. Get to know them and get to know how
\nlong they have been with the agency. A group of short-timers
\nmay signal personnel changes and lots of re-training in your
\nfuture. An inconvenience worth avoiding.<\/p>\n
During these “client-agency” meetings, look carefully at the
\nwork they have done and find out, if you can, what it cost to
\nproduce this work. These meetings and the many discussions
\nof advertising and advertising costs will let you narrow the
\nlist, hopefully to two candidates. Now, pick up the phone
\nand speak to some of that agency’s clients for a broader
\npicture.<\/p>\n
The final stage may be the awarding of test assignments. Try
\nto have the list narrowed to two when you reach this stage.
\nGive each agency a similar briefing and assignment. Remember
\nboth agencies must be paid for their time, win or lose. Now
\nyou get some assignments completed. You also get a preview
\nof their approach to your problems. Sometimes this is the
\n“tie-breaker”.<\/p>\n
Disclaimer
\nThis is not the whole story. It is a “schematic” that, if
\nfollowed, will enhance your ability to make the right
\nchoices. Be certain the agency you select gets at least the
\nsame commitment from you as you expect from them. Finally,
\nplan regular performance reviews to be certain all partners
\ncontinue to share the same objectives. Based on what you
\nhave learned from your investigation and meetings you can now
\nmake a decision. (Nobody promised you it would be easy.)<\/p>\n
For more information on this or related subjects, you may
\ncontact the author, a marketing and advertising consultant,
\nDonald Kobes, 23-1B Bloomingdale Drive, Hillsborough, NJ 08876
\nTelephone or fax: (201) 281-7445.<\/p>\n
-30-<\/p>\n
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