The number of staff an agency employs used to be a primary way to gauge an agency’s capabilities. While that still holds true to some extent, in the digital era and the gig economy, full-time staff headcount is less of an accurate metric of a marketing firm’s capacity. […]
Advertising companies were originally called an “Agency” because they acted as their client’s agent. The industry has trended away from this as we’ve become more full service marketing firms providing services far above and beyond just advertising, but the need to keep your agency engaged proactively on your behalf, remains the same. […]
Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice. Tactics without a strategy are at best educated guesses, so don’t let your marketing agency act without a plan. […]
Embrace open communication with your agency and divulge your company’s trade secrets, as needed and with an NDA. This inside scoop creates higher quality work. I was asked recently by a former client how business was going and if the agency was working on anything interesting. The short answer was we have several new projects in the hopper along with a few recent additions to our client roster — but that’s about where I left it. […]
More often than not clients end relationships with their agency, but occasionally it’s the other way around. Here’s some tips if you find yourself on the receiving end of an agency resignation letter. I’ve been at this long enough that I’ve resigned a few accounts in the course of my career. Trust me when I say it’s never a decision I’ve come to lightly. There’s a sense of failure on my part that I and my agency couldn’t live up to whatever the ideal was that initially brought us together with our client. […]
When hiring a full service marketing firm, selecting an agency partner that won’t pigeon hole you into their solution is important. The old adage that “if you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” rings true for marketing services and agencies. I believe it’s important that the marketing partners you select aren’t always holding a hammer. […]
BY MATTHEW BIRCHARD About half of the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) we receive won’t yield quality responses because they’re written incorrectly. Here are some tips for writing an RFP that will get results. […]
BY MATTHEW BIRCHARD “Soup to Nuts” includes everything start to finish. It’s all inclusive. An outsourced marketing department should provide all services needed. […]
