From Mad Men to Sad Men, relationship factors have driven the selection and dismissal process of companies and their ad agencies for decades.
To arm your company with the characteristics to pursue as well as what to avoid, here’s your guide. 25 hard numbers why clients hire and fire their ad agencies.
HIRE
- 98% say the best work comes when clients trust their agencies. (USA Today)
- 97% of agency professionals agree a long-term relationship is important, while this number is 89% for client-side marketers. (Association of National Advertisers (ANA))
- 94% of clients believe their process of hiring an agency is effective (American Management Institute (AMI))
- 90% of agency professionals agree the agency “plays an important role in driving business results,” versus 74% of client-side marketers. (ANA)
- 60% of digital agencies are independents (SoDA Report)
- 58% of clients say they provide clear assignment briefs versus 27% of agencies. (ANA)
- 57% of clients “like” or “love” the process of choosing an agency. (AMI)
- 56% of clients believe agencies have the right talent to meet client needs while agencies believe it’s 64%. (ANA)
- 51% say their company has a “special sauce” for finding the best agencies. (AMI)
- More than 50% of the clients work with only one or two digital agencies, up from 47% in 2015 (SoDA Report)
- 49% of companies say they typically take more than three months to choose an agency once they’ve decided to begin their search. (AMI)
- 35% of clients are often required by their organizations to review multiple agencies even if they’ve already identified the one they want to hire, and to review agencies frequently, even if they’re happy with their work.(AMI)
- 34% are skeptical and believe most agencies pretend to know more about their industry and their business than they really do, and that agencies usually don’t give their company’s needs the level of attention they should. (AMI)
- 31% of clients are looking for a personal connection with their agency partners. (AMI)
- 26% of clients say their marketing budget is established based on a calculation of lifetime customer value, tolerable expenditures per customer gained, and annual sales targets. (AMI)
- 21% of agencies indicate they were now working with nearshore and offshore partners for digital production. (SoDA Report)
- Only 20% of respondents report having an Agency of Record. (AMI)
FIRE
- 90% of agencies say they understand their client’s businesses, only 65% of clients agree. (USA Today)
- 88% of clients claim to speak their mind freely, even when it’s uncomfortable. But among agency leaders who frequently interact with clients, only 36% believe this is true. (USA Today)
- 76% of agency executives say their clients are afraid to take risks. (USA Today)
- 61% of marketers and 70% of agency executives admit they don’t share the same definition of creativity. (USA Today)
- 56% say their agencies are more interested in “selling” them their work rather than solving their problems. (USA Today)
- More than 50% of clients believe their agencies lack digital talent. (SoDA Report)
- 46% of clients say there are factors that automatically disqualify agencies. When asked to share them, respondents cited characteristics such as bad publicity or agency reputation, a poor website, a lack of integrity or experience, and personality conflicts. (AMI)
- 13% of companies believe they can create agency services in-house and don’t need an ad agency. (SoDA Report)
Do these numbers reflect your experiences? Do they represent reality? Are you rethinking your agency relationships?
