Agency Execs Say Clients Lack Loyalty, Strategic Direction
Nearly 70% of
U.S. advertising agency clients do not notify those partners before
hiring other agencies, according to a survey of 400 ad firms
conducted by multinational consulting company SCAN International in
cooperation with several partners. Furthermore, the U.S. percentage
is considerably higher than the international average, which spanned
between 50% and 80%.
The most
important issue for agencies, according to the findings, is
receiving sufficient strategic direction and briefings from clients.
Yet, agency respondents reported that more than a third of clients
are weak in this exact area.
With regard to
integration capabilities—another key area of concern for
agencies—respondents again said more than a third of their clients
are still performing weakly.
Another gripe
that agencies have with clients is their penchant to ask for
speculative creative work. According to SCAN's findings, agencies
far prefer strategic pitches. That's because speculative creative
work is compensated less than 15% of the time, and when it is, the
compensation is considered insufficient more than 60% of the time.
Although chief
marketing officers presently have average life expectancies of about
22 months, building stronger relationships between clients and
agencies is critical for their future success. The answer seems to
be developing the relationship at all levels.
Other
improvement areas cited by agencies include compensation,
understanding agency processes, sharing information/data, and
expertise/training.
In a somewhat heartening note, agencies ranked trust near the bottom
of the list at number nine, on the prioritized list of needed
improvement areas for clients.
