US survey on client relationships mirrors South Africa needs

9 Dec 2011

Johanna McDowell of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS) attended the AdForum Summit in New York and was given a preview on a research survey on client agency relationships, by industry publications, AdWeek and AdAge.

Johanna McDowell

The research was conducted among 5000 marketers, 40% of these marketers are ranked in the top 100 leading American advertisers. Marketers were asked a variety of questions that related to their client agency relationships in terms of rating those relationships across a number of factors. Below are the findings of the survey.

Strength of agency relationship

15% weak
22% fair
56% good and the rest are excellent

Preferences to work with independent agencies or holding company owned agencies

8.7 % of clients prefer working with holding company owned agencies
41% have no preference
42% prefer integrated agencies
28% prefer specialist agencies

Realities - what sort of agencies they are currently working with

52 % are working with independents
21% working with holding company owned agencies
31% with full service agencies
33% with specialized agencies

17% of the polled marketers will be considering a review in next 12 months because 37% want to see what is out there and 18% of organisations require regular reviews.

Ideal number of agency relationships

59% would like to work with 2-3 agencies
20% would like to work with one agency
12% would like to work with 4-6 agencies

83% of the polled marketers want agencies to be able to execute a variety of multi-platform campaigns.

What is important for a client to see in an agency

95% said personal attention from senior executives
60% said that proximity to agency premises is important
54% want to see ethnic diversity in an agency

Use of search consultants

27% of respondents used search consultant in a review process.

McDowell adds, "In order to make a client agency relationship work, setting clear expectations and clearly defining roles is the best preventative measure. There has to be more effort at the start to establish working practices, because well-structured professional relationships are more likely to last.

"These statistics from the US are indicative of what is currently happening in South Africa," she concludes.