Wednesday, 22 July 2009
5 Ad Agency Weaknesses You Need To Be Aware Of
Ad agencies, by their very nature, cater to many different clients. The good ones care about the success and growth of their clients, but this doesn’t absolve marketers from taking full responsibility for advertising. Here are five noteworthy ad agency weaknesses you need to be aware of.
1. You Might Not Be Their Most Important Client
The attention and concern that you’ll receive as a client varies dramatically based on how they perceive you. A highly prominent PR agency (possibly the biggest in the world) was handling the account of one of my previous employers. They did a great job for their important, big-brand clients, but they were pretty useless as far as we were concerned. Every meeting, phone call or interaction with them reminded us that we weren’t important to them, needless to say they eventually lost our business.
2. Do They Know Your Industry?
Another issue to consider is the industry knowledge of the Agency you’re dealing with. Do they understand your business model? Your clients? If not, are you going to underwrite their education?
3. The More You Spend, The More They Earn
When it comes down to media buying, we can’t escape the reality that most Ad Agencies make more money the more money you spend on advertising. They’ll probably give you a nice pat on the back of your recent print campaign doesn’t turn up as many clients as you’d have liked, but this isn’t much consolation. After all, for most smart companies it’s about generating a return not just advertising for the sake of it.
4. Do They Use New Technology?
Are you sure your agency is aware of the new developments and innovations in advertising and marketing? The publication Advertising Age recently ran an article titled Learning Twitter? Don’t Take Your Cues From These Agencies highlighting the poor use prominent agencies had made of Twitter. Before your agency starts suggesting new tactics and approaches, make sure they know what they’re doing.
5. They Can’t See Your Entire Sales Funnel
When we look at advertising online, it’s not just a question of sticking a display ad up on a website or running some PPC advertising. A typical sales funnel runs from ad through to a landing page then most likely to a registration form or shopping cart. Your ad agency might give you stats for impressions/clicks but many won’t offer any insights as to why your landing page isn’t converting or why people are being put off by your registration form.
Even if they do offer up this information, it’s up to you to make sure other aspects of your business i.e. customer services, accounts, sales are geared up to make the most of your advertising (are they aware of any special offers or new products?).
Ultimately as a marketer or a brand manager, you’re in charge of the success of your brand. This responsibility can’t and shouldn’t be outsourced to your Ad Agency. Your Ad Agency should be viewed as a potentially powerful resource that you have to manage effectively to achieve success. Hopefully being aware of these 5 potential problem areas should help.
Comments for 5 Ad Agency Weaknesses You Need To Be Aware Of
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Some good points but then again mostly you are preaching to the converted. In their defence I would say it is important not to confuse your agencies and their roles. Generally DIY is always better BUT sometimes unless you are Coca-Cola and have a huge department with a huge budget you get fresher ideas at better prices from agencies – nearly always from Creative agencies. Media Buyers? – Hey, they are just the Makro of adland -a necessary evil for most of us – a bit like Estate Agents. PR? – well that’s a different story – they tell me it is useful and Richard Branson inists it is essential but he does most of it himself. Best not be too price sensitive on the latter.
— DM · 26 August 2009, 01:06