The average length of the Advertising Agency and client is now 3 years. This is considerably down from an average of 7 years ago. For all the work that goes into building campaigns for both parties, you would want that honeymoon to last a bit longer. It seems that these relationships are now like the ones we have had in junior high school. You’re in and out of love over the weekend. There are 3 main items that could be the factor here in this revolving door. Communication between the agency and the client is paramount. Then of course you have the quality of the work and then the success of a campaign. These 3 items will dictate the length of this relationship.
Let’s look at these top 3 qualifying items a bit closer. I don’t think these criteria would be different for any other relationship, business or other. Each one of these items is important and not addressing these top 3 early most certainly will cause the relationship to fail.
The first is communication. There should be some rules in place and agreed upon by both parties before becoming the “agency of record”. This should be discussed ahead of time. If not, then you’re both to blame. If the client is reaching out to you morning, noon, and night looking for daily reports that you promised them, that is on the agency. Does the client have direct access to the agency? There should be a point person in place that can quickly and efficiently resolve any issues and be able to answer questions.
Quality of work. Again, this is another area that must be discussed beforehand. What exactly will be the expectations of the client? Is the client getting exactly what was booked and contracted for? What exactly do they require for reporting? When would they like those reports?
Obviously, the success of a campaign will always trump the other two items. However, finding out ahead of time how they will measure the campaign’s success is a top priority before planning. Are they looking for more web traffic, brand recognition, or in-store sales? Without knowing how the client will measure that a campaign was successful ahead of time is a waste of both parties’ time. We all have worked with people, companies, and services that we did not exactly love. But if they are getting the job done and meeting our goals that way, wouldn’t you think that relationship would have some longevity?
As we close out 2023 here at A3 Media, it is with great pride that I say all of our clients are returning for 2024. It is these relationships that we have been cultivating now for years that we are most proud of. We are happy to say that we are not part of the norm and will continue to forge ahead and meet new people and clients and share in their journey.