Client-Agency Relationships: Changing Expectations Amid New Ways of Working?

The world has undeniably changed since COVID-19, as have ways of working.  The client-agency relationship has long been at the center of advertising and marketing.  While the pandemic caused extraordinary examples of urgent, purpose-driven, remote teamwork, there are now new expectations of these important relationships that are shaping both corporate decision-making and individual priorities.

This summer, The Internationalist asked its marketer and marketing procurement audience a series of multiple choice and open-ended questions about the current state of client-agency relationship management.  While answers about numerous evaluation specifics provided a range of useful insights, the greatest challenges cited in managing relationships were of a broader nature—from driving transformation throughout an organization to the constant demands of a faster-paced world, to staff retention and to keeping up changing customer expectations.

In fact, the biggest challenges or pain points facing clients and agencies are they manage their relationships: 

• Driving Transformation (digital, social, workplace) throughout an organization (64%)
• Constant Demands of a Faster-Paced World (47%) 
• Staff Retention (43%)
• Keeping up with changing consumer or customer expectations (41%)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY SUMMARY. 

What are the biggest challenges or pain points facing clients and agencies as they strive to manage their relationships today?  Please check all that apply.

Response

In fact, the biggest challenges or pain points facing clients and agencies are they manage their relationships: 

• Driving Transformation (digital, social, workplace) throughout an organization (64%)
• Constant Demands of a Faster-Paced World (47%) 
• Staff Retention (43%)
• Keeping up with changing consumer or customer expectations (41%)

What defines the ideal client-agency relationship performance measurement and management service? Please check all applicable.

Response

RESPONDENT DETAILS: The survey looked at a range of US companies across varying industry sectors, gross revenue, and ad spending levels. Individual respondents were either in marketing management—whether CMO or Media, Digital VP—or at a senior level in marketing procurement or strategic sourcing. The survey received 53 fully completed responses. Additionally, in-depth interviews were held with 35 leading marketers.

We find that optional comments in a survey can often add to the conversation around important issues.  

Here are some examples of the perspectives we received:

“The Human element is the most important aspect of Client-Agency Relationship Management… there’s now too much data input. The complexity of managing these relationships has become too huge, especially when there is a myriad of KPIs that are often more punitive than rewarding to an agency.”  
— Head of Marketing Procurement for multinational pharmaceutical corporation.

“While the US market has its differences, we see similar issues facing client-agency relationships in other major markets of the world. Building stronger relationships has never been more important.”
— Kim Walker, Founder & Chairman of Aprais, global pioneers in building stronger client-agency relationships.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SURVEY SUMMARY.