Joanne Davis Interprets the Extensive Change Now Occurring at Both Agency and Marketer Organizations…

Joanne Davis of Joanne Davis Consulting has a reputation for helping to find a still point in the constantly churning world of client – agency relationships.  As a long-time senior advertising leader and brand builder, she lived through hundreds of agency searches. When she started her company 20 years ago, she promised her clients (and herself) to correct the wrongs.  From concepts like Can This Agency-Client Marriage Be Saved? to specific ideas on how to repair relationships, she has proven that while change may be constant, it doesn’t have to break industry partnerships.

We asked her to make sense of these times—from the departure of top talent and layoffs to new ways of working including fractionalized ad roles, from the rise of highly specialized agencies with focuses on Web3, AI-powered Media, or Data Strategy to combining creative shops and suggestions that the agency business may no longer be about creating ads…

Is this fallout from Covid, the constant acceleration of technology, or something bigger?  Joanne Davis shares her thoughts.

To learn more from Joanne Davis about making sense of today’s ad industry watch the video interview on Internationalist Marketing TV (IMTV) on YouTube by CLICKING HERE.

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In our conversation, we discuss the following:

• Would you say the industry—meaning the business of clients working with agencies—is at an inflection point?
• You are well-known for your ideas on how to repair agency relationships, and often talk about the subject in terms of “Can this marriage be saved?”  Talk a little bit about the motivation behind an agency review today…
• Now tell us a little about why a review isn’t always the best idea…
• How do you generally go about repairing a relationship?
• Can you give us some specific examples of success in terms of specific issues, how they were resolved, and the results?
• What, in your mind, are the biggest warning signs that a client-agency marriage needs a little “counseling”?
• What about the current growth in “in-house” agencies?  Do clients underestimate the development needs to make them successful and well-functioning?  Is there a different set of standards for “in-house” agencies, in your opinion?
• Finally… what do you see ahead for this business?  More specialized agencies, for example?  More turnover? Greater stabilization?  Are you optimistic?

To hear more from Joanne Davis about how can marketing help in the impact-driven future of business, listen to the podcast as part of our Trendsetters Podcast series on iHeartRadio’s Spreaker.

Joanne Davis founded Joanne Davis Consulting, Inc. in 2000. The consulting firm specializes in client/agency optimization, search and compensation management, and client internal integrated marketing communications. Consulting clients include and have included such clients as the U.S. Department of Defense, Bausch and Lomb, BlueCross BlueShield, Fidelity Investments, Eli Lilly, Ford Motor Company, IBM, International Hotels, Johnson & Johnson, Macy’s, Merrill Lynch, Miller Brewing Company, Office Depot, Payless ShoeSource, Pfizer, Smith Barney, Subway Restaurants, T.G.I. Friday’s, and Vanity Fair Apparel.

In early 2006, Joanne Davis Consulting became a shareholding partner in SCAN International, to better service multi-national clients.

Prior to founding Joanne Davis Consulting, Joanne spent 20 years as either an agency owner, president, board member or in management in domestic and international advertising and marketing communications agencies including Bozell Worldwide (a top ten US agency at the time), Wells Rich Greene (a leading creative agency), OMON (an international creative boutique) and DDB.

During her agency career, Joanne helped build brands and businesses for clients including Chase, Mobil, IBM, Xerox, Atari, Ray-Ban, Andrew Jergens Company and Toyota. She led two EFFIE Award winning teams for marketing effectiveness as judged by the AMA. In her business development capacity she helped her agencies with double-digit growth in new business from clients including Bank of America, IBM, Philip Morris, MCI, Sheraton, and Verizon.