Agency Search Guidelines? Don't Hold Your Breath

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By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

The trade organizations for corporate marketers and advertising agencies, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), got together and decided that now was the time to think about and create an outline for the agency search process. Now was time to get this activity streamlined, and both houses in order. In case you tuned out of this ever-exciting drama-fest, the agency search process has been feeling some major heat during the past couple of years. Corporate marketers wanted "free work" from agencies, and agencies wanted compensation. Both sides thought the process was excruciatingly long and filled with superfluous detail. With both sides coming to the table with different expectations, no wonder agencies and corporate marketers alike have been looking for ways to avoid account reviews and agency search (let's not even start with agency search firms...ugh).

Now the ANA and the 4A's come swooping in to save the day. Or do they? Do these guidelines actually carry any weight, or is this just a way to position the organizations, gain awareness, and build a foundation for a membership drive? If done well, it could be both.

Reading through the 18-page white paper, one could see that much of the suggestions are widely accepted as fair practice when it comes to developing a relationship. First it takes a look at corporate marketers: play nice with the agencies. Make sure the agency search is necessary. Ask crucial question: Maybe we're to blame for a lackluster performance? Could a simple team change in the agency solve the problem? If we're considering keeping the agency on the roster, could adding an agency to the roster fill the void? All these are questions that are pretty simple. The biggest issues that it tackles with corporate marketers are compensating for spec work (if it is determined that spec work is needed), defining and sticking with a search team, and confining the search to only three months.

As for agencies, it hit more on being honest and more transparent with the prospective client. How good a fit is the client? Is this a good opportunity? How honest were you about your capabilities? Then it tells agencies to not separate the new business team and the account team. Marketers want to meet the people who will actually be working on the account on a daily basis (usually the best pitching point for smaller agencies). It tackles the spec work issue here as well, telling agencies to tell the client up front if it expects to be compensated if spec work is required.

All in all, the white paper is quite fluffy, but contains small nuggets of the important issues that have plagued the process for some time. It is, obviously, geared more towards the national brands and agencies, since small agencies are excluded from most agency search bids unless the agency is headed by or employs a heavy-hitter who left the old guard. If you are a part of a small agency, this report doesn't help. Keep hustling, because until you make a splash, the agency search powers-that-be won't let you play in their pool.

Will brands and agencies take heed of this white paper, or will it take a back seat with the other thoughts that could potentially save the advertising industry from collapse?

If corporate marketers and advertising agencies can't play nice, who can?

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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