Agencies have to always be on their game.

They have to always be on the hunt to find new business from you, the marketer, and they always need to be pleasing you, the marketer, when they engage with you.  It’s the Marketer advantage.

The Marketer advantage also rests in the fact that they have the ability to “sample” agencies whenever they want.

Back in the day, very few agencies would willingly take on a project in the hopes of starting a relationship.  Today it’s a different game.  In our 2021 Agency New Business Report, agencies cite the challenges they face in trying to partner with new marketing clients.

Agencies realize that if they are going to have a reasonable shot of winning new business from you they have to be willing to baby step into relationships.

Back in the day an agency would either outright turn down projects or put “C-Teams” on projects because they didn’t want to waste the talent (or lose too much margin).

Today it’s a different story.

Agencies have to put their best foot forward when vying for a project from a marketing client.  We see it first-hand among the agencies we represent on the Agency New Business side of our business and we see it in our surveys.  More and more marketers are using project work as a means of “sampling” new agencies.

We asked the question a couple of years ago and over 70% of marketers stated that this was their primary means of trying new agencies.

So you might be asking yourself, “if I have an agency, is it ok to ‘try’ another agency”.

The answer is an emphatic “yes”!  Agencies know that this is the way it is, so as a marketer you need to work it to your advantage.

Got a special project?  The last three clients we engaged with had special projects looking for some fresh thinking/energy for: a website, a new product launch, and an influencer program.  Stuff their agency either wasn’t very good at doing or they just felt like they needed some new perspective.

When I started RSW/AgencySearch, we were all about helping our Marketing clients find full-on AOR relationships.  That’s still a big part of what we do, but year after year, we’re seeing more Marketers step up and take the plunge into a new project relationship.

Give it a try.  It could be the best thing you’ve ever done for your brand!

Need help finding that perfect project agency?  Give us a call (513-293-6785) or drop us a line (msneider@rswagencysearch.com).

Congrats on your Marketer Advantage.