5 Ways Your Agency is Failing You

You may have noticed already but many advertising agencies are failing their clients – failing to adequately prepare CMOs for the board room by failing to tell the story of what their marketing is actually doing to sell products and services. Agencies live in the data. Or at least they should, and there’s no key player in the marketing machine that’s more equipped to provide valuable insight to the client – especially media agencies. After all, we manage the largest portion of marketing budgets and should be accountable for it. So where do agencies most often go wrong?

1. The ‘yes-man’ agency.

We all know the ‘yes-man’. While it may not seem like a bad thing at first, this can be detrimental to the success of your marketing strategy. They spend too much time trying to execute on each and every idea thrown out there when they may not always align with the overarching strategy. They also focus too much on small metrics or insignificant trends that sound good. Digital metrics are great but how do CPMs, CPCs and CTRs translate when looking at your long-term goals? Agencies need to understand the big picture and leverage data to guide a complete strategy on behalf of their clients.

2. You are constantly playing a game of telephone with a team of recent college graduates.

How often do you actually get to talk to the experienced media planner or buyer that is planning your media strategy and executing your media buys? Are you able to get those last-minute questions answered in time for your board meeting? In the reality of the agency world, you are probably working through the over-worked “middle man” with little experience. He or she does not actually do any of the day-to-day strategy or execution but is tasked with relaying information to you from the internal agency team.

3. Creative is driving the media strategy.

Sure, you might have the perfect creative message but how can you ensure that you are reaching the right audience, at the right time, in the right place without wasting significant ad spend? Agencies need to leverage data in order to provide actionable insights to clients.

4. The lack of transparency is killing your ROI.

Digital advertising continues to change the game with transparency being one of the most used buzzwords in the last couple of years. Agencies tend to take the easy route, meaning that many outsource media buying to DSPs or other non-transparent media options. Without data transparency, your media strategy lacks valuable insights that can uncover new opportunities and drive increased efficiency.

5. You are missing out on the latest cutting-edge technology driving the industry.

You have probably heard the saying, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Unfortunately, another easy route taken by agencies is the tendency to rely on a single tech company that can provide an entire suite of products. That is great until the next best technology is released and now you find yourself scrambling to catch up. It is critical to understand that what worked today may not be the best tomorrow. If agencies truly worked in their clients’ best interest, they should strive to drive the industry forward with the latest technology stack.

At the end of the day, the success of our clients translates into our success as an agency. In the ever-changing digital advertising landscape, we strive to avoid these issues and provide the best service to our clients. Contact us to learn more.