Hiring an Advertising Agency

Situation

• Client on strong growth trajectory had an active print advertising campaign, but felt it had outgrown the capabilities of its current agency
• Client wanted creative that would be differentiated and create stronger local awareness for its brand
• Client had already worked with Argentum on developing a differentiated positioning statement and a marketing plan

Actions

• Determined rough budget for annual advertising spending
• Created list of potential agencies, conducted broad vetting via their websites, and put information into a spreadsheet that included:

        •  Extent of B2B focus
        •  Print experience based on online portfolio
        •  Representative clients

• Conducted initial phone interviews with the most relevant agencies to better understand:

        •  Typical client size by dollar spend
        •  Experience in client’s sector
        •  Any current client conflicts of interest
        •  Agency’s primary competency
        •  Percentage of current accounts that are B2B

• Created RFI and sent to those agencies the team was most interested in working with
• Reviewed RFIs and identified final round agencies 
• Client executive team and Argentum Strategy Group met with three agencies in-person at the agencies’ offices to evaluate proposals and determine best fit
• Developed agency scorecard for rating different agencies along same dimensions
• Led client team debrief and agency selection meeting