It’s a familiar scenario: A marketer decides to take the reins on their company’s agency search. They’re smart. They know the brand best. And they believe they can save time and money by managing the process internally.

The intention is admirable.  But the outcome? Often disastrous.

Time and again, we’ve seen marketers who undertake their own agency searches invariably land themselves the wrong agency.  So why does this happen? 

Well, there are any number of reasons why the DIY approach to agency selection is a recipe for a bad break-up – here are the most common:

1. Masters of the Sale

Agencies are masters of selling (usually). So when they pitch directly to the ultimate decision-maker, they tailor their pitch to your known biases and pain points.

Without an objective third party to strip away the glossy presentation and demand concrete evidence, marketers can be tempted to select the agency that made them feel best, not the one that’s best suited for the job.

2. Drastic Landscape Changes

In case it’s escaped your notice, the market you’re shopping in is changing faster than most can keep up. This volatility is driven by two powerful, compounding forces: consolidation and the AI / data arms race. The agency landscape isn’t static – it’s evolving on a weekly basis, making yesterday’s comprehensive list of ‘top agencies’ nearly obsolete today.

Still not convinced?  Here are a few top agencies that are now extinct here in Canada: BBDO, DDB, Juniper Park, JWT, TBWA, Taxi and Y&R.

3. The Flawed RFP

Internal RFPs are sometimes overly prescriptive, too long (or too vague…), ask too much or simply ask for the wrong information. The result can be a terrifying, onerous ask that suggests true creative partnership starts with a 100-page document and a firm deadline of ‘yesterday.’

Then there are RFPs that ask for “groundbreaking, disruptive, viral concepts”, with budgets mysteriously labeled “competitive, yet humble,”  underpinned with a vague promise of “total creative freedom” (after 57 pages of brand guidelines), and the silent, terrifying judgment of the procurement team who only communicates in one line emails. 

4. It’s Not Us.  It’s Them.

The greatest challenge of any agency search is that the client who is fundamentally allergic to introspective homework. They show up at the pitch demanding a new agency to “fix the problem,” without ever realizing the problem is less about the marketing and more about their internal organ-transplant-level indecision, and a budget process that requires a blood sacrifice to Procurement.

Expecting a company to honestly self-diagnose their own dysfunction is like asking a goldfish to critique the structural integrity of its bowl—it can’t see the outside.

5. We Just Can’t Ask That?  (Can We?)

A successful client / agency relationship is built on trust, transparency, and well…  a bit of friction. When managing the search yourself, you’re likely in “client mode.” This forced, good behaviour means everyone is smiling, nodding, and pretending to believe that a client’s past three agency failures were just cosmic anomalies.  The client, terrified of revealing any internal messiness, selects the partner who best mimicked their own glossy language -and all because nobody had the chops to challenge and ask some uncomfortable questions.

6. The Opportunity Cost is Far Too High

Consider taking your annual budget – say $12 million – and multiply that by a five year relationship with your new agency.  This means you’ve got a $60 million decision to make – but you then fret over 0.1%  to get the decision right?

You then sign-off on a contract that – thanks to your DIY search process – is a Frankenstein’s monster of hidden fees and unfavourable legal jargon. This is the magnificence of false economy in action!  A tiny saving on the search, only to end up with an underperforming agency that eats your budget like a hungry Pac-Man.

Know When to Call a Pro

A successful agency search is not a marketing task.  It’s a procurement, relationship management, and strategic alignment minefield.

You wouldn’t design your own complex financial architecture or conduct a global legal audit without specialized help. Treat your agency relationship – which holds the key to your brand’s future growth – with the same diligence and respect.

The goal isn’t just to find an agency; it’s to find the right strategic partner capable of elevating your business. For that, objectivity, deep market knowledge, and a structured process are non-negotiable.

Marketers often tell us they’re a “collaborative” organization or they’re a “collaborative” team. Agencies tell us they’re “collaborative” working with other agencies. But when it comes down to it, I’m not sure either marketers or agencies really understand what being “collaborative” really means or how to apply the term to their respective activities.

Unfortunately, the reality is that collaboration is being bandied about as a term that’s a polite way of actually saying something quite different. A couple of variations of this might be:

“Better include everyone we can think of to cover our collective asses…”

OR

“No idea – why don’t we get a bunch of people in a room to see if we can figure out what to do…”

OR

“Don’t care – get [parties concerned] in a room and make them sort it out…”

OR

“Better meet with these guys or it’ll look like we don’t value their opinion…”

OR

“I’m not going to risk making a decision – if it’s a collective decision then I / we can’t be blamed for it…”

OR

“Lots of people in a room will make us look good…”

Call it what you will. Defined like any of this and the idea of collaboration is a gong show.

So what is collaboration supposed to be?

Wikipedia tell us that the definition of “Collaboration is working with others to do a task and to achieve shared goals. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realized shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective determination to reach an identical objective – for example an endeavor that is creative in nature – by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus.”

Still a bit cumbersome, perhaps, but the heart of this is around “achieving shared goals” or “collective determination to reach an identical objective”. And that’s very different from just getting lots of people to provide an opinion (which typically just prolongs a process).

To get the most from collaboration, here are some points to consider:

Identify the right people to collaborate with

And by the right people, I’m talking about both the size of your collaboration team and the value each can bring to the process. Ideas and contribution that bright minds can provide, collaborative resources also know when to step aside and allow others to take the spotlight – thereby allowing better ideas to be pushed forward – faster.

Eliminate the wrong people

Not everyone works well in collaborative sessions – bossy, dominating personalities for example, will likely limit the participation of others, thereby diminishing the value of getting people together in the first place.

Define common goals / objectives

Obvious, perhaps – but before soliciting help, it’s crucial to define the specific objective you’re trying to achieve and eliminate issues that may obscure that objective.

Define roles

The most effective collaboration teams have clearly defined roles and responsibilities. But if those roles aren’t defined or demarcation lines aren’t clear (as in the case of marketers with multiple agencies on their roster), then effective collaboration can become difficult.

Empower someone to lead

Collaboration isn’t an excuse to put a process on autopilot in the hope objectives will be achieved, and collaboration isn’t a meeting about consensus. Collaboration requires a lead (or lead agency) who’s capable of putting personalities and agendas aside in favour of achieving a bigger goal.

By contrast, collaboration won’t work if:

There are too many people in the mix

The old adage of “too many cooks in the kitchen” holds true here. If you’re facing large groups or departments that you want to involve in a process – identify the best of the best and ensure they’re empowered accordingly.

There are too many irrelevant people in the mix

 If collaboration is used as a forum for consensus, the lowest common denominator will emerge and the group won’t deliver the best possible solution to drive the business forward – defeating the purpose of collaborating in the first place.

There’s no time 

Collaboration can rarely be used at a time of crisis because crises call for speedy decisions to alleviate specific, time-sensitive issues or situations.

There’s no leadership

Despite its name, collaboration needs a leader to initiate a collaborative process, but also to run it. A true leader will identify the right people, set the goals, define roles and create framework to get the most of several minds working together.

There’s no flexibility 

One of the great benefits of collaboration if used correctly is that it can yield unexpected solutions or results. And if you have a team that’s working really well together you should be prepared for (and welcome) original thinking that takes you out of your comfort zone.

Collaboration should never be viewed as a default, cover-your-butt solution and the word shouldn’t be used as a catch-all for dragging people into meetings. Collaboration can be extremely powerful if applied correctly, but can be a boat anchor to progress if used incorrectly, or for the wrong reasons.

Having trouble getting others on the same page?  Maybe we can collaborate on a solution…

A 1968 Flight’s Unsinkable Lesson in Corporate Integrity

In the world of business, we often hear buzzwords like ‘transparency‘ and ‘accountability’. But what do they really look like when the stakes are well… sky-high? A half-century-old aviation incident involving a Japan Air Lines flight offers a perfect – if unexpected – case study in true integrity.

On a foggy November morning in 1968, Japan Air Lines DC8, Flight 2, a DC-8 was on approach San Francisco International airport. Due to a combination of heavy fog, a complicated Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach he’d never used before, and a mistrust of a recently replaced altimeter, veteran Captain Kohei Asoh mistook the glassy, calm waters of the San Francisco Bay for the runway.

He “landed” the plane in shallow water, a little over two miles short of the runway.

Miraculously, every single one of the 107 people on board survived without injury. The water landing was so controlled that the plane, which came to rest in only about seven feet of water, was later recovered and put back into service. It seems the pilot delivered a landing so smooth, you wouldn’t have spilled your coffee.

The Defining Moment: The “Asoh Defense”

The immediate aftermath of the ditching holds a powerful lesson for every leader and company.

When the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began their investigation, Captain Asoh was asked to explain what happened. His response, later coined the “Asoh Defense” by management theorists, was stunningly simple and powerful:

“As you Americans say, I fucked up.”

He didn’t deflect. He didn’t blame the fog, the equipment, or the air traffic controller. He took full, unvarnished responsibility for his mistake. The man managed to make “I screwed up” sound like the most dignified statement in the room.

This wasn’t just a moment of personal honesty; it was an act of profound professional integrity that resonated across the globe.

Integrity is Non-Negotiable Accountability

In today’s complex business world, it’s easy to shift blame. A failed product launch gets blamed on a supplier. A drop in sales is blamed on “market conditions.” A system failure is blamed on an obscure IT glitch. But true leadership demands something different. The story of JAL Flight 2 reminds us all…

  1. Integrity is Admitting Failure, Not Just Success: Asoh’s immediate admission set the tone for the entire recovery process. When leaders own a mistake, it short-circuits speculation, builds trust with the public, and allows the organization to focus immediately on a solution rather than a cover-up.
  2. Integrity Allows for Recovery: Because the crew had successfully evacuated everyone, and Asoh remained the last one to leave—even returning to the plane to gather and return passengers’ belongings—the focus quickly shifted from blame to recovery. In a testament to the quality of the aircraft and the soft-water landing, the plane was pulled from the Bay, repaired, and put back into service. A $4 million repair bill was a small price for the integrity saved.
  3. Integrity Drives Systemic Improvement: The investigation revealed that other JAL crews were also not fully trained on the advanced Sperry Flight Director System. Asoh’s frankness helped the NTSB understand that the issue wasn’t just one pilot’s mistake, but a gap in training. His admission led directly to revisions in the flight crew training program, making flying safer for everyone going forward.

Captain Asoh was temporarily demoted and re-trained, but he was allowed to keep flying for the airline until his retirement. Why? Because while he made a colossal mistake in judgment, his subsequent display of character—his integrity and accountability—was beyond reproach.

Ultimately, the highest form of business integrity isn’t about never making a mistake. It’s about how quickly and honestly you face up to it when you do. It’s about building a culture where the honest declaration, “I screwed up,” is the fastest path to fixing the problem and earning back the trust of your team, your customers, and the market.

What culture are you building in your business?

Does your team feel safe enough to deliver an “Asoh Defense” when a mistake is made, knowing that honesty is the path to recovery, not ruin?

So you’re ready to go find a new agency…? Really? Are you sure about that?  Because the reality is you will likely make any process almost impossible to complete without having a clear picture of what you’re searching for and how you’re going to find it.

So here are a dozen questions to think about before you start.  And if you think this is hard work – trust me – it’s way harder not answering them:

Why are we doing this?

Do you know why you’re looking for a new agency?  What’s changed in your requirements that’s causing you to contemplate a new agency, and why can’t your current agency fulfill your needs?  If those initial questions are even remotely difficult, you’re falling at the first fence and need to get your reasoning clear. Because without understanding why, you can’t begin to define the kind of agency your organization needs.

Have you done your homework on yourself?

The better equipped you are in understanding your own organization, the more likely you are to find the right agency partner. If your current agency relationship has run into difficulties, it’s essential to understand what role your team and organization played in navigating those difficulties.  By being honest with yourself, you’re able to identify internal challenges and roadblocks, and proactively deal with them before looking for a new agency and potentially duplicating those problems before you start.

Are you prepared for disruption?

No matter how well prepared you are, marketers should be aware that any search process is going to be disruptive. Marketers should consider what current initiatives are being worked on and whether to expedite or delay those initiatives, pending the appointment of a new agency. Even once appointed, expect delays resulting from handover from one agency to another and the inevitable learning curve that comes with any new agency.

Have you defined your scope of work?

This is often one of the hardest exercises for marketers to pull together – either because they’ve not defined their scope recently, or it’s such a moving target that committing pen to paper is difficult.  But when it comes to finding a new agency, it’s a challenge that has to be addressed before you start.  Why?  First, because you want to define the services you want your new agency to be able to deliver.  And second because eventually you’re going to want a cost against that scope of work.

What’s a realistic timetable given our internal calendars?

We often get called in to manage a pitch with the mandate that ‘we need to get this done as soon as possible…’ We propose a timetable and the client says ‘so and so is away, we have a conference that week and, and, and’. Add in logistics and preparation time for agencies, and the timetable moves out.  So before you start, create a realistic workback schedule and share big picture timing with your chosen agencies to ensure they can accommodate key dates.

Do you have a budget?

Eek! Even if you’re not asking for some sort of spec work that would need to be properly paid for, you’ll need to set aside a budget for travel (yours and your selected agencies) and legal work. If you’re asking for any spec work you need to budget more than a nominal feel.  As a general rule of thumb, that means the actual fair market cost for the work, less profit – shared equally between you and your prospective agencies. For more on best practices around spec work and appropriate payment, please ask.

Do you have the ok to proceed?

Many organizations have corporate governance and / or specific procurement requirements around sourcing services greater than a certain amount, so it’s worth checking to ensure you’re clear before you start.  Marketers should also be familiar with their incumbent agency contracts, notice and termination requirements – before initiating a search for a new agency.

Have you told your incumbent?

Allowing your incumbent agency to find out you’re searching for a new agency from someone other than you is a complete no-no.  Your incumbent agency should be the first agency you share the news that you’re going to market with, together with your anticipated timing and formalities around termination in accordance with the terms of your contract.   

Do you have a search process?

Today, there are many search processes from which to choose beyond the traditional RFI / RFP.  Whatever you decide, it’s essential to have a defined process to share with your chosen agencies so they can understand what they’re getting into.  In the event they see the process and choose not to participate, it’s better to know that sooner rather than later.

Who’s your search team?

Any marketer searching for a new agency needs to appoint a search team who can be available and will attend all agency meetings. Your chosen resources have to make a commitment to make time for all agency meetings and have the time to assess and discuss each agency during evaluation.  While your team can comprise diverse resources across the organization, it’s important that whoever you appoint are fully empowered to make the best decision for your organization

What are your evaluation criteria?

You and your search team need to define and align on your search criteria, together with your scoring mechanism, before beginning.  This is needed to align teams around specific evaluation methodologies and to provide guidance to agencies around how they’ll be evaluated and what’s critical to success.  For more on creating the perfect scorecard read this.

What are the politics?

Yes really. It’s important for marketers to be aware of the politics of their own organizations and be proactive about dealing with them. If, for example, there’s pressure or bias to see or favour a particular agency or eliminate a particular agency early on, then those issues have to be dealt with and all biases eliminated before you start. Simply put, if you don’t have a level playing field, you’re not ready for an agency search.

Pulling the trigger on an agency search isn’t something any marketer should take lightly. Careful preparation is essential to any search process and if any of this has made you sweat a little, perhaps we can help.

I recently wrote about the impact AI will likely have on agencies, their resources, and the financial risk that’s already in-play. But it’s not just agencies and their resources that need to embrace a new value chain, new talent and new pricing models. 

The bigger shift may be on the client side. 

Agencies won’t survive without reinvention, and clients won’t thrive without it either. 

AI is a catalyst that will force businesses to rethink how they brief, engage, and measure their agency partners. Marketers can no longer treat agencies like order-takers—buying time and resources.The future will belong to clients who embrace a more collaborative, outcome-focused way of working. We are witnessing the death of the Old Model, a system built on outdated principles that no longer serve either side.

The Death of the Old Model

The traditional agency structure is already on life support. Bloated teams, rigid hierarchies, and the “time-is-money” retainer model are a liability when AI can generate a thousand ad variations in the time it takes a human to craft one. But the real shift isn’t about speed—it’s about value.

Today’s business leaders aren’t looking for faster production—they want measurable growth, smarter insights, and defensible strategies. If a client’s in-house marketing team can run an AI-powered campaign themselves, why would they pay an agency just to “do stuff”? 

To meet these demands, a different model for collaboration must emerge. This is “The New Value Chain,” where the focus moves from simply executing a brief, to truly solving a business problem.

The New Value Chain 

I’ve always despised the word “vendor,” and clients must now abandon the term and learn to treat agencies more like strategic copilots, because AI is fundamentally transforming the work they do. That will mean new kinds of partnerships within formerly traditional agency structures. A couple of examples of those agency changes:

This isn’t just a new way of doing business—it’s a fundamental change in the relationship between clients and their agencies. We’re moving from “here’s what you asked for” to a strategic partnership where better intelligence is the ultimate deliverable. It’s like trading an old flip phone for a smartphone with all the apps—where suddenly, everything is faster, smarter and you can get a lot more done without even trying.

The New Talent 

This reimagining of agency output means that on the client side, procurement and marketing teams can no longer think in terms of hours, briefs, and rigid scopes, and will need new kinds of talent to work effectively with modern agencies. 

They’ll need hybrid thinkers who understand both creative storytelling and data analytics—people who can engage with agencies on strategy—not just deliverables.

The roles of marketers as senior leaders must shift from operational oversight to strategic vision and ethical governance. They won’t just be managing teams, they’ll be leading AI-driven marketing organizations that will likely require different skills. Think of it this way:

In short, marketing roles will be less about managing people and tasks, and more about orchestrating systems, directing AI, and leveraging uniquely human skills like empathy, creativity, and strategic judgment. It will mean hiring and developing AI-literate marketers, prompt-savvy strategists, and business generalists who know how to pressure-test agency recommendations against business outcomes.

All this calls for a culture of constant learning and adaptability, building teams that are part artist, part scientist, and… ummm… part wizard.

The New Pricing Model

With the traditional time-and-materials model heading for the graveyard, this is a radical but ultimately beneficial change for clients, where investments will tie directly to the results they see. 

Clients will have to trust that their agency’s expertise, supercharged by AI, will deliver on the promised value. Procurement teams take note: This is a monumental shift from the security of a fixed monthly retainer, and a giant leap toward paying for what an agency helps them achieve, not just for the time they spend doing it. 

This fundamentally alters the risk-reward equation. Instead, investment must align directly with business impact, and clients must get comfortable with variability, since budgets will have to flex with results.

The New Client

The shift to an AI-powered agency model means clients can no longer treat their agencies like a vending machine. It’s officially out of service. Permanently. The days of providing a brief, walking away, and expecting a perfectly formed creative campaign to pop out a few weeks later are a thing of the past. 

To survive in this new era, clients must abandon their old habits and embrace a more collaborative, fast-paced workflow. It’s going to be a massive culture shock for some, but by becoming true strategic collaborators instead of just project managers, they’ll unlock a level of efficiency and growth that was previously impossible.

Like it or not, we are entering a world where the only thing better than a big idea is a big profit. So, as we all stare into this AI-powered future, let’s remember the old ways. The long hours, the countless meetings, the “what the heck is this?!”’ invoices. 

Cherish (or perhaps wince at) those memories. Because soon, they’ll be as relevant as a Blockbuster membership card. 

This article first appeared in Campaign Canada

Let’s not sugarcoat this: Artificial Intelligence isn’t just coming for agencies—it’s already here, and it’s my belief it’s going to eliminate entire categories of jobs and revenue streams agencies have long relied on.

A common and reassuring narrative has emerged in the marketing and advertising industry: AI won’t take our jobs, it will simply make them easier. This sentiment, however, fails to grasp the full scope of what’s coming. While it’s true that AI is currently a powerful tool for automating repetitive tasks, the fundamental misunderstanding lies in underestimating its future capabilities. 

Given everything that’s going on in the world, and the sweeping changes we’re seeing in the marketing and advertising landscape, it’s conceivable we’ve convinced ourselves we’re now ready for (almost) anything.  

But we’re not talking about AI as a helpful assistant—we’re talking about a technology that is rapidly learning to handle the very creative and strategic functions we have long regarded as uniquely human. This is less of a gentle tide, and more of a looming tsunami, and many people are still relaxing on the beach, unaware of the immense force that is about to engulf them.

As AI tools begin to automate and optimize campaign elements that were once labour-intensive and costly, brands are already finding they can achieve similar—even superior—results with less human effort and, consequently, lower agency fees.

I believe this will lead to an increasing trend of marketing budgets being re-evaluated, as a portion of the funds previously earmarked for agency creative and administrative services will either be re-invested into AI-driven initiatives, or simply pulled back into the company.

The agency model is collapsing

The traditional agency structure—bloated teams, slow processes, and monthly retainers—is no longer just unsustainable, it’s obsolete. When AI can deliver much of the same output in seconds, why would a client tolerate a six-week production timeline and a six-figure invoice?  

Marketing and procurement teams aren’t just sniffing around for cheaper options. They’re now demanding AI-enhanced efficiencies because they know what’s possible. And clients, facing their own economic pressures, will inevitably gravitate towards these more efficient and cost-effective solutions.

Remember, this is just the beginning, and the pace of AI development is staggering. AI is now dismantling the very foundation of how agencies work, from the bottom up and the top down. What seemed like science-fiction just a few years ago is already reality, and that’s bad news for the entire agency value chain. All of which means that those agencies relying on large teams of specialists performing automatable functions will see their cost structures and profitability crushed.

Automation of job functions

We’re already seeing AI tools automate repetitive tasks, streamline workflows, and analyze vast amounts of data with unparalleled speed and accuracy. From programmatic ad buying to media planning, and even initial creative concepts, AI is taking over. This isn’t just about efficiency, but the very nature of work itself.

Account and project management, too, are not immune. AI-powered CRM systems and communication tools can automate client reporting, track project progress, and even anticipate client needs based on historical data. While the human touch will always be important in building relationships, the administrative burden on account teams will almost certainly shrink.

Even seemingly “safe” administrative roles are at risk. AI-powered chatbots can handle routine client inquiries, and intelligent automation can manage invoicing, scheduling, and other operational tasks. The need for large back-office teams will diminish as AI takes over these functions with greater efficiency and lower cost.

But creative is OK, right?  

This is where many agencies feel the most secure—clinging to the belief that creativity is the last bastion of human ingenuity. While truly groundbreaking, emotionally resonant creative work may still require human insight for the foreseeable future, a significant portion of creative development is also becoming increasingly susceptible to AI.

AI tools are transforming creative fields like copywriting and visual content creation. These tools can generate ad copy and website content with lightning speed, and while the initial output may lack human nuance, they are rapidly improving, offering way faster, more cost-effective solutions for routine tasks. 

Similarly, AI image generators can create stunning visuals from text prompts, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with graphic design and photography. Even in ideation and concept development, AI can analyze trends and generate creative concepts, augmenting the human creative process and reducing the need for traditional brainstorming teams. 

Production streamlining

Production, often a complex and costly aspect of agency work, is ripe for AI-driven disruption. Video editing software with AI capabilities can automate tasks like scene detection, audio syncing, and even basic color correction. I’ve been messing about with Google’s Veo3, in which you just describe video content you want to create, and it’s eye-poppingly  good.   

In the realm of web development and coding, AI tools are emerging that can generate code based on design specifications, potentially reducing the need for large teams of developers for certain types of projects.

The path forward

So, is it all doom and gloom?  

Not if agencies can evolve to become smarter, more nimble, and more business savvy. But agencies need to wake up from their deck chairs on the beach and run like hell from the AI tsunami that is hurtling towards them.  

And I’m not talking about investing in AI. 

It’s my belief advertising and media agencies should be wary of dedicating significant resources to developing their own proprietary AI technologies. That’s like trying to win an arm-wrestling contest against a T-Rex. It’ll be a noble effort, but they’re probably just going to end up as a snack. 

The cold truth is that the financial fire and brain power required to build foundational AI models is a domain dominated by a handful of tech giants – Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. These companies have a near-monopoly on data, computational muscle, and geniuses who speak in Python and think in algorithms. Trying to compete with this kind of power is a costly and distracting bet that likely won’t ever pay off.  

So instead of getting eaten in a pointless tech war, agencies need to recognize where their true superpowers lie. In my view, survival in this new era requires a radical transformation in how they operate:

  1. Hire different.  Think different.

Start hiring AI-literate strategists, data-savvy creatives, prompt engineers, and business generalists who can connect the strategic dots. The future isn’t about departments—it’s about hybrid thinkers who know how to move fast and adapt faster. We need people who are as comfortable analyzing data as they are telling a compelling story. 

  1. Move Up The Value Chain

The rigid, hierarchical structures of many traditional agencies are ill-suited to the speed and fluidity of the AI-powered future. Agencies must transform from service providers into agile strategic partners who understand their clients’ businesses so well they can become indispensable drivers of growth. It’s an evolution that requires developing a culture of continuous learning and adaptation, moving beyond rigid hierarchies to embrace fluid, iterative approaches. 

3. Rethink Pricing Models

Time-and-materials is a dead model. Agencies must price based on outcomes, impact, and speed. If a campaign delivers results in days instead of months, why should you get paid less?  That’s going to be a hard concept for marketers to wrap their heads around, but it’s not impossible.  

  1. Double Down On Strategic Creativity

This isn’t about augmentation anymore. It’s automation. The “creative process” is no longer sacred, it’s scalable. Creativity isn’t dead, but it’s no longer confined to copy design or digital. It’s in how agencies solve business problems, use data, automate at scale, and invent new models. Creativity now lives in the thinking, not just the assets.

  1. Focus on Uniquely Human Skills

While AI will automate many tasks, it will also free up human talent to focus on uniquely human skills that are harder to replicate. This includes strategic thinking, complex problem-solving, emotional intelligence, creativity that pushes boundaries, and the ability to build strong, trust-based relationships with clients. Agencies must invest in developing these skills within their teams

  1. Embrace AI as a Partner

Instead of viewing AI as a threat, agencies need to embrace it as a powerful tool that can augment their capabilities, improve efficiency, and unlock new possibilities. This means investing in AI training for their teams, integrating AI-powered tools into their workflows, and developing new service offerings that leverage the power of AI.

The Harsh Truth

AI doesn’t hate agencies. It just looked at the traditional model, and, with cold digital logic, asked “Why?”

In my view, some agencies won’t make it. They’ll be the ones still clutching their awards and their big idea manifestos while AI-powered competitors are already at the finish line, having delivered the same campaign in 20 minutes for one tenth of the price.

The agencies that survive won’t be the biggest, flashiest, or most award-winning. They’ll be the ones who stopped trying to impress their peers and started focusing on making their clients money.

So, the future of agencies isn’t just different. It’s brutally efficient, ruthlessly intelligent, and deeply uncomfortable for those unwilling to evolve.

Your choice: Evolve, or start practicing your barista skills.

This article first appeared in Campaign Canada

Whether you’re the agency crafting a compelling credentials presentation or the client about to meet an agency for the first time, both sides are trying to assess whether there’s a potential fit.

And telling – or listening to – a credible story in a sea of sameness is the all-important difference between hearing, ‘looking forward to seeing you at our next meeting’ and ‘best of luck with your future endeavours…’

So what are the secrets to creating or reviewing compelling credentials presentations?  Here are ten worth remembering:

Credentials happen all the time

While most people think of ‘credentials’ as a formal presentation or a carefully crafted leave-behind, the truth is a credentials overview can also happen as quickly as a sixty second elevator ride.  A succinct and compelling answer to ‘why’s your agency so good…?’  or ‘how do you differentiate yourselves from others…?’  can sometimes open more doors than pages of Powerpoint.  So if you don’t have that killer, thirty-second pitch – it’s time to get one.

Credentials aren’t history lessons

How you got where you got to may be interesting to you, but unless you can articulate it in a minute or two, chances are it’s not interesting to whoever you’re talking to.  The history of your business and the struggles you went through to build it into what it is today, likely aren’t relevant to how or what you’ll be doing to help the client you’re talking to.

It’s not a check-list

A popular misconception is that credentials presentations should be delivered as a check-list of services rather than a conversation about how you could best help your prospect. 

To avoid the ‘check-list’ approach, tie your messages together with a narrative that’s compelling, distinctive and something clients will remember after they’ve left the building.  As you ask questions along the way, you can either expand on particular areas of interest, or point to further information in your leave-behind document.

Detail in the leave behind

One of the biggest mistakes agencies can make is to dig into details that take away from other areas that may be more relevant.  If a client has asked for a credentials presentation and asked an additional twenty questions around process – cover off the questions at a high level during the presentation, but put the detail in your leave-behind.  That way you get to spend more time talking with your prospect rather than presenting to your prospect.

You’ve got half the amount of time

As a general rule of thumb you should allocate half the amount of time available to present your credentials and leave the other half to discussion.  If you spend the whole time presenting, leaving just five minutes for questions at the end, your client will likely feel left out of the ‘conversation’ and you’ll learn little or nothing about what their true needs are. 

Case studies shouldn’t be an afterthought

Case studies can be incredibly powerful in credentials presentations – provided they’re delivered properly – in short bursts at the right time.  Generally speaking, case studies need to demonstrate a recognizable client name, a succinct problem and solution, and an eye-popping result. When used to demonstrate a point, they can be much more powerful than out of context facts on a slide about your agency’s capabilities.

Don’t engage too early

A first meeting or credentials discussion is an opportunity to evaluate both capabilities and your team’s fit with a prospect.  Asking tough questions of your prospect before you’ve had the opportunity to assess some sort of fit can sometimes backfire – simply because your prospect doesn’t feel comfortable in sharing the information you’ve asked, and possibly make you seem too ‘pushy’.

Be careful with your assumptions

During a first meeting, sharing assumptions or insights you’ve gathered from preliminary research can be risky because it may be those are the very assumptions that are proving to be a challenge for your prospect.  It’s always better to stick to facts and capabilities and let the client share their insights and challenges first.

Test it on those who know you

One of the best ways to evaluate your own credentials is to present them to those who know you – your own employees or incumbent clients – to get their opinion on your story.  Chances are your own team or clients are going to be much more forthcoming on what resonates and what doesn’t, and you can hone your key messages accordingly.

Process is boring

While many clients may ask for process information, describing the details of that process isn’t interesting.  Sorry, but it just isn’t.  We’ve seen charts, circles, boxes, arrows, venn-diagrams, and dotted lines in every shape, size, colour and pattern you could imagine.  The best way to tackle process is to provide an overview but support it with an example or case study.  Again, expand the detail in a leave-behind.

Credentials typically have one single purpose:  To get your prospect engaged enough to want a follow-up or deeper discussion about their business.  If your story isn’t coming together or you think your credentials could use a competitive tune-up, we’re happy to come take a look.

When it comes to setting expectations with your agency(s) – and your marketing team – there are some ‘price-of-entry’ questions everyone should be able to wrap their head around. None are complex, but they are the bedrock of creating harmonious client/agency relationships and ensuring everyone is focused and aligned.

Here is what we believe are the top 7 questions everyone on your business should be able to answer:

And even if you think your teams are completely clear and in sync with their respective roles and responsibilities, some of the answers (or lack thereof) might surprise you. So, why not test them out?

What are our expectations?

Whether asked from an individual or corporate perspective, expectations of – and between – everyone should be the starting point. The sting in the tail of this question is that if people can’t answer it, chances are you’ve not been clear or never articulated expectations to begin with – so if there’s a worrying silence after asking it, perhaps it’s an opportunity to bring teams together and let them know.

What are our company’s objectives?

In order to contribute to your business successfully, everyone needs to be able to clearly articulate both your business and marketing objectives. Anything less should have you questioning their ability to participate in meaningful dialogue around the needs of your business and come up with solutions that aligned to your needs.

What does our brand represent?

It’s got to be almost impossible for anyone to work on a marketing team or on any given client at an agency if you can’t articulate what the brand stands for. Everyone who works on your business at your agency(s) and on your marketing team should be as comfortable describing your brand and its values as they are describing what they had for breakfast.

Do you understand our customers?

Fundamental to the success of any marketing activity is an understanding of your audiences. So to brief, create, and evaluate truly meaningful marketing solutions, all team members should understand who you’re trying to reach, what’s important to them, how they’re interacting with your brand, what they’re looking for, and the kind of expectations that’ll create solutions that resonate.

What’s your role in our marketing ecosystem?

Clearly defined roles and responsibilities within marketing teams, business units and agencies, and – when there are multiple agencies on your business – between each agency, sets the ground rules for engagement. The more specific you can be in defining roles the less likely you are to encounter misunderstanding, duplication of effort and/or potential turf wars, and create sharper focused teams.

How are you adding value?

Nobody wants to feel they’re not adding value or have a purpose in the grand scheme of things. If someone can’t answer how they’re adding value for themselves, it’s important to help explain why their efforts are valued by your company. If you or their respective manager can’t answer the question for them, chances are that person needs to be redeployed into a position where they can add value and feel valued themselves.

What’s our budget (for this)?

OK, not everyone is necessarily going to have an intimate understanding of where and how all your dollars have been or are going to be deployed. But everyone should have an understanding of your budget relative to their particular role in your business.

Brand teams need to know where their budget is being spent and how it’s tracking year to date. Agency leads should have a detailed understanding of where the dollars are, while those executing specific projects should know how they’re performing relative to that particular budget.

For anyone working in the marketing business today, these are all pretty basic questions, and while none should pose difficulties for anyone who’s truly engaged in your business, they’ll almost certainly challenge anyone who isn’t.

So what’s better? Uncertainty? Or knowing your entire team is totally focused on your brand’s success? How can we help bring your team up to speed with what’s really important for you and your business?









While agency searches may
not be everyone’s favourite thing to have to deal with, they’re exercises that
have to be carefully prepared and managed. 






As you map your search
process there may be additional questions worth considering to help create a
more robust search approach, leading to a more rewarding outcome and stronger
agency partnership.  For example, you’ll
need to consider:









Ultimately, the decision to call an agency search is yours – so you need to be sure it’s the right decision and that you have a clear understanding as to why your incumbent agency relationship isn’t working, as well as a clear vision for the kind of agency best suited to your needs moving forward.





Getting this groundwork wrong could not only land you in hot water, it could also potentially be something of a career limiting move.  Here’s why: 





Your brand is on the line





Generally speaking, marketers
don’t change agencies that often.  Unless
it’s a government or corporate governance requirement, it’s typically either an
indication there’s been a material change in resources, scope or requirements
and / or something’s not working with an incumbent agency.





Calling another agency
search hot on the heels of the last one, won’t look good on your organization, the
brands you represent – or you – because it’s an indication your internal
challenges are overshadowing what agencies are bringing the table.





Results miss





No matter how well
prepared your search process might be, the reality is agency searches can be
disruptive to projects, teams, long-term planning activities – and results. 





If your team is focused
on evaluating new agencies and then settling in a new one until the agency
finds its natural rhythm for your business, chances are results are going to be
that much more challenging to achieve.





Get the process or choice wrong, and the chances of a marketing or sales results miss are going to increase.





It’ll cost you.  (A lot).





Whether or not you choose to ask (and pay) for spec work in your search process, key internal resources are going to have to be pulled from live projects into your search initiative. And when they’re not focused on active projects, that’s an inevitable distraction from doing what they were hired to do.





Should the search process
go wrong or – God forbid – have to be repeated, that’s going to eat into valuable
time and costs that could otherwise be deployed elsewhere.





Your personal reputation





Whether you realize it or
not, an agency search is also an opportunity to for others to evaluate
you.  Agencies are sizing you and your team
up as a potential client.  Your executive
team will be expecting great things from the new agency and looking to you to
make the right decision.  And your own
team will be looking to ensure they have the right agency in place to help them
execute what needs to get done.





If the process or new agency falls short of expectations, all eyes are going to be on you and the choices you made along the way, and future decisions around significant marketing choices may be called into question.





The decision to undertake
any agency review shouldn’t be under estimated. Well-chosen agencies can form
the basis of a relationship that could last decades and will have a lasting
impact on the development of marketing strategies, the growth and success of
your business and the development of your brand.





Cutting corners, not planning properly and ultimately getting your search wrong, could not only cost you but also damage your reputation. Taking the time to get it right by planning each step will pay dividends in the long-run and reflect well on you, your team and your company. 





How can we help ensure your next search is a success?













Let’s face it the traditional agency search process is a marketing conundrum. It’s often seen as a necessary evil, a time-consuming, costly, and disruptive endeavor that almost always pulls you away from critical current marketing efforts. 





But what if there was a better way? What if you could transform your existing agency relationships into powerful engines for growth, rather than starting from scratch every time?





Introducing the Request for Transformation





We believe there’s an opportunity to redefine how marketers engage with their agencies which is why we’ve developed a strategic alternative designed to revitalize your incumbent agency relationships: The “Request for Transformation.”





This process is about formally challenging and empowering your existing agencies to evolve, align with your shifting needs, and proactively deliver on the critical marketing initiatives that lie ahead. It’s about moving beyond transactional interactions to truly strategic partnerships.





Why is this so crucial right now? 





Because many agency relationships, despite good intentions, often fall short of their full potential and find themselves embroiled in a full-blown agency search process they can’t win, because they either don’t know what their current shortfalls are, or (worse) they’ve never been given the opportunity to address them outside a search proces.  You might recognize some of these common pain points:









These aren’t just minor issues; they’re direct obstacles to your marketing success.





Whether you work with one agency or many, the fundamental principle remains: maximize your investment. The “Request for Transformation” process provides a framework rooted in collaboration and a shared vision, designed to unlock groundbreaking ideas and accelerate your results.





The Request for Transformation solution empowers marketers to build more effective, efficient, and innovative agency relationships, ultimately driving superior results. Specifically, it helps you achieve:





    

  1. Stronger, More Strategic Partnerships: Moving beyond a client-vendor dynamic to a true partnership where your agency is a proactive, insightful extension of your team, deeply invested in your success
    2. 




  2. Driving Efficiency and Time Savings: Streamlining processes, better time management, and clearer communication eliminate friction and accelerate execution
    3. 




  3. Enhanced Transparency and Accountability: A formalized measurement framework to ensure your agency is held to clear expectations, with cost structures that are easy to understand and justify
    4. 




  4. Pushing the Boundaries of Innovation: Unlocking cutting-edge technologies and / or AI capabilities that you may not even be aware your incumbent(s) had access to
    5. 




  5. Optimizing Resource Allocation: Gain clarity on where your budget is going and how agency resources are being deployed for maximum impact.
    6. 






However you choose to structure and manage your agency relationships, remember that the more you invest in setting them up for success, the greater the return on your efforts and investment. 





This proactive Request for Transformation approach is the surest way to supercharge your agency’s performance, and an opportunity to transform your agency relationships from a source of frustration into a powerful competitive advantage. The Request for Transformation isn’t just a process; it’s a pathway to marketing excellence.





Ready to transform your existing agency relationships?  Let’s talk.