Marketers such as Unilever, GE, and Ford are recognized for maintaining relationships of over seventy years with their agencies. And while almost all marketers aspire to build long-lasting relationships like these with their agency partners, the evolving marketer agency landscape and increasing business demands give rise to marketers re-thinking about their relationships.

Effective relationship management extends well beyond the pitch, encompassing everything from setting measurement frameworks to remuneration models. However, the client-agency partnership truly begins during the pitch process, and with the rapid shift in the marketing landscape and consumer expectations, the agency review process needs to undergo a strategic shift as well.

This report is designed to give marketers and their agencies some insight into these important questions:

  • How have your needs as a marketer evolved and how does that change the kind of agency you need?
  • What is the best agency model for your needs?
  • What are all the moving parts that need to be taken into account when organizing an agency review process?
  • What are the costs that should be weighed before deciding to conduct an agency search?

What follows are best practice guidelines that can help marketers plan and execute more productive agency reviews that lead to stronger client-agency partnerships.