How to choose an ad agency

Taking the agency search beyond RFPs and low bids

Just a few years back, choosing an advertising agency was pretty straightforward: issue an RFP, review proposals, invite a few agencies in to present, and pick the one you like the best. The thought was that by using an RFP, you would find the perfect fit. The only problem was that the RFP process would favor the hungriest agency instead of the one best suited for the job.

More often than not, the agency chosen didn’t live up to its demo. Soon after the client/agency relationship was consummated, buyer’s remorse would set in.

Today, the rules have changed.

The better agencies are being very selective about what RFPs, if any, they participate in. Clients tired of getting stuck with hungry, yet inadequate agencies, are skipping the RFP process entirely. Instead, they are looking to their network and the internet to vet agency qualifications and expertise before they buy.

In many cases, clients are hiring agencies without undergoing a lengthy and time consuming competitive review, and in result, client/agency relationships are long-lasting and more productive.

If you are looking for a new advertising agency, here’s what to look for on its website:

• Category expertise – if you’re a healthcare marketer, you’ll want an agency with healthcare experience
• Thought leadership – if an agency has an opinion, you should find it in its online newsletters and blogs
• A defined process – you’re searching for creativity, not chaos: checks and balances will keep the agency on strategy
• Internet chops – healthcare marketing begins and ends on the internet: your next agency better understand this
• Media neutrality – it’s a bad sign if an agency’s work is organized by medium: this suggests that it is in the business of producing stuff rather than getting results
• Ideas with legs – while highly subjective, this is important if you want ROI for your marketing investment: how long do current clients stick with the plan?
• Client testimonials – if clients have agreed to testify on the agency’s behalf, chances are they’re not just smoke & mirrors

If you see any of these signs, run away as fast as you can:

• You have to wait for the homepage to load (a countdown or loading message is the kiss of death)
• The website is all Flash (flash is great if you want to design your own BMW online, but it’s terrible for marketing on the web)
• In the mission, it says something to the effect of “to offer our clients strategy that empowers them, ads that give us all goosebumps and results that make us friends for life” – if you’re smart, you’re not looking for friends
• The agency has a bad attitude – as if it is somehow superior to its clients and the target audience
• After clicking a few pages on the site, you notice the URL doesn’t change or it’s in an indecipherable code (that means the agency doesn’t get the importance of search engine optimization)
• The last press release was from more than six months ago – I know, we’re all busy, but if the agency is too busy to market itself…
• The agency says it does everything well (there’s no such thing as an expert generalist)
• There’s no section with past client work
• The portfolio features just print ads and/or television spots – print and TV are so twentieth century
• Past work looks like the agency rather than the clients
• The agency brags about all the awards it has won