5 Steps to Choosing an Ad Agency

Let me start by saying this is not written by someone who has only worked for agencies. Serving on a three-person committee to select an agency for a $400 million textile company during a stint client side gave me a new perspective on the process. My agency experience really helped guide the group and to select the “right” agency for the company. That being said, listed below are my tips to helping you in your search:

1.    Have the most senior people possible in the selection process. You are not choosing a vendor for the next copy machine purchase; you are hiring a firm that will become an extension of your marketing department. They will have intimate knowledge of your business such as new product rollouts, business expansions, acquisitions, etc. The top people in the company should be making the decision in order to have total faith in the agency and get their best work and ideas.
2.    Limit the people on the committee. The fewer the better. You’ve heard the phrase “a camel is a horse designed by a committee”, you get a 10 person committee choosing an ad agency and you are asking for a camel. The process will drag on due to scheduling conflicts and you are almost guaranteed not to have a unanimous consensus.
3.    Do research prior to sending out a request for proposal (RFP). Send the RFP only to agencies whose work you admire or come recommended. Another surefire way to slow the process to a crawl is asking the committee to review 50 proposals. Also, limit the size of the RFP. You don’t want only agencies that have time to respond to a 100 page RFP. You run the risk of not having the best agencies respond because they are too busy working for paying clients. The main goals of an RFP is to clearly state what your company is looking for in an agency,  understand the agencies processes, read some case studies, review some work, read bios of the proposed account team and understand the agencies background. Remember, you are not selecting the agency at this point in the process, only those you want to interview further.
4.    Now that you have the finalists, it’s time for the interviews. Make sure each agency sends the people who are actually going to work on the account. Especially the account manager and creative director. Many agencies have a “new business team” that only work on securing new accounts, then turn it over to others in the agency once hired. Again, you are not buying anything – you are hiring an extension of your staff. Make sure you are interviewing YOUR account team. Clearly state what you are looking for in the interviews so each agency can prepare. After the interviews, you will more than likely have narrowed the field to a top 1 or 2.
5.    Final step – but very important. Meet the final agencies at their place. Tour the agency, meet the people and see how they work. Is there a good vibe? Do the people look happy? Do you feel comfortable? This is the final litmus test. It’s time to select your new partner.

That’s it! 5 steps to make sure you have selected the right agency for your company. Try to limit the time for the whole process to a month or less. By keeping focused on the task, you keep the attention level high for this very important decision.