Ad Before

Ad After

Hiring an Advertising Agency

Issue: Technology sector B2B client needs to hire an advertising agency.

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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

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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
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Solutions
  • Identified agency that was best fit in terms of both personality and portfolio
  • Agency developed differentiated, attention-grabbing, relevant print that aligned with client’s brand positioning