Description
This report was written for marketers and advertisers who are looking for an agency to manage some or all of their digital marketing initiatives
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014:
A Buyer’s Guide
A Digital Marketing Depot Research Report
Market Intelligence Report:
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Scope and Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Digital Advertising Agencies: Types and Services ....................................................................................................................... 2
Digital Agency Capabilities ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table 1: Selected Digital Agency Capabilities ...................................................................................................................... 3
Professional Services vs. Proprietary Technology ..................................................................................................................... 4
Lines Blur between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media ............................................................................................................. 4
Table 2: The Lines Blur between Paid, Owned & Earned Media ......................................................................................... 5
Digital Agency Market Trends ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Trend #1: M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows ....................................................... 6
Table 3: Selected Agency Holding Company Mergers and Acquisitions, 2012-2013 ......................................................... 6
Digital’s Share of Ad Revenue Continues to Grow .................................................................................................................. 7
Table 4: Digital Services Share of Overall Agency Revenue, 2009-2012 ............................................................................. 7
Trend #2: Mobile Drives Gains in Digital Ad Revenues ........................................................................................................... 7
Table 5: Internet Advertising Revenues (in $M) First Half of 2012 vs. First Half of 2013 ..................................................... 8
Table 6: Internet Advertising Market Share, First Half 2012 vs. First Half 2013 ................................................................... 8
Trend #3: The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem ................................................................................. 9
Table 7: Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem ........................................................................................ 9
Table 8: Selected Google Corporate Advertising Agency Relationships .......................................................................... 10
Choosing a Digital Agency ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Step One: Company Self-Assessment – Do You Need a Digital Agency? ............................................................................ 11
Step Two: Understand Agency Fee Structures ...................................................................................................................... 12
Potential Add-on fees ............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Search Agency Fee Structures ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Step Three: Begin the Selection Process: Phone Calls, RFIs and RFPs ................................................................................. 13
Step Four: Choosing the Right Agency ................................................................................................................................. 14
Creating a Decision Matrix ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 9: Sample Agency Decision Matrix ........................................................................................................................... 16
Step Five: Negotiate Contract Terms ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Appendix A: Guidelines for Developing an Effective RFP ........................................................................................................ 18
Table A-1: Business Information to Provide in a Digital Agency RFP ................................................................................. 18
Table A-2: Questions to ask Digital Agencies in an RFP .................................................................................................... 19
Table A-3: Sample SEO RFP Outline .................................................................................................................................. 20
Appendix B: Resources .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 1 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Scope and Methodology
This report was written for marketers and advertisers who are looking for an agency to manage some or all of their digital
marketing initiatives. The goal is to help the audience navigate the many choices available and make a more informed
decision within the current agency market, including what digital advertising capabilities and services are most important to
their organizations. This report answers the following questions:
• What trends are infuencing the digital agency landscape?
• How can I determine if my company needs a digital agency?
• What type of agency is the best ft for my organization?
• What is the process for choosing a digital agency?
• What questions do I need to include in an RFI or an RFP?
The report draws from Wikipedia’s defnition of an interactive agency to defne digital agencies as companies that provide
specialized advertising and marketing services for the digital space. They are independent from the client and provide an
outside point of view to the effort of selling the client’s products or services.
Digital agencies may provide some or all of the following capabilities: digital lead generation, digital brand development,
interactive marketing and communications strategy, rich media campaigns, interactive video brand experiences, website
design and development, e-learning tools, email marketing, public relations, SEO/PPC services, social media marketing,
mobile campaign development and management, content creation and management services, and data mining and ROI
assessments.
Many digital agencies that currently offer a broad array of digital capabilities began in search advertising, which is still
considered the foundation of digital advertising as evidenced by search’s predominant share of digital advertising dollars
spent.
If you are considering hiring an agency for one or more digital channels, this report will help you decide whether or not
you need to. This report has been completely updated since its December 2012 publication to include the latest industry
statistics, developing market trends, and new recommended steps for choosing an agency partner.
The report was prepared by conducting in-depth interviews with leading digital agency executives, advertisers, and industry
experts in October and November 2013. These interviews, in addition to third-party research, form the basis for this report.
In particular, Digital Marketing Depot would like to thank the following industry executives for their time and professional
insights:
Rhea Drysdale, CEO, Outspoken Media
George Gallate, CEO, RKG
Rob Garner, Chief Strategy Offcer, Advice Interactive
Jeff Johnson, SVP, Managing Director, Covario
Kevin Lee, CEO, Didit
Jason Tabeling, Partner, Rosetta
November 2013
Research/Writer: Karen Burka, Senior Research Consultant
Editor: Claire Schoen, VP, Marketing Services, Digital Marketing Depot (http://digitalmarketingdepot.com)
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 2 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Digital Advertising Agencies: Types and Services
Digital agencies are as varied as the needs of the advertisers and marketers who hire them. At the high end, for global
enterprises, are the agency holding companies with hundreds of full-service digital agencies around the world. There are
also boutique and specialty agencies (two terms that are used interchangeably in this report) that provide channel-specifc
digital marketing services such as mobile messaging programs, social media marketing, or SEO link-building campaigns.
And there are agencies that focus on strategy and professional services, such as branding or web design. Like any
organization, each type of agency has its own strengths, weaknesses, and culture.
Agencies owned by large media or holding companies can provide the following benefts to their clients:
• Diversity of capabilities from co-owned agency properties;
• Built-in sister agency relationships and priority referrals; and
• In-network effciencies and pricing.
Most full-service digital agencies manage a brand’s presence on many channels, manage a brand’s advertising technology/
analytics platforms, and provide professional services. Technology offered to clients, such as bid management software or
social media listening tools, is usually sourced from third parties. Client account management and support are largely based
on client size and spend. Agencies owned by holding companies generally require minimum monthly spends in the six-to-
eight fgure range. That level of investment typically buys a dedicated account staff; an “agency-within-an agency” that can
manage the brand across the entire holding company.
Working with a specialty or boutique agency offers unique benefts as well, including:
• More granular channel strategy and tactical expertise;
• Client access to agency decision makers and executive personnel; and
• Lower spending minimums.
Specialty agencies offer a subset of the services provided by full-service
agencies. These services may be channel specifc, such as social media
or SEO, or media specifc such as display advertising or email marketing
programs. Dozens of specialty agencies have launched over the past fve
years, a market dynamic called the “agency long tail” by some industry
executives. Prompted by the mid-market opportunity created by holding
company agencies with huge minimum spends, and wireless technologies
that have made it easier to start up small businesses, many large agency
executives with strong client relationships have left their frms after an
acquisition and opened specialty agencies.
Digital Agency Capabilities
Table 1 illustrates the broad range of services that digital agencies can provide. A full-service agency offers breadth of
professional and channel services, while specialty agencies can provide depth within a channel, including proprietary PPC or
SEO platforms and extensive client training in software use, integration, and customization.
Dozens of specialty
agencies have launched
over the past ?ve years,
a market dynamic called
the “agency long tail” by
some industry executives.
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 3 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
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© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 4 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Professional Services vs. Proprietary Technology
Digital agencies also can be differentiated by their focus on professional
services versus proprietary technology platforms. Agencies that emphasize
their professional services capabilities recommend and use third-party
technology such as PPC campaign management platforms, SEO tools, and
social media management platforms to manage their clients’ data and digital
campaigns. These agencies view their role as strategists that can analyze and
interpret data to provide actionable results and achieve their clients’ goals.
Agencies that develop and offer proprietary tools view their platforms as a
competitive advantage over third-party toolsets that are widely available.
The plethora of digital channels has left many advertisers drowning in
data. By providing technology platforms that are built and customized to
client needs, these agencies believe they are providing unique and critical
automation tools that collect, analyze, and optimize data for their clients.
Ultimately, agency and brand executives agree that it takes “smart people to run smart technology.” Attribution models,
for example, can include highly sophisticated algorithms. But scoring each of the many touch points in the conversion path
must be done by marketers or analysts with keen insight and understanding into the value of each channel for individual
customers.
Lines Blur between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media
Many agencies are adapting their service offerings to meet client demand for integrated campaigns that cut across
previously accepted lines between paid, owned, and earned media. Advertisers and agencies have traditionally classifed
media as either paid, owned, or earned. Paid media refers to advertising that is purchased, such as print, web, or broadcast
advertising. Owned media belongs to the brand, such as print brochures or website content, while earned media
encompasses public relations and reputation management.
Driven largely by social media and user-generated content, these media distinctions are no longer clear (see Table 2).
For example, Twitter is a social media channel, which can be considered owned media, but the brand bounce that occurs
from retweeting becomes earned media because it furthers brand awareness. Paid media now includes content marketing
campaigns or sponsored messages on social media channels -- as well as the more traditional display or PPC advertising.
Social strategy and mobile programs are closely linked, as are website and social or mobile app creative development. The
media are converging.
The result is that the lines are blurring for agencies and their clients, as well. Search advertising models of pay-per-click are
now available on social media networks. Whereas social marketing once meant a Facebook brand page, advertisers are
now allocating budget among a growing array of major social media including Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, and
Twitter.
SEO has spawned a new channel of content marketing, as marketers compete to generate traffc and attract customers.
Digital maps and applications for local markets such as Yelp or Foursquare have changed marketing at the local level,
both for small companies and national brands. Mobile marketing has become its own discipline, with unique design,
development, and distribution requirements.
Many agencies are
adapting their service
offerings to meet client
demand for integrated
campaigns that cut across
previously accepted lines
between paid, owned,
and earned media.
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© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 5 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Google’s July 2013 transition to ‘enhanced campaigns’ introduced a whole new set of rules for paid search advertising; for
advertisers, this meant allocating resources to better understand and run campaigns under the new system.
In addition to changes in media and channels, marketers must keep up with changes in how media is being consumed.
The rapid growth in tablet and smartphone use continues to impact the advertising business; one outcome in 2013 was the
increased use of responsive web design to optimize how content and ads are delivered.
Faced with this ever-changing digital marketing landscape, limited resources, and higher C-level expectations, advertisers
and marketers are increasingly turning to digital agencies for their expertise.
Digital Agency Market Trends
The growth and evolution of the digital agency market is being driven by several important trends, including:
1. M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows
2. Mobile Drives Gains in Internet Ad Revenues.
3. The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem.
The following section discusses each of these trends in more detail.
Table 2: The Lines Blur Between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media
Paid Media
Paid search
Display
Social (FB ads/sponsored tweets)
Mobile (ads)
Email lists
Earned Media
SEO
Social (retweets/likes/shares)
reputation management)
Mobile (shares/reviews)
CSEs
Owned Media
Mobile (apps/games)
Website content
Email
Social (FB pages,
blogs/ Twitter accts.)
Paid/Earned Media:
Social media ads, shares,
likes, reputation management
Mobile ads, shares, reviews
Paid/Owned Media:
Mobile ads, apps, games
Social ads, Twitter content,
blogs
Earned/Owned/Paid Media
Social ads, blogs, shares,
sponsored content
Mobile apps, shares, ads
Earned/Owned Media:
Social likes, shares, retweets
Mobile ads, shares, reviews
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 6 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Trend #1: M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continue to have a dramatic impact on the size and scope of the digital agency landscape,
both for large holding companies as well as smaller, specialty agencies.
International agency holding companies such as Japan’s Dentsu and London’s WPP spent billions on acquisitions over the
past two years in an effort to create worldwide, full-service networks that provide a broad spectrum of digital marketing
capabilities and services (see Table 3). Dentsu completed its nearly $5 billion deal to buy Aegis Group in March 2013 and
announced the creation of Dentsu Aegis Network, a global operating unit based in London. The new unit will manage all of
Dentsu’s global business operations outside Japan, as well as Aegis Media’s operations worldwide.
The largest merger of agency holding companies occurred in July 2013 when Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group
announced a $35 billion agreement to merge the two holding companies – representing more than 250 agency brands
between them, including BBDO, Ketchum, Razorfsh, DigitasLBi, Leo Burnett, Starcom MediaVest, and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Aegis Group plc
Publicis Groupe
Interpublic Group
Dentsu
WPP
Omnicom Group
Acquirer
Communicate 2
I Spy Marketing
Catch Stone
Roundarch
Poke Media
Engauge Marketing
LBi International
Bartle Bogle Hegarty
August 2012
August 2012
July 2012
February 2012
September 2013
August 2013
January 2013
July 2012
FUSE
Nicole Weber Comms.
January 2012
January 2012
Aegis Group plc
John St.
C-Section
Okam Ltd.
CM Interactive
(Crossmedia)
Hungama Digital Services
Fortune Cookie
AKQA
DTDigital
July 2012
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
June 2012
August 2012
June 2012
January 2012
Publicis Groupe July 2013
India-based search agency
U.K.-based digital agency
Chinese digital agency bought for $86MM
Purchased for $125MM
Estimated $20 million acquisition of
London-based social media/mobile agency
Acquired Ohio-based digital agency for
undisclosed sum
$591 million purchase of Netherlands-based
digital technology agency
Purchased remaining 51% share of London-
based agency
Bought U.K.-based digital agency
Acquired leading German PR agency
$4.9 billion purchase price
Bought Toronto-based digital agency
Acquired Istanbul-based digital agency
Acquired holding company of London-
based Salmon Group of digital agency
services
Majority stake of Mexican digital agency
acquired by WPP subsidiary Wunderman
India-based digital agency purchased
by JWT
Acquired by WPP agency Posssible
Worldwide.
$550MM purchase price
WPP subsidiary Ogilvy bought 33.3% stake
in Australian digital agency
$35 billion merger
Acquired/Merged Date Notes
Table 3: Selected Agency Holding Company Mergers and Acquisitions, 2012-2013
Source: Third Door Media
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
For specialty agencies, acquisitions can bring access to a new software tool, or add new services to solidify an existing strength.
For example, SEM specialty agency Didit purchased a majority stake in Harrison Leifer DeMarco (HLD) in March 2013 to add
social marketing and reputation management to its existing suite of proprietary search tools and services. In August 2012, Didit
acquired Inceptor, a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperMedia that provides SEO, CSE, and social marketing capabilities.
In May 2013, RKG acquired Nine by Blue, an SEO software and consulting company founded by ex-Google executive
Vanessa Fox. The acquisition included Nine by Blue’s proprietary search analytics and diagnostic software, Blueprint, which
will become part of RKG’s SEO toolset.
International consulting frms such as Deloitte and Accenture are also jumping into the digital agency fray to be able to
service their clients’ digital advertising needs in house. In January 2012, Deloitte bought Seattle-based mobile agency
Ubermind, and launched Deloitte Digital several months later. Deloitte acquired another Seattle-based digital agency,
Banyan Branch, in October 2013. Accenture purchased London-based digital design agency Fjord in May 2013, adding to
its October 2012 acquisition of digital production agency AvVenta.
All of these acquirers expect to reap bottom-line rewards for their efforts to expand the breadth and depth of their digital
offerings, as digital’s slice of the agency revenue pie continues to grow.
Digital’s Share of Ad Revenue Continues to Grow
Digital revenue increased 6.9% in 2012 to reach $11.6 billion, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter, which compiles data on nearly
1,000 agencies and agency networks (see Table 4). Digital’s share of overall agency revenue has grown from 25.8% in 2009 to 32.5%
in 2012. Digital revenue growth outpaced general advertising revenue growth by more than two percentage points in 2012.
Note: Totals include pure-play digital agency revenues as well as digital revenues for all ad agencies tracked.
Source: Ad Age DataCenter
25.8%
28.0%
30.3%
32.5%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
2009 2010 2011 2012
$11.6B
$10.1B
$3.9B
$5.1B
Table 4: Digital Services Share of Overall Agency Revenue, 2009-2012
Trend #2: Mobile Drives Gains in Digital Ad Revenues
Led by triple-digit increases in mobile, advertiser adoption of digital media is driving record revenues for online publishers
and ad networks, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
For the frst half of 2013, U.S. Internet ad revenues surged to $20.1 billion, a 17.8% increase over $17.0 billion for the frst
half of 2012 (see Table 5). Mobile revenues grew from $1.2 billion in the frst half of 2012 to $3.0 billion for the same 2013
time period, a 144.6% increase. Mobile’s gains led its share of the Internet advertising market to grow from 7% to 15% (see
Table 6). As an advertising category, mobile is inching closer to banner ads, which grew only 4.4% in 2012.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Search
Mobile
Lead Generation
Total
Banner Ads
Rich Media
Display Related
Classi?eds & Directories
Email
Digital Video Comms
Sponsorships
Ad Category
$8,128
$1,242
$834
$17,028
$8,728
$3,038
$853
$20,066
$3,622
$495
$3,780
$640
$5,586
$1,160
$78
$6,078
$1,291
$78
$1,053
$416
$1,307
$351
7.4%
144.6%
2.3%
17.8%
4.4%
29.3%
8.8%
11.3%
--
24.1%
-15.6%
First Half 2012 First Half 2013 % Change
Table 5: Internet Advertising Revenues (in $M) First Half of 2012 vs. First Half of 2013
Note: Display Related includes banner ads, digital video commercials, rich media, and sponsorships.
Source: Internet Advertising Bureau
Table 6: Internet Advertising Market Share, First Half 2012 vs. First Half 2013
Notes: Display Related includes banner ads, digital video commercials, rich media, and sponsorships.
Email market share is calculated to be 0% and therefore not represented in chart.
Source: Internet Advertising Bureau.
Search
Display Related
Mobile
Classifieds & Directories
Lead Generation
First Half of 2012 First Half of 2013
48%
43%
30%
15%
33%
7%
7%
6%
4%
5%
Digital video commercials, rich media, and classifeds and directories all experienced double-digit growth in the frst half
of 2013. Digital sponsorship was the only Internet advertising category to see revenue decline in the frst half of 2013. The
IAB’s totals include revenues from websites, ad networks, commercial online services, mobile devices, email providers, and
other companies selling online advertising. These numbers represent a subset of all media services provided by agencies,
but demonstrate just how quickly digital advertising continues to grow.
For the full-year 2012, the IAB found that overall U.S. Internet advertising revenue reached $36.6 billion in 2012, a 15.2%
increase over $31.7 billion in 2011.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Advertiser/Client
Agency of
Record
(AOR)
PR/Comms
Agency
Media
Buying
Agency
Creative
Agency
Search/Social
Agency
Brand
Specialists
Broadcast
Agency
SEO
Specialists
Table 7: Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem
Source: Third Door Media
Trend #3: The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem
Advertisers’ combined demands for both best-of-breed channel expertise and a more holistic, integrated digital strategy
is expanding the size and complexity of the client/agency ecosystem. Enterprise marketers, in particular, are looking for an
omnichannel approach that provides a 360-degree view of marketing and advertising campaigns – both digital and offine –
as well as customer behavior, lifecycles, and lifetime value.
To achieve these goals, enterprise clients are hiring more agencies and then expecting those agencies to collaborate and
work together more closely to align data collection, use, optimization, and campaign management. The client/agency
ecosystem increasingly includes an agency of record (AOR) as well as public relations, PPC, SEO, social, creative, strategy,
and media buying agencies (see Table 7). At the same time, C-suite executives are getting more involved in agency
relationships to ensure accountability and cooperation in light of bigger digital budgets and more partners.
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A look at Ad Age’s 100 Leading National Advertisers shows that the majority of national advertisers have multiple agency
relationships and, in many cases, several agencies managing the same channels including digital, social, and creative. Table
8 illustrates a selected number of Google’s agency relationships for its corporate advertising work.
These more complex client/agency ecosystems have brought with them a number of data management issues, including
questions around data access, sharing, interpretation, and transparency. Client/agency contracts include more iron-clad
agreements about what data can or cannot be shared within the ecosystem. The fow of data to and from the client with
disparate agencies is often managed by internal marketing staff. Even when legally cleared, however, data sharing across
agencies or channels often results in data gaps and poor data hygiene, which can compromise results.
In most cases, digital technology platforms are managed by the agency “closest to the technology” or executing the
marketing programs within the discipline (i.e. search or mobile). However, industry executives agree that there are no clear
data-sharing rules or guidelines. It will take time before comprehensive best practices emerge to help clients and agencies
sort through these critical issues.
Table 8: Selected Google Corporate Advertising Agency Relationships
Source: Ad Age DataCenter, Third Door Media
Google
CRM
MRM
RAPP
Digital
AKQA
Blue State Digital
Huge
Mekanism
Mullen
72andSunny
Johannes Leonardo
Bartle, Bogle,
Hegarty
Mullen
Public Relations
Republica
Mullen
Media Buying
PHD
Events, Engagement
& Promotion
Tenthwave Digital
TBA Global
Creative
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Choosing a Digital Agency
Ultimately, the decision to hire a digital agency is a signifcant investment that requires a rigorous evaluation of your
business’s and any potential agency partner’s needs, resources, and cultures. The following sections discuss fve steps
involved in making a more informed and successful choice.
Step One: Company Self-Assessment – Do You Need a Digital Agency?
Deciding whether or not your company needs to hire a digital agency calls for the same evaluative steps involved in any
signifcant investment, including a comprehensive self-assessment of your organization’s internal strengths, challenges, and
needs from a business, staffng, and technology perspective. This includes answering questions such as:
• What are the primary objectives we want to achieve? Working with an agency can help advertisers that are looking
to scale their digital initiatives but lack enough in-house resources to do so. Find clarity and consensus on what you’re
looking to achieve. If your digital programs are falling short of management’s ROI goals, an agency’s expertise may be
able to help you improve campaign or channel results.
• Do we need a full-service agency or specialist? Traditionally, advertisers have hired an AOR to handle all of their
advertising needs. But one-stop advertising shops may not represent best-of-breed expertise in every digital channel.
Many advertisers hire both AORs and boutique agencies with expertise in SEO or social media, for example. If managing
multiple agencies is too cumbersome or expensive, a full-service digital agency may be the right choice.
• Who will manage the agency relationship? Every successful partnership needs a champion who is invested in that
partnership’s success and can pull together the disparate groups that have a stake in the outcome or a role to play.
For example, marketers may voice different wants and needs than an IT department, but both may be important to
campaign development and execution. By designating a “point person” within the business even before you send out
an RFP, you will ensure the steady fow of information throughout the process so that expectations are met.
It is also vital to assess your own business’s culture and priorities before beginning the selection process. For example,
is good creative more important than reporting capabilities? If so, you’ll need to target agencies with those strengths. If
not, you’ll want to speak to more agencies with strong or proprietary analytical tools or capabilities. Here are several other
factors to consider:
Accountability: Digital campaigns have many moving parts, and in-house marketers can often be too busy to micromanage
every detail. Think about how much you’ll need to rely on your agency to stay on top of every deliverable and how
proactive you’ll want them to be regarding any campaigns that aren’t going according to plan.
Flexibility: How fexible and accommodating do you need an agency to be? In-house marketing teams often experience
scope creep, which can create missed deadlines and budget overruns for their agencies. Not all agencies have the
staff or inclination to switch gears mid-campaign when clients request changes. If it’s important to you that an agency
accommodates your wishes, even if it costs time and money, make sure to say so up front.
Communication: How much communication do you want or need? How important is the geographic location of your
agency? You may be the type to ask a lot of questions or want to have periodic in-person meetings. If so, look for an
agency that has an offce close to your location and welcomes the frequent interaction. If you’re looking for a more turn-key
relationship, location won’t be as important as the confdence and skill of the account team managing your business.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Step Two: Understand Agency Fee Structures
Agency free structures vary widely, even within client accounts. It is not uncommon for a client to compensate their agency
using different fee structures for different types of media campaigns. For example, a common agency fee model for paid
media work is percentage of spend. Typically, an agency will be paid 10-20% of a client’s digital media spend on paid
search or display advertising campaigns. Smaller clients may pay a higher percentage, while enterprise clients may pay a
smaller percentage due to the larger dollar volume of their accounts.
Fee-based or retainer-based models are quickly gaining traction, most often at the expense of commission-based
compensation among large brands and their agencies. The Association of National Advertisers’ 2013 Trends in Agency
Compensation Survey found that fee-based agreements have grown to 81% of all compensation agreements, while
commission-based compensation has fallen to just 5% of all compensation agreements. The two compensation models
have been on opposite trajectories since 1994, according to the ANA survey, when commission-based models represented
61% of all agreements, and fee-based models accounted for 35% of agency compensation agreements.
Fee-based models have become more attractive because they provide predictable expenses for marketers and advertisers,
particularly on long-term accounts that require ongoing maintenance, such as monitoring SEO rankings or social media
content. Retainers may also encourage agencies to test new campaign strategies and tactics, knowing that they will be
compensated for their time regardless of results.
Each fee structure has advantages and challenges for different types of media (see Table 8). Many agencies use time-based
pricing, which is based on a set hourly fee to track all time spent on a client’s earned and owned media accounts such as
SEO or social. In these types of arrangements, it is important for the client and agency to discuss and negotiate minimums
and perhaps maximums to facilitate budget planning. Clients must also be vigilant about agency staff effciency, since the
agency is paid for an agreed-upon number of hours, regardless of how much work is accomplished.
Percentage of spend
Fee-based or Retainer
Time based
Performance-based
Fee Model
Paid media (PPC, display) Expense predictability.
Owned and earned (SEO,
social, mobile)
Consistent, predictable
expenses. May encourage
more long-term, strategic
thinking because agency is
paid regardless of results.
Earned and owned media
(SEO, social, mobile)
Negotiated hourly fee
assures client is only paying
for actual time put into
account work.
Paid and earned media (Paid
search, display, some social)
Agency shares risk with
the client on campaign
performance.
Agency goal to increase spending and
media buys may result in higher costs
but depress ROI.
Large spending or budget changes
may necessitate renegotiating fees.
Questions may emerge about whether
account staff is working effciently or
enough hours.
Less predictable expenses that depend
on campaigns being run on time or in
a particular time frame. Questions may
emerge about whether account staff is
working effciently.
Frequent renegotiating due to over- or
underperforming campaigns. Agency
may stick to “tried and true” tactics to
guarantee revenue, rather than look at
long-term results or strategy.
Most Appropriate Media Advantages Challenges
Table 8: Selected Digital Agency Fee Structures
Source: Third Door Media
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Performance-based hybrids that include a time-based, fxed-fee, or
percentage-of-spend rate, as well as a smaller performance-based
component for paid media work are generating mixed results for
both agencies and advertisers. The goal is for clients and agencies to
share the risk when trying new campaign strategies or tactics, yet fairly
compensate the agency for its time and work. This model also works as
a way for agencies to become more competitive in their base pricing;
by adding in bonuses based on performance levels, the initial agency
fee may be lowered.
However, some industry experts caution that performance-based
models can actually discourage innovation precisely because of the risks
involved. Some agencies may not feel comfortable with taking on extra
work with no guaranteed reward. Other agencies and advertisers cite
frequently renegotiating contracts when bonuses are met as another
drawback. Successful performance-based compensation arrangements
that beneft both agency and client require trust, negotiation, and clarity
about campaign rules and ownership. For example, an agency might
require implementation of all agency-recommended landing page
changes or updates within a certain time frame to ensure the types of
results needed to kick in the performance bonus.
Potential Add-on Fees
Third-party software and campaign set-up fees are common agency
add-on charges. Setting up digital marketing campaigns can be time
consuming. Once an advertiser’s goals are understood, an agency
should openly discuss with the advertiser how long a campaign will take
to set up. Depending on the complexity of this set up, an advertiser
may be charged a one-time fee or monthly installments.
Some agencies will roll third-party software fees into a monthly
management fee, making them less transparent. It is important for
advertisers to understand what an agency is doing in house and what
it is outsourcing, including why the function is being outsourced and what are the costs associated with the software. In
some instances, agencies provide excellent services but do not have the development team to write their own applications.
Conversely, there are some excellent software solutions that do not offer agency services and focus on providing the best
software possible. The match of these two different teams can provide a complete solution to meet all of an advertiser’s
needs. (Note: Many agencies also develop and provide proprietary software solutions in addition to their agency services.)
Step Three: Begin the Selection Process: Phone Calls, RFIs, and RFPs
Once you’ve decided to hire a digital agency, the next step is to develop a list of potential agency partners to contact –
whether by phone, request for information (RFI), or request for proposal (RFP).
Many digital agency executives report that the majority of their new business comes from referrals rather than RFPs.
Agencies today are becoming more selective about managing their resources and investing their time and talent to pursue
new opportunities, according to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National
Advertisers.
Search Agency Fee Structures
In addition to the more general digital
agency billing options, search marketing
agencies may offer the following fee models
to potential PPC clients:
1. Number of Keywords under Management.
Now becoming less popular, many search
agencies charge clients for the number of
keywords being managed and how many
times per day the keywords are updated.
If you are an advertiser being charged
by keyword, the ‘long tail’ keywords are
generally unproftable. While the long tail
may not normally be the majority of your
sales, in this pricing model, there is less
experimentation that can be proftably
implemented.
2. Charge Per Click. In the early days of
PPC, click costs could vary dramatically.
Advertisers would see their clicks remain
constant and yet their bills continued
to rise. The price-per-click billing model
evolved from advertisers looking to ensure
that their agencies were doing enough
keyword research to ensure that higher
click volume didn’t lower conversion. The
key to this billing method is ensuring that
all clicks, if not equal, are relevant.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Therefore, before – or instead of – initiating a more formal RFP process, you may want to begin by contacting some of
your marketing peers to fnd out which agencies they are using and why they chose the partners they did. Then call any
recommended agencies to discuss your business needs and whether or not they might be an appropriate ft. This step
serves three purposes:
1) It allows any agency that doesn’t want to respond to your RFP to opt out of the process right away.
2) It enables you to speak directly to an appropriate individual at the agency and establish a rapport.
3) It assures that you will be sending your RFP to the right person at the agency.
Some advertisers begin the selection process using a broad-based RFI to cast a wide net to between ten and 15 agencies
before homing in on a more targeted group of potential partners through an RFP. The RFI should query agencies about
their size, management team, organizational and operating structures, target customer, and digital capabilities. Include key
business terms upfront, for example, competitive conficts or non-compete requirements, travel policies, and minority hiring
and sustainability commitments. The result should be a streamlined two-page document with a deadline of two to three
weeks for agency responses.
An RFP follows through on the process to gather and assess targeted information from the agencies that seem most
interested in your business and would be the best ft for your advertising needs and culture. It should include tangible
factors such as the agency’s ability to provide scalability, proven results, and an acceptable pricing model; as well as
intangibles such as common goals, cultural ft, and chemistry. Industry experts recommend sending out no fewer than three
and no more than six to eight RFPs with a two-to-three week deadline for responses. (For more detailed information about
developing successful digital agency RFPs, see Appendix A.)
Step Four: Choosing the Right Agency
When you have received your RFP responses or conducted in-depth phone interviews with recommended agencies,
arrange for face-to-face presentations from each of the “fnalists.” During these meetings, consider quantitative factors
including pricing, channel expertise, and analytics/reporting capabilities; as well as qualitative – or intuitive – considerations
such as the agency’s culture, and the chemistry between your staff and the agency’s team. The following section discusses
some of these considerations in more depth.
• Brand/Reputation: Agency brands are important and provide a sense of the agency’s history and values. How long has
the agency been in business? Is it proftable? Does it have a business plan? Funding? What kind of employee turnover
does it have? How about client retention? These are questions you must have answers to. They will also provide clues to
the agency’s future and its vision.
• Channel Specialist or One-Stop Shop: Step One of the digital agency selection process was to do a thorough self-
evaluation of your business’s needs. Now it is time to decide: Is the right agency a channel specialist or a full-service
shop that can service all of your digital advertising needs? If you choose a specialist because the bulk of your digital
work is in SEO and email marketing, for example, can the agency service any future social marketing or PPC campaigns
that you begin? Similarly, as your business grows, can a boutique or specialist handle larger, more complex campaigns?
On the other hand, a full-service agency may offer a broad swath of channel services, but not have the depth of
experience in SEO or PPC that your business requires. Many times such agencies will be very strong in one area, and
only moderately knowledgeable in others.
• Vertical Market Expertise: Do the fnalists know your industry? Is that important to you? Some industry experts argue
that channel expertise is more valuable than vertical market experience. In other words, it is easier to get up to speed on
retail, travel, or healthcare digital success strategies than it is to learn how to run an effective Twitter campaign. However,
many advertisers believe that strong vertical knowledge is an advantage for their campaign work. If that is the case,
fnd out if the agency follows your vertical industry’s best practices to decide which strategic and tactical activities to
undertake.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
• Culture: The core values of an agency will foretell the kind of relationship you are likely to have. Choose an agency that
is collaborative, innovative, and proactive. Avoid agencies that tolerate fefdoms. If possible, do a tour of its offce, which
often will tell you a lot about its culture, effciency, and stability. The mark of a good agency is often in the cheerfulness
and energy in its corridors.
• Staff/Talent: One of the most important criteria in selecting an agency is the agency’s talent – particularly of the staff
that will manage your account. These people’s skills, dedication, and passion for your business will determine the
success of your digital campaigns. Make sure you understand who’s going to be on your team, what their roles are, and
how much time they will devote to your account. Agency turnover is a legitimate concern for clients. Ask to see the
agency’s turnover rate. Find out how the agency hires, promotes, and rewards its talent. How does the agency keep
current with the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing? Do staff go to seminars and conventions? Does the
management encourage ongoing educational efforts? Find out what formal training agency personnel has received, and
who specifcally has been credentialed and trained.
Secondly, fnd out if the agency does all the work in-house or if it relies on subcontractors for key functions. The more of
your work that gets farmed out, the less it is under the agency’s control – and your control. Subcontracting arrangements
can lead to serious execution problems including miscommunication, missed deadlines, and cost overruns.
• Client References: One of the best ways to get a true sense of an agency’s capabilities is to speak to its clients and
see case studies and samples of its work. Ask for and call agency references and ask specifcally about their satisfaction
with the agency relationship. Does the agency consistently meet timelines? Does it adhere to its quoted prices? Is the
account staff easy to work with? What results have been achieved? Ask the agency to prepare sample work for you
based on your website by the people who would be assigned the everyday tasks on your account. This isn’t to get free
advice, but rather to see the quality of the work that will be done on your account.
• Client Support: Most agencies work on a model of overlapping time, meaning you do not have a dedicated resource
assigned to your account, despite what you might otherwise be told by an account representative. Your goal should be
to understand how many hours will be applied each week to your account’s work by actual subject matter experts (SMEs)
in PPC, social media, or SEO. Make sure the agency is willing to assign a relationship manager to your business to serve
as a conduit for communication.
• Pricing: You need to be comfortable with an agency’s pricing model. If not, you’ll second guess whether or not you’re
being overcharged or underserviced. While pricing is important, it shouldn’t be the most important factor in making your
decision. Agencies are businesses hired to help your company achieve its goals on time and on budget. Make sure you
understand and agree on a fee structure that will leave both client and agency feeling served and fairly compensated.
• Deliverables: Make sure that you and the agency you select defne objectives and evaluation criteria before signing
a contract. You don’t want to be left wondering, month after month, whether the agency is producing results. Your
agency should be able to show you analytics on a regular basis and make suggestions and adjustments on the fy. How
can you know what’s working and not working if you aren’t analyzing reports on a consistent basis? Focus not only on
statistics, but also on consumer sentiment. For example, what are fans of your brand saying and doing in relation to the
social media campaign? This type of feedback will allow you to address concerns, initiate course corrections, and better
estimate your next moves.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Creating a Decision Matrix
You may fnd it helpful to create a “decision matrix” to decide which of these factors are most important to your business
goals. A decision matrix is a chart listing the attributes you are seeking in a digital agency, and includes a weighting factor
for each attribute, a score from 0-10 for each attribute, and the weighted score (e.g., the score multiplied by the weighting
factor). You will add the weighted scores together to arrive at a total score that can aid in differentiating some seemingly
similar agency competitors (see Table 9).
Step Five: Negotiate Contract Terms
Contract length can often be a sticking point in negotiations. Before signing any contract, you should clearly understand the
pricing, contract length, and renewal status. Many advertisers want the fexibility of a month-to-month contract. However,
agencies usually want longer contracts to ensure revenue fow. One factor to consider is that many digital campaigns,
particularly PPC and SEO programs, take several months to build results. If an agency is offering bundled services with
additional built-in costs (i.e., website design, domain name procurement, call-tracking numbers, etc.) then an annual
contract may be necessary. Sometimes annual contracts can include a three-month opt-out provision.
Decide if you want an “evergreen” contract, also known as an auto-renewal contract. In this scenario, the initial contract is
automatically renewed if neither party takes action. The beneft of an auto-renewal contract is that neither side has to do
additional paperwork after the contract is signed. The downside is that it doesn’t force either side to periodically evaluate
an account’s progress or performance. Signing a month-to-month contract also has advantages and disadvantages. The
disadvantage is that there is additional paperwork each month for both the client and agency. The upside is that it enables
advertisers to more frequently evaluate their agency relationship and campaign results.
Creative (2)
Staff/Talent (3)
Pricing (1)
Deliverables (2)
Client support (3)
Agency expertise (4)
Client references (4)
Total Weighted Score
Attribute
(Weighting factor)
5
7
8
10 6 12 8 16
21
8
8
7
24
7
9
5
27
5
8
6
16 6 12 7 14
18 8 24 8 24
8 32 7 28 7 28
7 28
133
7 28
135
5 5
142
Agency X
Score
Agency X
Weighted Score
Agency Y
Score
Agency Y
Weighted Score
Agency Z
Score
Agency Z
Weighted Score
Table 9: Sample Agency Decision Matrix
Source: Stephan Spencer, Third Door Media
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Conclusion
Choosing a digital agency is a complicated process, with many options available. From agency holding companies with
global networks to best-of-breed channel specialists to strategy oriented agencies with robust professional services, there is
no “one size fts all” approach to hiring a digital agency partner.
Each advertiser’s situation and needs are unique. The key to making a successful decision begins internally with a rigorous
self-assessment of your organization’s internal strengths, challenges, and needs from a business, staffng, and technology
perspective. From there, you will begin to look outward and evaluate the type of agency or agencies that will provide the
best ft, and then question and meet the agencies that fall into that category. Pricing is important, but shouldn’t be the most
important factor in making your decision.
Ultimately, an agency’s core values, talent, and dedication to your business will determine the success of your relationship
and your digital campaigns. Digital budgets and campaigns are getting bigger and playing a more integral role in overall
advertising strategies. Making the right selection can signal the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship for both
advertiser and agency, in which the client’s digital advertising programs more effciently scale and mature. n
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Appendix A: Guidelines for Developing an Effective RFP
Developing an effective RFP can be complicated and should include all relevant stakeholders within your business. Many
enterprises must solicit bids through the RFP process due to accounting or procurement requirements. All staff from each
relevant department should meet to develop the RFP and sign off on it before it is sent out. It will be frustrating for both
the agencies involved and your staff to have to redo the RFP because a key individual on your end wasn’t consulted, or you
didn’t ask the right questions or clearly identify your objectives and KPIs.
Some enterprise-level advertisers engage the services of a marketing management frm that can objectively guide them
through the RFI and RFP process. These types of frms can help break down corporate silos, bring together the appropriate
stakeholders within the business, and identify its digital advertising needs and strategic goals.
The most effective RFPs only request relevant information from the agency, and provide ample information about your
business and its digital advertising needs. It should refect high-level strategic goals and key performance indicators (KPIs),
rather than drill-down data geared toward IT or procurement. For example, mention your company’s most important KPIs
and how you will evaluate the success of your digital campaigns. When written properly, an RFP will facilitate the sales
process and ensure that everyone involved on both sides come to a shared understanding of the purpose, requirements,
scope, and structure of the intended engagement. It will allow agencies to respond more effectively to the RFP questions
and position you as a client that understands and respects the agency/client relationship.
Table A-1 illustrates some of the information that is most important to provide in an effective RFP to attract the types of
responses that will enable you to make the right choice.
Table A-1: Business Information to Provide in a Digital Agency RFP
• Industry structure and stage (early vs. mature; fragmented vs. consolidated)
• Market size ($)
• Customer/Buyer characteristics
• Company size (number of employees and/or revenue)
• Years in business, industry position
• Product/service information including unique value propositions (USPs)
• Sales/distribution channels and technology platforms
• Scope of work: digital channels for which you are seeking work
• Goals/KPIs: Higher conversion? More leads? Brand awareness?
• Say whether you are looking for a short- or long-term relationship
• If project oriented, detailed specs to enable more accurate bids
• Digital platforms installed, including SEO or PPC campaign management,
social media management, etc.
• Marketing automation or CRM systems installed and integrated with digital
platforms
• System and compatibility requirements
• State who will be involved in the agency evaluation
• Clarify the decision-making process
• Mention the most important criteria. i.e., price, location
• Say who will manage the relationship once a contract is signed
• Clear due date for a response (Two to three weeks is suffcient)
• NDA or non-compete clauses
• Legal terms/ownership of deliverables
Source: Third Door Media
Industry Overview
Company Background
Objectives and Goals
Technology
Decision Makers and Processes
Deadlines and Legal
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 19 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Conversely, there are many questions that you’ll need to ask an agency in an RFP. The key is to ask the right questions,
and respect the agency’s time and resources by avoiding questions that can be answered by a quick look at its website.
If procurement has driven the RFP process or been integrally involved, make sure that the questions are relevant and
appropriate for the advertising industry. While price is an important factor in making a decision about hiring an agency, it
should not be the only factor. Focus on questions that are specifc to your business situation and digital initiatives, with the
goal of gathering the data you’ll need to make the most informed decision possible. Table A-2 lists some of the relevant
agency questions that are most appropriate in an RFP. Agencies that are truly interested in winning your business will take
the time to answer these questions.
Table A-2: Questions to ask Digital Agencies in an RFP
• Agency history and expertise (years in business)
• Agency size (number of employees and billings)
• Specifc vertical industry experience/expertise
• Target customer (by $ and vertical market)
Agency Background
• Biographies of key executives
• Potential members of your account team and their experience
• Internal resources vs. agency use of subcontractors or outsourcing
• Employee churn rates and average tenure
Agency Staf?ng
• Average tenure and retention rate of agency clients
• Relevant client contact information
• Case studies with results
• Examples of the agency’s work in vertical markets or digital channels
Client References and Work
• Agency billing policies and terms
• Pricing structure for the account (i.e., retainer, commission, time, spend, or
performance based)
• Add-on fees
Pricing and Contract Terms
• SLA terms and costs for technology platforms
• Training and onboarding services included in fees
• Availability of key personnel (24/7 vs. business hours)
• Frequency of team phone calls, on-site visits, and reports
Customer Support
Source: Third Door Media
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 20 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Table A-3 provides an outline for more specialized types of digital work, for example, SEO campaigns or display retargeting
strategies. Details about timelines and technology are more important for these types of project or channel-specifc
engagements.
Table A-3: Sample SEO RFP Outline
I. Summary and Overview
a. This is an “Executive Summary” of the highlights of the RFP – minus the technical details. Introduce the challenge
your company is having and provide the agency with an overview of the rest of the RFP.
II. Technical Summary
a. Provide key pieces of information relevant to your project, i.e., technical requirements, description of the project’s
technical issues, your site’s current platform, etc. This section may originate from your IT department and targets
the agency’s programmers and delivery team.
III. Administration and Management
a. Describe who will be involved in the project from your end and what the timeline is for completion. Finalize the
framework of the project.
IV. Project Expectations and Delivery
a. Outline the evaluation criteria, monthly deliverables, and training you expect to receive to assess your goals and
KPIs. This will help the agency determine their cost to complete your work, as well as their suitability.
V. Deadlines and Budgets
a. Provide projected deadlines and budgets to avoid confusion over when a project should be completed and how
much it might cost.
b. Assess your budget based on the “range” of services you’ll need. For example, instead of saying the project
absolutely has to cost “X” amount, you are willing to spend within a range from “$X to $Y”.
Source: “How to Write a Killer RFP for Hiring an SEO Firm,” by Stephan Spencer (www.searchengineland.com)
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 21 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Appendix B: Resources
Blogs
B2B Marketing Blog/Webbiquity by Tom Pick.http://webbiquity.com
DigitalNext at www.adage.com
Small Agency Diary at www.adage.com
Websites
www.aaaa.org
www.adage.com
www.digitalmarketingdepot.com
www.iab.net
www.marketingland.com
Reports and White Papers
ANA/4A’s Guidelines for Agency Search. Published by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association
of Advertising Agencies.http://www.aaaa.org/news/bulletins/Documents/agency_search_white_paper.pdf
ANA/4A’s Agency Selection Briefng Guidance. Published by the Association of National Advertisers and the American
Association of Advertising Agencies.http://www.aaaa.org/agency/compensation/management/Pages/ANA-4As-Agency-
Selection-Briefng-Guidance.aspx?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=PromoBox1&utm_campaign=AgencySelectBrief
Guidance2013
Articles
Accomplishments, Complaints & Predictions: The Ultimate 2012 Year-End List. Author Vic Drabicky, Founder, January
Interactive.http://marketingland.com/accomplish...ictions-the-ultimate-2012-year-end-list-29644
Five Ways to Get More Out of Your Digital Agency. Author David Murdico, Managing Partner, Supercool Creative.http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ways-digital-agency/232856/
How to Choose a Marketing Agency. Author Tom Pick, Webbiquity blog.http://webbiquity.com/outsourced-marketing-services/how-to-choose-a-marketing-agency-ad-agency/
How to Select an Interactive Marketing Agency. Author Bradd Shorr, Director of Content & Social Media, Straight North.http://www.techipedia.com/2012/interactive-marketing-agency-selection/
How to Write an Ad Agency RFP. Author Tom Pick, Webbiquity blog.http://webbiquity.com/outsourced-marketing-services/how-to-write-an-ad-agency-rfp/
How to Write a Killer RFP for Hiring an SEO Firm. Author Stephan Spencer, Founder, NetConcepts.http://searchengineland.com/how-to-...uest-for-proposal-for-hiring-an-seo-frm-13417
PPC Management Options – Are Your Fees In line With the Advertiser’s Goals? Author Brad Geddes, Founder, Certifed
Knowledge.http://searchengineland.com/ppc-man...-fees-inline-with-the-advertisers-goals-14077
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 22 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Vetting an Agency: Protecting the Family Jewels. Author Duane Forrester, In-house SEM, Microsoft.http://searchengineland.com/vetting-an-agency-protecting-the-family-jewels-12219
What to Expect From an SEO/SEM Agency. Author Duane Forrester, In-house SEM, Microsoft.http://searchengineland.com/what-to-expect-from-an-seosem-agency-40361
What Matters Most When Selecting an Agency. Author Avi Dan, President, Avidan Strategies.http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/marketing-matters-selecting-agency/145554/
Agency Resources:
Below is contact information for agencies that have advertised in this report.
Covariohttp://www.covario.com
(858) 397-1500
Marin Softwarehttp://www.marinsoftware.com
(415) 399-2580
doc_500047275.pdf
This report was written for marketers and advertisers who are looking for an agency to manage some or all of their digital marketing initiatives
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014:
A Buyer’s Guide
A Digital Marketing Depot Research Report
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Scope and Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
Digital Advertising Agencies: Types and Services ....................................................................................................................... 2
Digital Agency Capabilities ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Table 1: Selected Digital Agency Capabilities ...................................................................................................................... 3
Professional Services vs. Proprietary Technology ..................................................................................................................... 4
Lines Blur between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media ............................................................................................................. 4
Table 2: The Lines Blur between Paid, Owned & Earned Media ......................................................................................... 5
Digital Agency Market Trends ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Trend #1: M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows ....................................................... 6
Table 3: Selected Agency Holding Company Mergers and Acquisitions, 2012-2013 ......................................................... 6
Digital’s Share of Ad Revenue Continues to Grow .................................................................................................................. 7
Table 4: Digital Services Share of Overall Agency Revenue, 2009-2012 ............................................................................. 7
Trend #2: Mobile Drives Gains in Digital Ad Revenues ........................................................................................................... 7
Table 5: Internet Advertising Revenues (in $M) First Half of 2012 vs. First Half of 2013 ..................................................... 8
Table 6: Internet Advertising Market Share, First Half 2012 vs. First Half 2013 ................................................................... 8
Trend #3: The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem ................................................................................. 9
Table 7: Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem ........................................................................................ 9
Table 8: Selected Google Corporate Advertising Agency Relationships .......................................................................... 10
Choosing a Digital Agency ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
Step One: Company Self-Assessment – Do You Need a Digital Agency? ............................................................................ 11
Step Two: Understand Agency Fee Structures ...................................................................................................................... 12
Potential Add-on fees ............................................................................................................................................................. 13
Search Agency Fee Structures ................................................................................................................................................ 13
Step Three: Begin the Selection Process: Phone Calls, RFIs and RFPs ................................................................................. 13
Step Four: Choosing the Right Agency ................................................................................................................................. 14
Creating a Decision Matrix ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 9: Sample Agency Decision Matrix ........................................................................................................................... 16
Step Five: Negotiate Contract Terms ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Appendix A: Guidelines for Developing an Effective RFP ........................................................................................................ 18
Table A-1: Business Information to Provide in a Digital Agency RFP ................................................................................. 18
Table A-2: Questions to ask Digital Agencies in an RFP .................................................................................................... 19
Table A-3: Sample SEO RFP Outline .................................................................................................................................. 20
Appendix B: Resources .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 1 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Scope and Methodology
This report was written for marketers and advertisers who are looking for an agency to manage some or all of their digital
marketing initiatives. The goal is to help the audience navigate the many choices available and make a more informed
decision within the current agency market, including what digital advertising capabilities and services are most important to
their organizations. This report answers the following questions:
• What trends are infuencing the digital agency landscape?
• How can I determine if my company needs a digital agency?
• What type of agency is the best ft for my organization?
• What is the process for choosing a digital agency?
• What questions do I need to include in an RFI or an RFP?
The report draws from Wikipedia’s defnition of an interactive agency to defne digital agencies as companies that provide
specialized advertising and marketing services for the digital space. They are independent from the client and provide an
outside point of view to the effort of selling the client’s products or services.
Digital agencies may provide some or all of the following capabilities: digital lead generation, digital brand development,
interactive marketing and communications strategy, rich media campaigns, interactive video brand experiences, website
design and development, e-learning tools, email marketing, public relations, SEO/PPC services, social media marketing,
mobile campaign development and management, content creation and management services, and data mining and ROI
assessments.
Many digital agencies that currently offer a broad array of digital capabilities began in search advertising, which is still
considered the foundation of digital advertising as evidenced by search’s predominant share of digital advertising dollars
spent.
If you are considering hiring an agency for one or more digital channels, this report will help you decide whether or not
you need to. This report has been completely updated since its December 2012 publication to include the latest industry
statistics, developing market trends, and new recommended steps for choosing an agency partner.
The report was prepared by conducting in-depth interviews with leading digital agency executives, advertisers, and industry
experts in October and November 2013. These interviews, in addition to third-party research, form the basis for this report.
In particular, Digital Marketing Depot would like to thank the following industry executives for their time and professional
insights:
Rhea Drysdale, CEO, Outspoken Media
George Gallate, CEO, RKG
Rob Garner, Chief Strategy Offcer, Advice Interactive
Jeff Johnson, SVP, Managing Director, Covario
Kevin Lee, CEO, Didit
Jason Tabeling, Partner, Rosetta
November 2013
Research/Writer: Karen Burka, Senior Research Consultant
Editor: Claire Schoen, VP, Marketing Services, Digital Marketing Depot (http://digitalmarketingdepot.com)
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 2 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Digital Advertising Agencies: Types and Services
Digital agencies are as varied as the needs of the advertisers and marketers who hire them. At the high end, for global
enterprises, are the agency holding companies with hundreds of full-service digital agencies around the world. There are
also boutique and specialty agencies (two terms that are used interchangeably in this report) that provide channel-specifc
digital marketing services such as mobile messaging programs, social media marketing, or SEO link-building campaigns.
And there are agencies that focus on strategy and professional services, such as branding or web design. Like any
organization, each type of agency has its own strengths, weaknesses, and culture.
Agencies owned by large media or holding companies can provide the following benefts to their clients:
• Diversity of capabilities from co-owned agency properties;
• Built-in sister agency relationships and priority referrals; and
• In-network effciencies and pricing.
Most full-service digital agencies manage a brand’s presence on many channels, manage a brand’s advertising technology/
analytics platforms, and provide professional services. Technology offered to clients, such as bid management software or
social media listening tools, is usually sourced from third parties. Client account management and support are largely based
on client size and spend. Agencies owned by holding companies generally require minimum monthly spends in the six-to-
eight fgure range. That level of investment typically buys a dedicated account staff; an “agency-within-an agency” that can
manage the brand across the entire holding company.
Working with a specialty or boutique agency offers unique benefts as well, including:
• More granular channel strategy and tactical expertise;
• Client access to agency decision makers and executive personnel; and
• Lower spending minimums.
Specialty agencies offer a subset of the services provided by full-service
agencies. These services may be channel specifc, such as social media
or SEO, or media specifc such as display advertising or email marketing
programs. Dozens of specialty agencies have launched over the past fve
years, a market dynamic called the “agency long tail” by some industry
executives. Prompted by the mid-market opportunity created by holding
company agencies with huge minimum spends, and wireless technologies
that have made it easier to start up small businesses, many large agency
executives with strong client relationships have left their frms after an
acquisition and opened specialty agencies.
Digital Agency Capabilities
Table 1 illustrates the broad range of services that digital agencies can provide. A full-service agency offers breadth of
professional and channel services, while specialty agencies can provide depth within a channel, including proprietary PPC or
SEO platforms and extensive client training in software use, integration, and customization.
Dozens of specialty
agencies have launched
over the past ?ve years,
a market dynamic called
the “agency long tail” by
some industry executives.
© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 3 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
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© 2014 Third Door Media, Inc. •http://digitalmarketingdepot.com 4 Email: [email protected]
MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Professional Services vs. Proprietary Technology
Digital agencies also can be differentiated by their focus on professional
services versus proprietary technology platforms. Agencies that emphasize
their professional services capabilities recommend and use third-party
technology such as PPC campaign management platforms, SEO tools, and
social media management platforms to manage their clients’ data and digital
campaigns. These agencies view their role as strategists that can analyze and
interpret data to provide actionable results and achieve their clients’ goals.
Agencies that develop and offer proprietary tools view their platforms as a
competitive advantage over third-party toolsets that are widely available.
The plethora of digital channels has left many advertisers drowning in
data. By providing technology platforms that are built and customized to
client needs, these agencies believe they are providing unique and critical
automation tools that collect, analyze, and optimize data for their clients.
Ultimately, agency and brand executives agree that it takes “smart people to run smart technology.” Attribution models,
for example, can include highly sophisticated algorithms. But scoring each of the many touch points in the conversion path
must be done by marketers or analysts with keen insight and understanding into the value of each channel for individual
customers.
Lines Blur between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media
Many agencies are adapting their service offerings to meet client demand for integrated campaigns that cut across
previously accepted lines between paid, owned, and earned media. Advertisers and agencies have traditionally classifed
media as either paid, owned, or earned. Paid media refers to advertising that is purchased, such as print, web, or broadcast
advertising. Owned media belongs to the brand, such as print brochures or website content, while earned media
encompasses public relations and reputation management.
Driven largely by social media and user-generated content, these media distinctions are no longer clear (see Table 2).
For example, Twitter is a social media channel, which can be considered owned media, but the brand bounce that occurs
from retweeting becomes earned media because it furthers brand awareness. Paid media now includes content marketing
campaigns or sponsored messages on social media channels -- as well as the more traditional display or PPC advertising.
Social strategy and mobile programs are closely linked, as are website and social or mobile app creative development. The
media are converging.
The result is that the lines are blurring for agencies and their clients, as well. Search advertising models of pay-per-click are
now available on social media networks. Whereas social marketing once meant a Facebook brand page, advertisers are
now allocating budget among a growing array of major social media including Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, and
Twitter.
SEO has spawned a new channel of content marketing, as marketers compete to generate traffc and attract customers.
Digital maps and applications for local markets such as Yelp or Foursquare have changed marketing at the local level,
both for small companies and national brands. Mobile marketing has become its own discipline, with unique design,
development, and distribution requirements.
Many agencies are
adapting their service
offerings to meet client
demand for integrated
campaigns that cut across
previously accepted lines
between paid, owned,
and earned media.
C
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CM
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13.0633 - Modify Adweek Full Page Ad.pdf 1 1/15/14 11:37 AM
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Google’s July 2013 transition to ‘enhanced campaigns’ introduced a whole new set of rules for paid search advertising; for
advertisers, this meant allocating resources to better understand and run campaigns under the new system.
In addition to changes in media and channels, marketers must keep up with changes in how media is being consumed.
The rapid growth in tablet and smartphone use continues to impact the advertising business; one outcome in 2013 was the
increased use of responsive web design to optimize how content and ads are delivered.
Faced with this ever-changing digital marketing landscape, limited resources, and higher C-level expectations, advertisers
and marketers are increasingly turning to digital agencies for their expertise.
Digital Agency Market Trends
The growth and evolution of the digital agency market is being driven by several important trends, including:
1. M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows
2. Mobile Drives Gains in Internet Ad Revenues.
3. The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem.
The following section discusses each of these trends in more detail.
Table 2: The Lines Blur Between Paid, Owned, and Earned Media
Paid Media
Paid search
Display
Social (FB ads/sponsored tweets)
Mobile (ads)
Email lists
Earned Media
SEO
Social (retweets/likes/shares)
reputation management)
Mobile (shares/reviews)
CSEs
Owned Media
Mobile (apps/games)
Website content
Social (FB pages,
blogs/ Twitter accts.)
Paid/Earned Media:
Social media ads, shares,
likes, reputation management
Mobile ads, shares, reviews
Paid/Owned Media:
Mobile ads, apps, games
Social ads, Twitter content,
blogs
Earned/Owned/Paid Media
Social ads, blogs, shares,
sponsored content
Mobile apps, shares, ads
Earned/Owned Media:
Social likes, shares, retweets
Mobile ads, shares, reviews
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Trend #1: M&A Continues to Reshape the Agency Landscape as Digital’s Share Grows
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continue to have a dramatic impact on the size and scope of the digital agency landscape,
both for large holding companies as well as smaller, specialty agencies.
International agency holding companies such as Japan’s Dentsu and London’s WPP spent billions on acquisitions over the
past two years in an effort to create worldwide, full-service networks that provide a broad spectrum of digital marketing
capabilities and services (see Table 3). Dentsu completed its nearly $5 billion deal to buy Aegis Group in March 2013 and
announced the creation of Dentsu Aegis Network, a global operating unit based in London. The new unit will manage all of
Dentsu’s global business operations outside Japan, as well as Aegis Media’s operations worldwide.
The largest merger of agency holding companies occurred in July 2013 when Publicis Groupe and Omnicom Group
announced a $35 billion agreement to merge the two holding companies – representing more than 250 agency brands
between them, including BBDO, Ketchum, Razorfsh, DigitasLBi, Leo Burnett, Starcom MediaVest, and Saatchi & Saatchi.
Aegis Group plc
Publicis Groupe
Interpublic Group
Dentsu
WPP
Omnicom Group
Acquirer
Communicate 2
I Spy Marketing
Catch Stone
Roundarch
Poke Media
Engauge Marketing
LBi International
Bartle Bogle Hegarty
August 2012
August 2012
July 2012
February 2012
September 2013
August 2013
January 2013
July 2012
FUSE
Nicole Weber Comms.
January 2012
January 2012
Aegis Group plc
John St.
C-Section
Okam Ltd.
CM Interactive
(Crossmedia)
Hungama Digital Services
Fortune Cookie
AKQA
DTDigital
July 2012
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
June 2012
August 2012
June 2012
January 2012
Publicis Groupe July 2013
India-based search agency
U.K.-based digital agency
Chinese digital agency bought for $86MM
Purchased for $125MM
Estimated $20 million acquisition of
London-based social media/mobile agency
Acquired Ohio-based digital agency for
undisclosed sum
$591 million purchase of Netherlands-based
digital technology agency
Purchased remaining 51% share of London-
based agency
Bought U.K.-based digital agency
Acquired leading German PR agency
$4.9 billion purchase price
Bought Toronto-based digital agency
Acquired Istanbul-based digital agency
Acquired holding company of London-
based Salmon Group of digital agency
services
Majority stake of Mexican digital agency
acquired by WPP subsidiary Wunderman
India-based digital agency purchased
by JWT
Acquired by WPP agency Posssible
Worldwide.
$550MM purchase price
WPP subsidiary Ogilvy bought 33.3% stake
in Australian digital agency
$35 billion merger
Acquired/Merged Date Notes
Table 3: Selected Agency Holding Company Mergers and Acquisitions, 2012-2013
Source: Third Door Media
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
For specialty agencies, acquisitions can bring access to a new software tool, or add new services to solidify an existing strength.
For example, SEM specialty agency Didit purchased a majority stake in Harrison Leifer DeMarco (HLD) in March 2013 to add
social marketing and reputation management to its existing suite of proprietary search tools and services. In August 2012, Didit
acquired Inceptor, a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperMedia that provides SEO, CSE, and social marketing capabilities.
In May 2013, RKG acquired Nine by Blue, an SEO software and consulting company founded by ex-Google executive
Vanessa Fox. The acquisition included Nine by Blue’s proprietary search analytics and diagnostic software, Blueprint, which
will become part of RKG’s SEO toolset.
International consulting frms such as Deloitte and Accenture are also jumping into the digital agency fray to be able to
service their clients’ digital advertising needs in house. In January 2012, Deloitte bought Seattle-based mobile agency
Ubermind, and launched Deloitte Digital several months later. Deloitte acquired another Seattle-based digital agency,
Banyan Branch, in October 2013. Accenture purchased London-based digital design agency Fjord in May 2013, adding to
its October 2012 acquisition of digital production agency AvVenta.
All of these acquirers expect to reap bottom-line rewards for their efforts to expand the breadth and depth of their digital
offerings, as digital’s slice of the agency revenue pie continues to grow.
Digital’s Share of Ad Revenue Continues to Grow
Digital revenue increased 6.9% in 2012 to reach $11.6 billion, according to Ad Age’s DataCenter, which compiles data on nearly
1,000 agencies and agency networks (see Table 4). Digital’s share of overall agency revenue has grown from 25.8% in 2009 to 32.5%
in 2012. Digital revenue growth outpaced general advertising revenue growth by more than two percentage points in 2012.
Note: Totals include pure-play digital agency revenues as well as digital revenues for all ad agencies tracked.
Source: Ad Age DataCenter
25.8%
28.0%
30.3%
32.5%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
2009 2010 2011 2012
$11.6B
$10.1B
$3.9B
$5.1B
Table 4: Digital Services Share of Overall Agency Revenue, 2009-2012
Trend #2: Mobile Drives Gains in Digital Ad Revenues
Led by triple-digit increases in mobile, advertiser adoption of digital media is driving record revenues for online publishers
and ad networks, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
For the frst half of 2013, U.S. Internet ad revenues surged to $20.1 billion, a 17.8% increase over $17.0 billion for the frst
half of 2012 (see Table 5). Mobile revenues grew from $1.2 billion in the frst half of 2012 to $3.0 billion for the same 2013
time period, a 144.6% increase. Mobile’s gains led its share of the Internet advertising market to grow from 7% to 15% (see
Table 6). As an advertising category, mobile is inching closer to banner ads, which grew only 4.4% in 2012.
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Search
Mobile
Lead Generation
Total
Banner Ads
Rich Media
Display Related
Classi?eds & Directories
Digital Video Comms
Sponsorships
Ad Category
$8,128
$1,242
$834
$17,028
$8,728
$3,038
$853
$20,066
$3,622
$495
$3,780
$640
$5,586
$1,160
$78
$6,078
$1,291
$78
$1,053
$416
$1,307
$351
7.4%
144.6%
2.3%
17.8%
4.4%
29.3%
8.8%
11.3%
--
24.1%
-15.6%
First Half 2012 First Half 2013 % Change
Table 5: Internet Advertising Revenues (in $M) First Half of 2012 vs. First Half of 2013
Note: Display Related includes banner ads, digital video commercials, rich media, and sponsorships.
Source: Internet Advertising Bureau
Table 6: Internet Advertising Market Share, First Half 2012 vs. First Half 2013
Notes: Display Related includes banner ads, digital video commercials, rich media, and sponsorships.
Email market share is calculated to be 0% and therefore not represented in chart.
Source: Internet Advertising Bureau.
Search
Display Related
Mobile
Classifieds & Directories
Lead Generation
First Half of 2012 First Half of 2013
48%
43%
30%
15%
33%
7%
7%
6%
4%
5%
Digital video commercials, rich media, and classifeds and directories all experienced double-digit growth in the frst half
of 2013. Digital sponsorship was the only Internet advertising category to see revenue decline in the frst half of 2013. The
IAB’s totals include revenues from websites, ad networks, commercial online services, mobile devices, email providers, and
other companies selling online advertising. These numbers represent a subset of all media services provided by agencies,
but demonstrate just how quickly digital advertising continues to grow.
For the full-year 2012, the IAB found that overall U.S. Internet advertising revenue reached $36.6 billion in 2012, a 15.2%
increase over $31.7 billion in 2011.
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Advertiser/Client
Agency of
Record
(AOR)
PR/Comms
Agency
Media
Buying
Agency
Creative
Agency
Search/Social
Agency
Brand
Specialists
Broadcast
Agency
SEO
Specialists
Table 7: Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem
Source: Third Door Media
Trend #3: The Increasing Complexity of the Client/Agency Ecosystem
Advertisers’ combined demands for both best-of-breed channel expertise and a more holistic, integrated digital strategy
is expanding the size and complexity of the client/agency ecosystem. Enterprise marketers, in particular, are looking for an
omnichannel approach that provides a 360-degree view of marketing and advertising campaigns – both digital and offine –
as well as customer behavior, lifecycles, and lifetime value.
To achieve these goals, enterprise clients are hiring more agencies and then expecting those agencies to collaborate and
work together more closely to align data collection, use, optimization, and campaign management. The client/agency
ecosystem increasingly includes an agency of record (AOR) as well as public relations, PPC, SEO, social, creative, strategy,
and media buying agencies (see Table 7). At the same time, C-suite executives are getting more involved in agency
relationships to ensure accountability and cooperation in light of bigger digital budgets and more partners.
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
A look at Ad Age’s 100 Leading National Advertisers shows that the majority of national advertisers have multiple agency
relationships and, in many cases, several agencies managing the same channels including digital, social, and creative. Table
8 illustrates a selected number of Google’s agency relationships for its corporate advertising work.
These more complex client/agency ecosystems have brought with them a number of data management issues, including
questions around data access, sharing, interpretation, and transparency. Client/agency contracts include more iron-clad
agreements about what data can or cannot be shared within the ecosystem. The fow of data to and from the client with
disparate agencies is often managed by internal marketing staff. Even when legally cleared, however, data sharing across
agencies or channels often results in data gaps and poor data hygiene, which can compromise results.
In most cases, digital technology platforms are managed by the agency “closest to the technology” or executing the
marketing programs within the discipline (i.e. search or mobile). However, industry executives agree that there are no clear
data-sharing rules or guidelines. It will take time before comprehensive best practices emerge to help clients and agencies
sort through these critical issues.
Table 8: Selected Google Corporate Advertising Agency Relationships
Source: Ad Age DataCenter, Third Door Media
CRM
MRM
RAPP
Digital
AKQA
Blue State Digital
Huge
Mekanism
Mullen
72andSunny
Johannes Leonardo
Bartle, Bogle,
Hegarty
Mullen
Public Relations
Republica
Mullen
Media Buying
PHD
Events, Engagement
& Promotion
Tenthwave Digital
TBA Global
Creative
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Choosing a Digital Agency
Ultimately, the decision to hire a digital agency is a signifcant investment that requires a rigorous evaluation of your
business’s and any potential agency partner’s needs, resources, and cultures. The following sections discuss fve steps
involved in making a more informed and successful choice.
Step One: Company Self-Assessment – Do You Need a Digital Agency?
Deciding whether or not your company needs to hire a digital agency calls for the same evaluative steps involved in any
signifcant investment, including a comprehensive self-assessment of your organization’s internal strengths, challenges, and
needs from a business, staffng, and technology perspective. This includes answering questions such as:
• What are the primary objectives we want to achieve? Working with an agency can help advertisers that are looking
to scale their digital initiatives but lack enough in-house resources to do so. Find clarity and consensus on what you’re
looking to achieve. If your digital programs are falling short of management’s ROI goals, an agency’s expertise may be
able to help you improve campaign or channel results.
• Do we need a full-service agency or specialist? Traditionally, advertisers have hired an AOR to handle all of their
advertising needs. But one-stop advertising shops may not represent best-of-breed expertise in every digital channel.
Many advertisers hire both AORs and boutique agencies with expertise in SEO or social media, for example. If managing
multiple agencies is too cumbersome or expensive, a full-service digital agency may be the right choice.
• Who will manage the agency relationship? Every successful partnership needs a champion who is invested in that
partnership’s success and can pull together the disparate groups that have a stake in the outcome or a role to play.
For example, marketers may voice different wants and needs than an IT department, but both may be important to
campaign development and execution. By designating a “point person” within the business even before you send out
an RFP, you will ensure the steady fow of information throughout the process so that expectations are met.
It is also vital to assess your own business’s culture and priorities before beginning the selection process. For example,
is good creative more important than reporting capabilities? If so, you’ll need to target agencies with those strengths. If
not, you’ll want to speak to more agencies with strong or proprietary analytical tools or capabilities. Here are several other
factors to consider:
Accountability: Digital campaigns have many moving parts, and in-house marketers can often be too busy to micromanage
every detail. Think about how much you’ll need to rely on your agency to stay on top of every deliverable and how
proactive you’ll want them to be regarding any campaigns that aren’t going according to plan.
Flexibility: How fexible and accommodating do you need an agency to be? In-house marketing teams often experience
scope creep, which can create missed deadlines and budget overruns for their agencies. Not all agencies have the
staff or inclination to switch gears mid-campaign when clients request changes. If it’s important to you that an agency
accommodates your wishes, even if it costs time and money, make sure to say so up front.
Communication: How much communication do you want or need? How important is the geographic location of your
agency? You may be the type to ask a lot of questions or want to have periodic in-person meetings. If so, look for an
agency that has an offce close to your location and welcomes the frequent interaction. If you’re looking for a more turn-key
relationship, location won’t be as important as the confdence and skill of the account team managing your business.
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Step Two: Understand Agency Fee Structures
Agency free structures vary widely, even within client accounts. It is not uncommon for a client to compensate their agency
using different fee structures for different types of media campaigns. For example, a common agency fee model for paid
media work is percentage of spend. Typically, an agency will be paid 10-20% of a client’s digital media spend on paid
search or display advertising campaigns. Smaller clients may pay a higher percentage, while enterprise clients may pay a
smaller percentage due to the larger dollar volume of their accounts.
Fee-based or retainer-based models are quickly gaining traction, most often at the expense of commission-based
compensation among large brands and their agencies. The Association of National Advertisers’ 2013 Trends in Agency
Compensation Survey found that fee-based agreements have grown to 81% of all compensation agreements, while
commission-based compensation has fallen to just 5% of all compensation agreements. The two compensation models
have been on opposite trajectories since 1994, according to the ANA survey, when commission-based models represented
61% of all agreements, and fee-based models accounted for 35% of agency compensation agreements.
Fee-based models have become more attractive because they provide predictable expenses for marketers and advertisers,
particularly on long-term accounts that require ongoing maintenance, such as monitoring SEO rankings or social media
content. Retainers may also encourage agencies to test new campaign strategies and tactics, knowing that they will be
compensated for their time regardless of results.
Each fee structure has advantages and challenges for different types of media (see Table 8). Many agencies use time-based
pricing, which is based on a set hourly fee to track all time spent on a client’s earned and owned media accounts such as
SEO or social. In these types of arrangements, it is important for the client and agency to discuss and negotiate minimums
and perhaps maximums to facilitate budget planning. Clients must also be vigilant about agency staff effciency, since the
agency is paid for an agreed-upon number of hours, regardless of how much work is accomplished.
Percentage of spend
Fee-based or Retainer
Time based
Performance-based
Fee Model
Paid media (PPC, display) Expense predictability.
Owned and earned (SEO,
social, mobile)
Consistent, predictable
expenses. May encourage
more long-term, strategic
thinking because agency is
paid regardless of results.
Earned and owned media
(SEO, social, mobile)
Negotiated hourly fee
assures client is only paying
for actual time put into
account work.
Paid and earned media (Paid
search, display, some social)
Agency shares risk with
the client on campaign
performance.
Agency goal to increase spending and
media buys may result in higher costs
but depress ROI.
Large spending or budget changes
may necessitate renegotiating fees.
Questions may emerge about whether
account staff is working effciently or
enough hours.
Less predictable expenses that depend
on campaigns being run on time or in
a particular time frame. Questions may
emerge about whether account staff is
working effciently.
Frequent renegotiating due to over- or
underperforming campaigns. Agency
may stick to “tried and true” tactics to
guarantee revenue, rather than look at
long-term results or strategy.
Most Appropriate Media Advantages Challenges
Table 8: Selected Digital Agency Fee Structures
Source: Third Door Media
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Performance-based hybrids that include a time-based, fxed-fee, or
percentage-of-spend rate, as well as a smaller performance-based
component for paid media work are generating mixed results for
both agencies and advertisers. The goal is for clients and agencies to
share the risk when trying new campaign strategies or tactics, yet fairly
compensate the agency for its time and work. This model also works as
a way for agencies to become more competitive in their base pricing;
by adding in bonuses based on performance levels, the initial agency
fee may be lowered.
However, some industry experts caution that performance-based
models can actually discourage innovation precisely because of the risks
involved. Some agencies may not feel comfortable with taking on extra
work with no guaranteed reward. Other agencies and advertisers cite
frequently renegotiating contracts when bonuses are met as another
drawback. Successful performance-based compensation arrangements
that beneft both agency and client require trust, negotiation, and clarity
about campaign rules and ownership. For example, an agency might
require implementation of all agency-recommended landing page
changes or updates within a certain time frame to ensure the types of
results needed to kick in the performance bonus.
Potential Add-on Fees
Third-party software and campaign set-up fees are common agency
add-on charges. Setting up digital marketing campaigns can be time
consuming. Once an advertiser’s goals are understood, an agency
should openly discuss with the advertiser how long a campaign will take
to set up. Depending on the complexity of this set up, an advertiser
may be charged a one-time fee or monthly installments.
Some agencies will roll third-party software fees into a monthly
management fee, making them less transparent. It is important for
advertisers to understand what an agency is doing in house and what
it is outsourcing, including why the function is being outsourced and what are the costs associated with the software. In
some instances, agencies provide excellent services but do not have the development team to write their own applications.
Conversely, there are some excellent software solutions that do not offer agency services and focus on providing the best
software possible. The match of these two different teams can provide a complete solution to meet all of an advertiser’s
needs. (Note: Many agencies also develop and provide proprietary software solutions in addition to their agency services.)
Step Three: Begin the Selection Process: Phone Calls, RFIs, and RFPs
Once you’ve decided to hire a digital agency, the next step is to develop a list of potential agency partners to contact –
whether by phone, request for information (RFI), or request for proposal (RFP).
Many digital agency executives report that the majority of their new business comes from referrals rather than RFPs.
Agencies today are becoming more selective about managing their resources and investing their time and talent to pursue
new opportunities, according to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and the Association of National
Advertisers.
Search Agency Fee Structures
In addition to the more general digital
agency billing options, search marketing
agencies may offer the following fee models
to potential PPC clients:
1. Number of Keywords under Management.
Now becoming less popular, many search
agencies charge clients for the number of
keywords being managed and how many
times per day the keywords are updated.
If you are an advertiser being charged
by keyword, the ‘long tail’ keywords are
generally unproftable. While the long tail
may not normally be the majority of your
sales, in this pricing model, there is less
experimentation that can be proftably
implemented.
2. Charge Per Click. In the early days of
PPC, click costs could vary dramatically.
Advertisers would see their clicks remain
constant and yet their bills continued
to rise. The price-per-click billing model
evolved from advertisers looking to ensure
that their agencies were doing enough
keyword research to ensure that higher
click volume didn’t lower conversion. The
key to this billing method is ensuring that
all clicks, if not equal, are relevant.
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MARKET I NTELLI GENCE REPORT:
Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Therefore, before – or instead of – initiating a more formal RFP process, you may want to begin by contacting some of
your marketing peers to fnd out which agencies they are using and why they chose the partners they did. Then call any
recommended agencies to discuss your business needs and whether or not they might be an appropriate ft. This step
serves three purposes:
1) It allows any agency that doesn’t want to respond to your RFP to opt out of the process right away.
2) It enables you to speak directly to an appropriate individual at the agency and establish a rapport.
3) It assures that you will be sending your RFP to the right person at the agency.
Some advertisers begin the selection process using a broad-based RFI to cast a wide net to between ten and 15 agencies
before homing in on a more targeted group of potential partners through an RFP. The RFI should query agencies about
their size, management team, organizational and operating structures, target customer, and digital capabilities. Include key
business terms upfront, for example, competitive conficts or non-compete requirements, travel policies, and minority hiring
and sustainability commitments. The result should be a streamlined two-page document with a deadline of two to three
weeks for agency responses.
An RFP follows through on the process to gather and assess targeted information from the agencies that seem most
interested in your business and would be the best ft for your advertising needs and culture. It should include tangible
factors such as the agency’s ability to provide scalability, proven results, and an acceptable pricing model; as well as
intangibles such as common goals, cultural ft, and chemistry. Industry experts recommend sending out no fewer than three
and no more than six to eight RFPs with a two-to-three week deadline for responses. (For more detailed information about
developing successful digital agency RFPs, see Appendix A.)
Step Four: Choosing the Right Agency
When you have received your RFP responses or conducted in-depth phone interviews with recommended agencies,
arrange for face-to-face presentations from each of the “fnalists.” During these meetings, consider quantitative factors
including pricing, channel expertise, and analytics/reporting capabilities; as well as qualitative – or intuitive – considerations
such as the agency’s culture, and the chemistry between your staff and the agency’s team. The following section discusses
some of these considerations in more depth.
• Brand/Reputation: Agency brands are important and provide a sense of the agency’s history and values. How long has
the agency been in business? Is it proftable? Does it have a business plan? Funding? What kind of employee turnover
does it have? How about client retention? These are questions you must have answers to. They will also provide clues to
the agency’s future and its vision.
• Channel Specialist or One-Stop Shop: Step One of the digital agency selection process was to do a thorough self-
evaluation of your business’s needs. Now it is time to decide: Is the right agency a channel specialist or a full-service
shop that can service all of your digital advertising needs? If you choose a specialist because the bulk of your digital
work is in SEO and email marketing, for example, can the agency service any future social marketing or PPC campaigns
that you begin? Similarly, as your business grows, can a boutique or specialist handle larger, more complex campaigns?
On the other hand, a full-service agency may offer a broad swath of channel services, but not have the depth of
experience in SEO or PPC that your business requires. Many times such agencies will be very strong in one area, and
only moderately knowledgeable in others.
• Vertical Market Expertise: Do the fnalists know your industry? Is that important to you? Some industry experts argue
that channel expertise is more valuable than vertical market experience. In other words, it is easier to get up to speed on
retail, travel, or healthcare digital success strategies than it is to learn how to run an effective Twitter campaign. However,
many advertisers believe that strong vertical knowledge is an advantage for their campaign work. If that is the case,
fnd out if the agency follows your vertical industry’s best practices to decide which strategic and tactical activities to
undertake.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
• Culture: The core values of an agency will foretell the kind of relationship you are likely to have. Choose an agency that
is collaborative, innovative, and proactive. Avoid agencies that tolerate fefdoms. If possible, do a tour of its offce, which
often will tell you a lot about its culture, effciency, and stability. The mark of a good agency is often in the cheerfulness
and energy in its corridors.
• Staff/Talent: One of the most important criteria in selecting an agency is the agency’s talent – particularly of the staff
that will manage your account. These people’s skills, dedication, and passion for your business will determine the
success of your digital campaigns. Make sure you understand who’s going to be on your team, what their roles are, and
how much time they will devote to your account. Agency turnover is a legitimate concern for clients. Ask to see the
agency’s turnover rate. Find out how the agency hires, promotes, and rewards its talent. How does the agency keep
current with the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing? Do staff go to seminars and conventions? Does the
management encourage ongoing educational efforts? Find out what formal training agency personnel has received, and
who specifcally has been credentialed and trained.
Secondly, fnd out if the agency does all the work in-house or if it relies on subcontractors for key functions. The more of
your work that gets farmed out, the less it is under the agency’s control – and your control. Subcontracting arrangements
can lead to serious execution problems including miscommunication, missed deadlines, and cost overruns.
• Client References: One of the best ways to get a true sense of an agency’s capabilities is to speak to its clients and
see case studies and samples of its work. Ask for and call agency references and ask specifcally about their satisfaction
with the agency relationship. Does the agency consistently meet timelines? Does it adhere to its quoted prices? Is the
account staff easy to work with? What results have been achieved? Ask the agency to prepare sample work for you
based on your website by the people who would be assigned the everyday tasks on your account. This isn’t to get free
advice, but rather to see the quality of the work that will be done on your account.
• Client Support: Most agencies work on a model of overlapping time, meaning you do not have a dedicated resource
assigned to your account, despite what you might otherwise be told by an account representative. Your goal should be
to understand how many hours will be applied each week to your account’s work by actual subject matter experts (SMEs)
in PPC, social media, or SEO. Make sure the agency is willing to assign a relationship manager to your business to serve
as a conduit for communication.
• Pricing: You need to be comfortable with an agency’s pricing model. If not, you’ll second guess whether or not you’re
being overcharged or underserviced. While pricing is important, it shouldn’t be the most important factor in making your
decision. Agencies are businesses hired to help your company achieve its goals on time and on budget. Make sure you
understand and agree on a fee structure that will leave both client and agency feeling served and fairly compensated.
• Deliverables: Make sure that you and the agency you select defne objectives and evaluation criteria before signing
a contract. You don’t want to be left wondering, month after month, whether the agency is producing results. Your
agency should be able to show you analytics on a regular basis and make suggestions and adjustments on the fy. How
can you know what’s working and not working if you aren’t analyzing reports on a consistent basis? Focus not only on
statistics, but also on consumer sentiment. For example, what are fans of your brand saying and doing in relation to the
social media campaign? This type of feedback will allow you to address concerns, initiate course corrections, and better
estimate your next moves.
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Creating a Decision Matrix
You may fnd it helpful to create a “decision matrix” to decide which of these factors are most important to your business
goals. A decision matrix is a chart listing the attributes you are seeking in a digital agency, and includes a weighting factor
for each attribute, a score from 0-10 for each attribute, and the weighted score (e.g., the score multiplied by the weighting
factor). You will add the weighted scores together to arrive at a total score that can aid in differentiating some seemingly
similar agency competitors (see Table 9).
Step Five: Negotiate Contract Terms
Contract length can often be a sticking point in negotiations. Before signing any contract, you should clearly understand the
pricing, contract length, and renewal status. Many advertisers want the fexibility of a month-to-month contract. However,
agencies usually want longer contracts to ensure revenue fow. One factor to consider is that many digital campaigns,
particularly PPC and SEO programs, take several months to build results. If an agency is offering bundled services with
additional built-in costs (i.e., website design, domain name procurement, call-tracking numbers, etc.) then an annual
contract may be necessary. Sometimes annual contracts can include a three-month opt-out provision.
Decide if you want an “evergreen” contract, also known as an auto-renewal contract. In this scenario, the initial contract is
automatically renewed if neither party takes action. The beneft of an auto-renewal contract is that neither side has to do
additional paperwork after the contract is signed. The downside is that it doesn’t force either side to periodically evaluate
an account’s progress or performance. Signing a month-to-month contract also has advantages and disadvantages. The
disadvantage is that there is additional paperwork each month for both the client and agency. The upside is that it enables
advertisers to more frequently evaluate their agency relationship and campaign results.
Creative (2)
Staff/Talent (3)
Pricing (1)
Deliverables (2)
Client support (3)
Agency expertise (4)
Client references (4)
Total Weighted Score
Attribute
(Weighting factor)
5
7
8
10 6 12 8 16
21
8
8
7
24
7
9
5
27
5
8
6
16 6 12 7 14
18 8 24 8 24
8 32 7 28 7 28
7 28
133
7 28
135
5 5
142
Agency X
Score
Agency X
Weighted Score
Agency Y
Score
Agency Y
Weighted Score
Agency Z
Score
Agency Z
Weighted Score
Table 9: Sample Agency Decision Matrix
Source: Stephan Spencer, Third Door Media
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Conclusion
Choosing a digital agency is a complicated process, with many options available. From agency holding companies with
global networks to best-of-breed channel specialists to strategy oriented agencies with robust professional services, there is
no “one size fts all” approach to hiring a digital agency partner.
Each advertiser’s situation and needs are unique. The key to making a successful decision begins internally with a rigorous
self-assessment of your organization’s internal strengths, challenges, and needs from a business, staffng, and technology
perspective. From there, you will begin to look outward and evaluate the type of agency or agencies that will provide the
best ft, and then question and meet the agencies that fall into that category. Pricing is important, but shouldn’t be the most
important factor in making your decision.
Ultimately, an agency’s core values, talent, and dedication to your business will determine the success of your relationship
and your digital campaigns. Digital budgets and campaigns are getting bigger and playing a more integral role in overall
advertising strategies. Making the right selection can signal the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship for both
advertiser and agency, in which the client’s digital advertising programs more effciently scale and mature. n
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Appendix A: Guidelines for Developing an Effective RFP
Developing an effective RFP can be complicated and should include all relevant stakeholders within your business. Many
enterprises must solicit bids through the RFP process due to accounting or procurement requirements. All staff from each
relevant department should meet to develop the RFP and sign off on it before it is sent out. It will be frustrating for both
the agencies involved and your staff to have to redo the RFP because a key individual on your end wasn’t consulted, or you
didn’t ask the right questions or clearly identify your objectives and KPIs.
Some enterprise-level advertisers engage the services of a marketing management frm that can objectively guide them
through the RFI and RFP process. These types of frms can help break down corporate silos, bring together the appropriate
stakeholders within the business, and identify its digital advertising needs and strategic goals.
The most effective RFPs only request relevant information from the agency, and provide ample information about your
business and its digital advertising needs. It should refect high-level strategic goals and key performance indicators (KPIs),
rather than drill-down data geared toward IT or procurement. For example, mention your company’s most important KPIs
and how you will evaluate the success of your digital campaigns. When written properly, an RFP will facilitate the sales
process and ensure that everyone involved on both sides come to a shared understanding of the purpose, requirements,
scope, and structure of the intended engagement. It will allow agencies to respond more effectively to the RFP questions
and position you as a client that understands and respects the agency/client relationship.
Table A-1 illustrates some of the information that is most important to provide in an effective RFP to attract the types of
responses that will enable you to make the right choice.
Table A-1: Business Information to Provide in a Digital Agency RFP
• Industry structure and stage (early vs. mature; fragmented vs. consolidated)
• Market size ($)
• Customer/Buyer characteristics
• Company size (number of employees and/or revenue)
• Years in business, industry position
• Product/service information including unique value propositions (USPs)
• Sales/distribution channels and technology platforms
• Scope of work: digital channels for which you are seeking work
• Goals/KPIs: Higher conversion? More leads? Brand awareness?
• Say whether you are looking for a short- or long-term relationship
• If project oriented, detailed specs to enable more accurate bids
• Digital platforms installed, including SEO or PPC campaign management,
social media management, etc.
• Marketing automation or CRM systems installed and integrated with digital
platforms
• System and compatibility requirements
• State who will be involved in the agency evaluation
• Clarify the decision-making process
• Mention the most important criteria. i.e., price, location
• Say who will manage the relationship once a contract is signed
• Clear due date for a response (Two to three weeks is suffcient)
• NDA or non-compete clauses
• Legal terms/ownership of deliverables
Source: Third Door Media
Industry Overview
Company Background
Objectives and Goals
Technology
Decision Makers and Processes
Deadlines and Legal
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Conversely, there are many questions that you’ll need to ask an agency in an RFP. The key is to ask the right questions,
and respect the agency’s time and resources by avoiding questions that can be answered by a quick look at its website.
If procurement has driven the RFP process or been integrally involved, make sure that the questions are relevant and
appropriate for the advertising industry. While price is an important factor in making a decision about hiring an agency, it
should not be the only factor. Focus on questions that are specifc to your business situation and digital initiatives, with the
goal of gathering the data you’ll need to make the most informed decision possible. Table A-2 lists some of the relevant
agency questions that are most appropriate in an RFP. Agencies that are truly interested in winning your business will take
the time to answer these questions.
Table A-2: Questions to ask Digital Agencies in an RFP
• Agency history and expertise (years in business)
• Agency size (number of employees and billings)
• Specifc vertical industry experience/expertise
• Target customer (by $ and vertical market)
Agency Background
• Biographies of key executives
• Potential members of your account team and their experience
• Internal resources vs. agency use of subcontractors or outsourcing
• Employee churn rates and average tenure
Agency Staf?ng
• Average tenure and retention rate of agency clients
• Relevant client contact information
• Case studies with results
• Examples of the agency’s work in vertical markets or digital channels
Client References and Work
• Agency billing policies and terms
• Pricing structure for the account (i.e., retainer, commission, time, spend, or
performance based)
• Add-on fees
Pricing and Contract Terms
• SLA terms and costs for technology platforms
• Training and onboarding services included in fees
• Availability of key personnel (24/7 vs. business hours)
• Frequency of team phone calls, on-site visits, and reports
Customer Support
Source: Third Door Media
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Table A-3 provides an outline for more specialized types of digital work, for example, SEO campaigns or display retargeting
strategies. Details about timelines and technology are more important for these types of project or channel-specifc
engagements.
Table A-3: Sample SEO RFP Outline
I. Summary and Overview
a. This is an “Executive Summary” of the highlights of the RFP – minus the technical details. Introduce the challenge
your company is having and provide the agency with an overview of the rest of the RFP.
II. Technical Summary
a. Provide key pieces of information relevant to your project, i.e., technical requirements, description of the project’s
technical issues, your site’s current platform, etc. This section may originate from your IT department and targets
the agency’s programmers and delivery team.
III. Administration and Management
a. Describe who will be involved in the project from your end and what the timeline is for completion. Finalize the
framework of the project.
IV. Project Expectations and Delivery
a. Outline the evaluation criteria, monthly deliverables, and training you expect to receive to assess your goals and
KPIs. This will help the agency determine their cost to complete your work, as well as their suitability.
V. Deadlines and Budgets
a. Provide projected deadlines and budgets to avoid confusion over when a project should be completed and how
much it might cost.
b. Assess your budget based on the “range” of services you’ll need. For example, instead of saying the project
absolutely has to cost “X” amount, you are willing to spend within a range from “$X to $Y”.
Source: “How to Write a Killer RFP for Hiring an SEO Firm,” by Stephan Spencer (www.searchengineland.com)
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Appendix B: Resources
Blogs
B2B Marketing Blog/Webbiquity by Tom Pick.http://webbiquity.com
DigitalNext at www.adage.com
Small Agency Diary at www.adage.com
Websites
www.aaaa.org
www.adage.com
www.digitalmarketingdepot.com
www.iab.net
www.marketingland.com
Reports and White Papers
ANA/4A’s Guidelines for Agency Search. Published by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association
of Advertising Agencies.http://www.aaaa.org/news/bulletins/Documents/agency_search_white_paper.pdf
ANA/4A’s Agency Selection Briefng Guidance. Published by the Association of National Advertisers and the American
Association of Advertising Agencies.http://www.aaaa.org/agency/compensation/management/Pages/ANA-4As-Agency-
Selection-Briefng-Guidance.aspx?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=PromoBox1&utm_campaign=AgencySelectBrief
Guidance2013
Articles
Accomplishments, Complaints & Predictions: The Ultimate 2012 Year-End List. Author Vic Drabicky, Founder, January
Interactive.http://marketingland.com/accomplish...ictions-the-ultimate-2012-year-end-list-29644
Five Ways to Get More Out of Your Digital Agency. Author David Murdico, Managing Partner, Supercool Creative.http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ways-digital-agency/232856/
How to Choose a Marketing Agency. Author Tom Pick, Webbiquity blog.http://webbiquity.com/outsourced-marketing-services/how-to-choose-a-marketing-agency-ad-agency/
How to Select an Interactive Marketing Agency. Author Bradd Shorr, Director of Content & Social Media, Straight North.http://www.techipedia.com/2012/interactive-marketing-agency-selection/
How to Write an Ad Agency RFP. Author Tom Pick, Webbiquity blog.http://webbiquity.com/outsourced-marketing-services/how-to-write-an-ad-agency-rfp/
How to Write a Killer RFP for Hiring an SEO Firm. Author Stephan Spencer, Founder, NetConcepts.http://searchengineland.com/how-to-...uest-for-proposal-for-hiring-an-seo-frm-13417
PPC Management Options – Are Your Fees In line With the Advertiser’s Goals? Author Brad Geddes, Founder, Certifed
Knowledge.http://searchengineland.com/ppc-man...-fees-inline-with-the-advertisers-goals-14077
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Digital Advertising Agencies 2014: A Buyer’s Guide
Vetting an Agency: Protecting the Family Jewels. Author Duane Forrester, In-house SEM, Microsoft.http://searchengineland.com/vetting-an-agency-protecting-the-family-jewels-12219
What to Expect From an SEO/SEM Agency. Author Duane Forrester, In-house SEM, Microsoft.http://searchengineland.com/what-to-expect-from-an-seosem-agency-40361
What Matters Most When Selecting an Agency. Author Avi Dan, President, Avidan Strategies.http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/marketing-matters-selecting-agency/145554/
Agency Resources:
Below is contact information for agencies that have advertised in this report.
Covariohttp://www.covario.com
(858) 397-1500
Marin Softwarehttp://www.marinsoftware.com
(415) 399-2580
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