{"id":712,"date":"2016-02-02T10:44:15","date_gmt":"2016-02-02T10:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/?p=712"},"modified":"2016-02-02T10:44:15","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T10:44:15","slug":"the-advertiser-agency-battle-rumbles-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/the-advertiser-agency-battle-rumbles-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Advertiser Agency Battle Rumbles On"},"content":{"rendered":"

The argument between advertisers and media agencies in the USA over transparency rumbles on. Earlier Cog Blogs have commented on advertisers\u2019 concerns over the agencies\u2019 media buying practices, and their hiring (via their trade body the ANA) of two consultancies to look into the whole matter of where the money goes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, in what sounds like an attempt to get their retaliation in way before the consultants have even reported, the agencies\u2019 trade body (the 4A\u2019s) last week issued something called \u2018Transparency Guiding Principles of Conduct\u2019. In line with what seems to be something of a strained atmosphere between the two parties, the 4A\u2019s did this without any discussion with their clients \u2013 whose trade body is as we said in mid-consultation and who might have had something interesting to input into what they consider to be the principles of transparency.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read a concise report of the background here from the peerless Bob Hoffman in his <\/span>AdContrarian blog<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Agencies always used to be respectful to their clients. At the extreme this was not always a good thing \u2013 no client wants as an advisor someone who simply agrees with him \u2013 but it was a thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reason for the respect was blindingly obvious. The agency could advise, and advise until it was blue in the face but at the end of the day it was the client\u2019s money and if he wanted to do something stupid with it, (like fire the agency, place space in the favourite publication of the Chairman\u2019s wife, or even sponsor FIFA) then so be it. Advertisers know that very few agencies resign business on principle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nowadays many media agencies are of course part of huge marketing services groups, even if their hugeness seems to depend rather more on acquisition, and media owner deals, and rather less on growth driven by providing what their customers want or need.<\/span><\/p>\n

This lofty position does give the agency some degree of confidence \u2013 no single advertiser contributes more than a modest % to the holding company\u2019s overall revenue, so the agency feels it can pick the occasional fight. Plus confidence gives strength to what some agencies see as an argument they have to win, in the absence of providing services that their clients are prepared to pay for.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ANA\/4A\u2019s row now hitting the news\u00a0does not make for\u00a0a particularly edifying spectacle. It is though yet another example of how far the trust between advertiser and media agency has eroded \u2013 a situation that benefits neither side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Agencies used to talk a lot about wanting to be a partner, not a \u2018mere\u2019 supplier to their clients. Partners work together, they share aims and ambitions, as well as both pain and gain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some agencies nowadays seem to see their advertisers as suppliers \u2013 of budgets that can be used to strike deals that benefit the agency over and above the advertiser, the generator of the budgets.<\/span><\/p>\n

No-one suggests that media agencies should roll over at the first sign that their advertisers are unhappy, but this transparency issue goes to the heart of the agencies\u2019 future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 4A\u2019s need to stop point-scoring and start talking. In any alternative it\u2019s their members, the agencies who will lose.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The argument between advertisers and media agencies in the USA over transparency rumbles on. Earlier Cog Blogs have commented on advertisers\u2019 concerns over the agencies\u2019 media buying practices, and their hiring (via their trade body the ANA) of two consultancies to look into the whole matter of where the money goes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":713,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions\/713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bjanda.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}