Standard when choosing an agency

The choice of a marketing communications agency has always been decided without there ever being a single or correct path or standard. The consensus was that there was no standard. But in recent times there have been several things and events that have led to the idea that there may indeed be a standard. Or more correctly, there isn't just one, but rather various patternswhich are developing simultaneously.

Firstly, the main global communications companies have been breaking down their internal barriers and putting their marketing services companies - advertising, PR, digital - on the market in a single entity. A move that was to be expected, since many of these labels - PR, socialadvertising - have less and less significance, as the lines separating the different marketing disciplines blur. Hence the integration as standard. But the briefings you have to respond to often still come with the separation of labels and until you get into the habit of working with briefs and single budgets, there will be a tendency towards separation.

Then there is the question of weak growth. This is a trend that continues and is fed by the great uncertainty that exists about developments and the future, which has led to the pattern bigger is not necessarily better and that has led to the need to provide a boutique service: specialized, simple, with seniority in the teams and the comfort of knowing that there is a pool of skills and resources to draw on. Turning to the biggest agencies is very expensive if you don't want to be just another client. And using a small one can be limiting if you need to broaden your scope or have a larger scale. You have to find a balance.

In addition, there is the dilemma of choosing between global or local, between an agency with a transversal reach or realizing that the different agencies have different skills and that none is capable of doing excellent work on all fronts. Europe is a good example of the diversity of markets that requires specialization. Which leads to the standard new pragmatism. More and more organizations are giving up on a single agency in markets where they are not as capable. And there is a growing understanding that if a single agency doesn't meet all the needs, there is no problem.

This new pragmatism is also a change for procurement which, with its efforts to create savings and efficiencies, had been responsible for consolidation. The new role of hiring is another standard. As long as the subjective nature of measuring creativity and the human factor (chemistry) are taken into account, there is no reason why hiring should not be transparent and aligned with expectations and the search for the best possible results.

There are many other factors that may decide the choice of an agency, but there is one common denominator: each organization is unique and there are reasons that may be unpredictable or unexpected in the hiring decision. That's part of the rules of the game.