Agencies: sometimes we get a bad wrap but here are some tips to alleviate

Posted by Darren on Dec 14, 2008 • (Comments)

I’ve spent the past year (and change) at a top media agency here in New York and constantly attend plenty of technology conferences (like Web2.0, DPAC, etc) and listen to entrepreneurs on stage bashing ad agencies because they don’t understand technology business [insert publisher here].

Put yourself in ad agency shoes:  think of how many startups are emerging (according to Crunchbase:  12,334) and imagine how many 1/2 hour meetings it would take to listen to every single pitch and then make rationale decisions re: where to invest media dollars with promising startups.  That would be 257 days straight of meetings, with no new startups launching past 12,334.  Impossible.

Please note that this is not a cry for help, but rather an informative post about how to get and STAY on an agencies radar.  Here are some tips:

  1. Start by an extremely personable email or call.  If you are worth your ad-sales compensation, you will find out how to get in contact with us as it’s fairly simple.  No template emails please; they don’t even pass my spam filter.
  2. Educate us.  I can’t tell you how many people call me and tell me they are cheaper than alternatives right off the bat.  Why?  Educate us so you can show us your value proposition.  Tell us about your industry, don’t assume we know it.  You’re in it every single day, we are not.
  3. Be responsive.  I can’t tell you how many times we bypass vendors/partners because they were not responsive on the previous campaign we did with them.  Ad sales does not stop once the Insertion Order has been signed.
  4. Lunch & Learns:  Offer to educate the entire agency and bring the appropriate people (senior folks with good presentation skills).  Coming prepared with a simple lunch helps; remember, the goal is to get people to attend and free lunch always helps.
  5. Stay in touch but don’t pester.  Offering to take the team out for drinks always helps.
  6. Understanding that even though you’ve made a media plan for a particular advertiser in the past does not mean you will make one in the future.  Every single media plan has a certain objective and strategy and overall obs/strats can change quarterly.
  7. We generally don’t care that you landed $30MM in funding from Venture Fund ABC, but we do care about your latest new ad-unit or really cool metric you are monitoring (such as Lotame’s time on screen).
  8. Case studies help.  While talking about a particular ad campaign idea is interesting, showcasing it to us with all of the different components is extremely helpful.  Seeing something in action helps tremendously.
  9. If the idea is totally new, creating mockups certainly helps; come prepared to meetings with them as it excites media planners and allows us to send through to the client.  See number #8 too.
  10. Your excitement shines through.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met with ad sales folks who are not excited about the product they are selling.  This shows. You should be passionate, and we can see right through any fake passion.

While we can’t meet with every single startup emerging, we try to do a landscape survey of different trends (online video, social targeting, entertainment platforms, etc) and meet with a few companies from each space.  If you think we’ve missed you, please read step #1 and reach out.

Tagged as , , , , , , , + Categorized as Advertising & Marketing, Startup & Venture Capital
  • Great post! I think new ventures have to show agencies how they work as a white-labeled or sub-contractor and show at least a case study where they did so. Agencies are rightfully protective of their clients, the relationships and the people they bring in to the fold (even on a one-off basis). As a former agency guy who now works for a start-up that works with agencies in online video creation I know how important that confidence and trust is. I make it a priority to demonstrate in our case studies how we've successfully worked with agencies in the past and clearly articulate our methodologies so that the folks on the account and creative teams are comfortable that they can trust our actions and intentions. Great post!
  • Totally relevant and informative post. You did something many agencies don't always do well...you were candid. Thanks!

  • Thanks Christien!
  • Super enlightening - thanks Darren. This post is long overdue.

    #9 is a great tip. Our particular service (platform for video distribution & influencer tracking in social nets) is a relatively new idea - and we used to walk into agency meetings all the time and talk through the tech with a set of slides (like an investor preso). Not anymore. Now, we actually build out a mock campaign for the agency's client before the meeting, and then walk the buyer through the entire process step by step - in context. Because of this tip we've developed a lot of relationships -- and generated a lot of business -- that we might have otherwise lost.
  • Agencies don't really need to see how the tech works as you've found out, but most importantly, you're showing them how their clients look/feel within your platform... most important.

    One thing I've noticed is that sometimes, agencies get hung up on the actual artwork used... sometimes it helps asking ahead of time about attaining some creative assets to use in mockups.
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