How do I create an agency roster model that is going to meet our business needs?

Many clients come to us with a similar concern – they have a legacy roster model that used to meet their needs perfectly but is no longer fit-for-purpose.  It might be that they have changed their operating model to a global or regional structure, or it could be that they need to shift their marketing from an ATL led model to a channel neutral or digital-first approach.  Whatever the underlying cause, the need for change is clear.

But the problem is how to go about making that change in direction.  It’s a fundamental law that ‘changing the engines while the plane is flying’ is really difficult if not impossible, and even if they were able to do that, what would they change the engines to – what does good look like?

Fit-for-purpose agency roster

The new agency roster model should deliver:

• Creative excellence (naturally)
• Increased return on marketing investment
• Confident teams able to select and manage the right agency for the work in hand.

So, if those are the desired outcomes – what’s the best way to get there?

Strategies to implement

Well there are three core strategies that need to be implemented:

1. What – Alignment with your business and marketing objectives.
   1. Defining and implementing a channel neutral model built around your customer journey
   2. Creating a workflow to deliver creative excellence and production efficiency
   3. And alignment with your organisation’s structures, capabilities and resources
2. Who – A framework for choosing Agency partners, achieved by:
   1. Defining the required skills and capabilities
   2. Segmenting the agency roster
   3. And identifying any gaps in capabilities that need to be sourced and how
3. How – Defined Ways of Working, through:
   1. Embedding best practice
   2. Providing roles and responsibilities clarity
   3. Governance and measurement to maintain the model

This approach ensures you move from a large and fragmented agency roster to a clearly segmented roster populated by Agency partners that are going to drive your business forward.  It grounds your model in channel neutral communications which meets your marketing objectives targeting spend to deliver increased return on Marketing investment. And it aligns your organisation and your Agency partners to enable agile and productive working.

“Is that the type of Agency Model you would like for your organisation?”
If so, please get in contact – we’d be delighted to show you how we can make that happen for you and you might want to take a look at our agency roster modelling services.