AGENCY SCOPE, the biennial research on trends within advertiser-agency relationships and the perception and image of the agencies, covering 300 interviews with marketing professionals responsible for some 200 brands, has brought some fascinating new trends to the fore, says Johanna McDowell, SCOPEN partner and CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS).
“Looking at how marketers view both creative and media agencies, each was given a category outline and asked to submit three agencies. Here, we show the outline and the results of each.”
Under the title ‘spontaneous awareness’, respondents named three agencies they are aware of, these results being:
Creative agencies
- Ogilvy
- Joe Public
- TBWA/
Media agencies
- Carat
- The MediaShop
- Mindshare
Under ‘creativity’, marketers’ perception noted top agencies as being:
Creative agencies
- Joe Public/Ogilvy
- –
- TBWA/
‘Attractive agencies’ provided a list of the agencies marketers would shortlist in a pitch, These are:
Creative agencies
- Joe Public
- Ogilvy
- TBWA/
Media agencies
- Juno Media
- M&C Saatchi Connect
- The MediaShop
Says Cesar Vacchiano, President and CEO of SCOPEN International, “The ideal agencies category is an analysis of how the overall market, along with the particular clients of an agency, rate that agency.”
Creative agencies
- Ogilvy
- Joe Public
- Accenture Song
Media agencies
- Carat
- OMD
- The MediaShop
In the category ‘market perception’, a combination of spontaneous awareness, creativity, attractiveness and ideal agencies gave rise to the following responses:
Creative agencies
- Ogilvy
- Joe Public
- TBWA/
Media agencies
- Carat
- Mindshare
- The MediaShop
“Market perception is probably the most important rating,” says McDowell. “The agency that wins in market perception is the closest to a perfect agency; and noted as such by the industry.”
The final two categories in the research looked at client satisfaction and competitor’s opinion, both important in a marketers’ choice, Vacchiano asserts. “We know overall satisfaction is vital to clients, but having competitors list their competition as notable agencies is invaluable.”
Client satisfaction saw the following agencies take top spots:
Creative agencies
- Promise
- Brave Group
- Black Powder
Media agencies
- OMD
- UM
- Initiative
In competitor’s opinion, the following agencies cracked the nod:
Creative agencies
- Ogilvy
- Accenture Song
- Network BBDO
Media agencies
- Meta Media
- Initiative
- Mindshare
As more AGENCY SCOPE South African trends are revealed, Vacchiano and McDowell believe the research has become a valuable resource and a guide for marketers to make different choices, and agencies to step up where the study shows it would make them more attractive.
McDowell concludes, “The way in which our research is undertaken and analysed globally sets AGENCY SCOPE apart from other studies, in that results bring opportunity for growth in our industries.”
