Are Client Project-Based Assignments the New Normal?

Clients are now truly seeking best of breed whether it is within the holding company or from an outside source that offers a better level of expertise So clientagency relationships are becoming more project based Much of this is coming from the digital environment we are now in a techdriven ecosystem that represents a multitude of individual functions such as mobile video search social media content development programmatic buying data analytics tracking etc Soon AI artificial intelligenceamp160will be incorporated into the advertising mix with voiceactivated messages through a speaker or chat interface Many of these applications will also include direct client project assignments to adtech companies as well This of course destabilizes the longterm retainer relationship agencies hope for In many cases the holding companies have acquired or taken a position in specialized services that provide these benefits to their clientsamp160which allows them to continue to handle most of the marketing needs that their clients require and reap the commensurate revenue rewards But clients are reacting in new ways that they believe serves their best interestsAdvertisers are now looking for real best of breed activities in each discipline That means they are without hesitation adding more parties to meet their needs Established independent digital agencies as well as digital startups some can be called upstarts performing specialized adtech functions as independent companies are also included in the review process So onesizefitsall holding company appointments are becoming less popular The multidisciplined retainer relationship is yielding to projectbased assignments that are going to a variety of firms and the new order is being defined as best of breed This presents its own set of issues as the coordination of services becomes more difficult and compensation formulas become more complexClients are now having to reevaluate many of their current ways of doing business and agencies have to reexamine how they work with clients For example does the client need to bring more oversight on board How is the chain of command from several different agencies being represented to the client organization Does the client CMO have the required knowledge and staff to bring it all together Can a multiplicity of agencies and adtech companies collaborate with one another on briefs timing measurements data sharing etc And how is each compensated fairly for each task Additionally who is responsible for attribution of each platform and channel for campaign successamp160 Finally who is responsible for orchestrating media integration data analytics consumer insightamp160and measuring the resultsBest of breed project assignments may be considered the new normal But they are not the answer to the longterm problem of clientagency relationships that has been deteriorating for some time In fact they may aggravate the problem Project assignments may require that the client needs to take charge of all functions at all times with the necessary credentials to oversee and judge how well each supplier is performing each step of the way and also manage all financial decisions It might be an insurmountable hurdle to overcome So let39s focus on the proper structure staffing credentials benchmarksamp160and compensation to build stronger more transparent and verifiable client relationships with those organizations that provide services It may lessen also the need for clients to keep searching for socalled quotbest of breedquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggers

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Are Client Project-Based Assignments the New Normal?

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Mike Drexler

Powerful New PSAs Showcase the Mutual Rewards and Unconditional Love of Adoption from Foster Care - Ad Council InSites

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Are Client Project-Based Assignments the New Normal?

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Mike Drexler

Powerful New PSAs Showcase the Mutual Rewards and Unconditional Love of Adoption from Foster Care - Ad Council InSites

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