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ANA Survey Discloses Chasm in Client/Agency Relations

Trade Group Launches New Training Curriculum to Address Need

NEW YORK (January 25, 2022)—More than 90 percent of senior marketers believe training resources for successful agency management are inadequate and that more comprehensive training is needed, according to a study by the ANA’s Marketing Training & Development Center.

The study serves as a follow-up to the 2020 ANA/4A’s report The Business Case for Relationship Management. That study found there is better communication between client and agency under a relationship management program, which leads to better work and increased business results.

The results of both studies support the MTDC’s decision to launch a new training program designed to help both clients and agencies improve their working relationships to drive growth, reduce costs, and relieve unnecessary friction and stress.

The survey, conducted online in November 2021, also revealed:

  • Almost 60 percent of respondents said that as much as 30 percent of their marketing budget is lost to inefficiencies in agency management.
  • Eighty percent of marketers said they experience “high levels of stress” with their agencies not delivering on expectations.
  • Almost 50 percent said the quality of creative output from agencies can sometimes be considered “hit or miss.”
  • Seventy-five percent cited multiple agency alignment as a challenge to performance.

“To address this need, the ANA has created what we are calling the ANA Client/Agency Optimization Enterprise Curriculum,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “This is a robust program specifically designed to help marketers offset long-term costs, reduce turnover, and significantly reduce the day-to-day stress caused by ineffective processes.”

The basic elements of Enterprise Curricula consist of in-depth process audits, pre-and-post qualitative interviews and interventions, intensive workshopping, and blueprints for long-term success.

Client/Agency Optimization is the first in what will be an ongoing series of in-depth ANA Enterprise Curricula covering a range of marketing management issues. Future topics will be determined based on an ongoing dialogue between the ANA and member companies.

PARTICIPANTS

The curriculum is specifically designed for:

  • Marketers with multiple agencies
  • Marketers who believe they are not getting the full value from their agencies
  • Marketers who recognize that they need to improve the processes they deploy to lead and inspire their agencies
  • All levels of marketing and procurement staff who are involved in agency management, directly or in supportive roles

BENEFITS

  • Improved planning and processes that will increase value from agency expenditures via better strategy, creative, and implementation
  • Guidance on how to establish long-term agency relationships that will improve work, increase efficiencies, and decrease disruption and stress
  • Direction on how to achieve consistency across a marketing organization regarding agency management documentation and processes
  • Faster resolution of client/agency or interagency issues that will decrease time wasted on unproductive stress and escalating tensions

The ANA’s Enterprise Curricula is available via the Marketing Training and Development Center and can be accessed here.

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ABOUT THE ANA
The ANA’s (Association of National Advertisers) mission is to drive growth for marketing professionals, brands and businesses, the industry, and humanity. The ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. The ANA’s membership consists of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solutions providers (data science and technology companies, ad agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers, and vendors). The ANA creates Marketing Growth Champions by serving, educating, and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members that collectively invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually.

MEDIA CONTACT:
John Wolfe
ANA
Director of Communications
Office: 212.455.8011
Cell: 914.659.8663
Email: jwolfe@ana.net