Affinity Index is an "efficiency indicator" in media planning.

It shows the weight of a specific Target

Audience compared to the total population in case of a specific programme/ medium. The affinity index
= TRP/GRP. In case this figure is higher than 1 (100%), it means that the programme/medium is well
targeted for our Target Audience. The higher this index the better the targeting is.

Explanation of the Affinity Index

It's no secret that consumers are quite fond of certain brands of products they use. That's what brand
loyalty is all about. But can people feel warmly toward a trade magazine?

They can and they do, according to the people at Cahners Publications and Simmons Market
Research Bureau. Cahners, a publisher of numerous trade/business-to-business magazines,
teamed up with Simmons to develop the Affinity Index, a method of measuring the intensity of
the relationship readers have with the publications that serve their respective industries.

If you're like most people, chances are you come in contact with several business-related
publications. Some are targeted specifically to your job and/or industry; others are more general
in nature. And chances are one or more of those magazines is more valuable to you than the
others. It could be for the industry news, the features, a favorite columnist, or the ads that keep
you up to date on new products-for whatever reason, you like the magazine.

Step beyond

By quantifying reader feelings, the Affinity Index lets publications go a step beyond the usual
methods of explaining their readership to advertisers: circulation numbers and/or demographics.
These measures show who gets the magazine and what job they have, for example, but they don't
show how the readers feel about the magazine, says Martin Fleming, vice president, planning
and research, Cahners Publishing.

"Affinity is based on the notion that measuring the size of an audience by use of a circulation
statement or readership studies provides only one dimension of what it is a publication provides
an advertiser. What's equally important is the relationship that audience has with the publication.

"In the past, most research has focused on quantity - that is, the number of readers, the size of the
audience - and we think this is the first systematic attempt to measure reader's attitudes towards
the publication. The hypothesis is that the stronger the feelings that an audience has towards a
publication, the greater will be the flow of information from the publication to the reader, both
the editorial and the advertising."

Determining the strength of that flow of information can help with a magazine's strategic
planning, advertising efforts, and other marketing tasks, he says.
Similar research

Taking its cue from similar research done in the 1950s in Germany by Gruner + Jahr AG, a
publisher of several consumer magazines, the Affinity Index is based on the idea that the
relationship between a reader and a publication is multi-dimensional; readers like or dislike a
publication for a number of reasons.

Measuring reader feelings has been done on an informal basis in the U.S., but it hasn't been
standardized, Fleming says.

"Advertisers and publishers have long believed that readers' attitudes towards some publications
are stronger than readers' attitudes towards others, but we really don't know how to measure that,
and that's what we have succeeded in doing. "

The system can quantify affinity by measuring reader responses to 16 statements that encompass
the various aspects of affinity. Sample statements include:

 I save issues of this magazine for future reference.

 Often mark up, tear out or take notes on articles in this magazine.
 It helps me locate new suppliers.
 Helps me keep up with trends in my profession/industry.
 The articles in this magazine are fun to read.

The statements fall into three broad categories:

1. Product Information. Does the publication, both in its editorial and its advertising, provide
useful information about new or updated products?

2. Community of Interest. Does the publication help the reader to feel part of an industry and
maintain a connection with others in their profession?

3. Usefulness. Does the publication help the reader do his or her job better and provide a source
of reference?

Sixteen items

For an Affinity survey, reader responses to the 16 items are weighted together to form an index
with an average value of 100, a minimum of 0, and maximum of 200. "Gruner + Jahr recognized
that there is no one thing that constitutes affinity towards a publication. What the Affinity model
does is assign weights to each item measured that bring it in line with what we know to be
affinity," says Andy Yaffee, vice president, Custom Media Studies division, Simmons Market
Research.

To determine a magazine's Affinity Index, questionnaires are mailed to a sampling of its readers.
The three part questionnaires don't indicate who is sponsoring the research.
The first section of the survey is the affinity measurement portion. Here, respondents indicate
their level of agreement with the Affinity Index statements. The second asks about readership of
the publication, for example, "How many of the past four issues have you read?" These questions
are included because one of the basic notions behind affinity is that it is a measure of reader
involvement, Yaffee says.

"So we ask the number of the past four issues read, and even if someone answers the affinity
variables for a publication, if we find out later that they haven't read any of the last four issues,
we don't count their responses towards the score."

The third section gathers demographic information.

Market segments

Publications receive an overall Affinity Index score and a breakdown by different market
segments. For example, publications typically look at readers in large companies versus small
companies, or top executives versus other management, or at people working in different aspects
of the same field, Yaffee says.

"One of the most important aspects of Affinity is that you can generate different scores for
different segments of your audience, so you not only describe your total audience in terms of
their affinity towards the publications they read but you can also describe different segments of
your total audience. That can be the most profitable piece of the research from a strategic
planning point of view because you may find that overall you do well, but that among one or two
particular segments of your audience you do significantly worse than average or better than
average."

Two years of research

To develop the system, Simmons conducted two years of background research with nearly
10,000 readers of business-to-business publications. Focus groups were held across the country
with readers in a wide range of industries, with the goal of uncovering the variables that make up
affinity towards a publication. These groups generated a list of 120 factors that fell into seven
categories: value, editorial, advertising, format, organization, qualitative measures, imagery, and
psychographics. The groups were structured to obtain responses from readers of publications that
prior research had shown had low, average, and high levels of affinity.

The second phase was designed to trim the 120 factors to a more manageable number. "We
realized that there was redundancy on the list, so we moved to the data reduction stage, which
was intended to reduce that list of 120 items to the key underlying constructs," Yaffee says.

Questionnaires were mailed to 3,000 readers (1,000 in each of three industries) of a wide range
of magazines to get respondents in high-tech vs. low-tech industries, large vs. small companies,
and a range of publication formats-tabloid, standard magazine size, etc. The resulting items were
tested again in the final phase, a pilot Affinity study of over 5,000 readers across five industries-
interior design, electrical engineering, construction, MIS/information management,
restaurants/foodservice.

More reliable

Yaffee says that because Affinity is standardized, it offers more reliable data than that obtained
from the usual reader preference studies that publications perform. "In a reader preference study,
you choose the questions you're going to ask, and you know what you're publication's strengths
and weaknesses are. What we've heard from (media buyers) is that they often discount the
answers they see in reader preference reports because they know that publications are only
asking about their strengths."

Affinity also serves as a diagnostic tool, Yaffee says. "We don't just say, 'O.K. here's your score.'
We also provide crosstabs that enable people to go into the data and to look at the percentages of
people that agree or disagree with each of the statements, and to flesh out to the extent possible
some of the questions that arise from the research."

The system can be used, for example, by a publication in a highly competitive market as a
"tiebreaker" of sorts to differentiate itself from other industry magazines. Also, publications that
aren't necessarily the biggest in their industry but feel they have strong reader loyalty can use the
system to document that loyalty.

"Affinity has really struck a chord with a lot of magazines who have never positioned themselves
in terms of the size of their audience but who have positioned themselves in terms of the quality
of the publication and the reader loyalty they generate.

"One of the important ideas behind Affinity is that a publication with high affinity will have a
better than average likelihood of being read thoroughly and of having advertising seen and
advertising used. So for those publications that have really bought into the whole notion of the
relationship between the reader and the audience rather than strictly the size of the audience,
Affinity has touched on something that they've been selling for a long time."
In 1990, Cahners Publishing Company and Simmons Market Research Bureau announced their
Affinity Index, a research tool that was supposed to revolutionize media buying by quantifying
the relationship a trade magazine has with its readers. The Affinity Index follows the widespread
belief that a consumer's loyalty toward a media vehicle makes an impact on the effectiveness of
advertising within that vehicle. Media markets are highly competitive because consumers have a
lot of control over what they look at. Because of this, the people in charge of content creation
and distribution must create audience loyalty or risk losing their audience (and therefore
revenue). Study results have established a link between consumer affinity toward media
providers (web sites, magazines, television networks, newspapers) and a positive predisposition
toward advertisements delivered by those sites.

The study concluded that site affinity predicts both positive site ratings and a positive
predisposition toward advertising. Eighty-two percent of those with high affinity for a site
believe that the site carries advertisements for high-quality products and services, while only
36% of low-affinity users believe so. Similarly, 69% of visitors with high site affinity believe
that more respected brands advertise on the site vs. 25% of low-affinity visitors. Interestingly,
75% of high-affinity users believe that ads interfere less with their experience on the site,
compared to only 31% of low-affinity users.

High-affinity visitors also indicated a greater likelihood of brand loyalty and a willingness to pay
a premium. Eighty-eight percent of high-affinity users agree with the statement, "I always prefer
to buy a high quality product or service, even if I have to pay a little more," and 87% of high-
affinity users say that they will spend more to buy a brand name they know and trust.

Derivation of Affinity Index

• Site attitudes and loyalty measures were correlated with positive responses to advertising
questions
• The three measures which most strongly correlated were:
– Likelihood to recommend (60% weight)
– Satisfaction with content (24% weight)
– Status among favorites (16% weight)
• These measures were weighted as indicated in order to create an Affinity Index Derivation of
Affinity Index

High affinity predicts positive site ratings and positive predisposition toward advertising.
1. High-affinity audiences are more valuable to advertisers.
3. Advertisers will experience greater advertising efficiency with high-affinity audiences

Affinity Index research looks into three issues:

1: What effect site loyalty has on consumer's perceptions of brands and advertising.
2: Is a high-affinity visitor more desirable to advertisers?
3: Does affinity differ by type of site?
1.How is advertising research useful in planning for an advertising campaign

The research study makes it possible to:

-identify MEDIA usage patterns,
-determine duplicated audience of MEDIA
-other useful planning metrics -affinity index
-determine the media reach.
-determine the composition of MEDIA sites socio-demographic structure,
-position the advertiser’s MEDIA in comparison to their competitors.

By researching the usage of your MEDIA and the socio-demographic profile of MEDIA audience you
will be able to:
-modify your MEDIA content to better meet your audience's needs,
-determine how best to promote your PRODUCT,
-present credible data on your audience and your MEDIA's reach to advertisers.

BENEFITS TO THE ADVERTISERS

Also, the indicators help to take optimal decisions in terms of designing advertising strategies.
RESEARCH results enable media planners to plan each advertising campaign in terms of:
selecting the place of advertising creatives’ emission,
reaching the target group,
increasing a campaign’s reach in groups at which the campaign is directed,
taking into account the problem of duplicated audience on MEDIA selected for a given campaign,
thematic selection of MEDIA for a given marketing action.
##############################################
2.What factors would you consider for media selection, while developing an advertising campaign?
Please explain with examples.

THE FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED,

MARKETING SITUATION
Marketing Goals
Current sales and market share
Sales and market share goals
Consumer Target Markets (Market Segments)
Why consumers buy (needs, goals, problems, motivation, constraints, perceived alternatives, individual
factors, social and cultural factors)
Consumers
Demographic characteristics
Geographic concentration
Product usage patterns (individual and total)
Purchase habits
Distributors
Number and type of distributors
Amount of product distributed through each type
Potential Markets
--consumer, business, distributor groups not currently in market system
Non-market Publics
(Public Relations audiences)
---------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT(S), SERVICE(S)
Proposed product/service changes
--advantages and limitations
Perceived product attributes
Pricing
Selling price, costs, profit margin
Competitive prices and norms
Price incentives
Discount structure
Distribution channels
Structure, volume
Problems and conflicts
Special agreements
Product availability
Promotion
Promotion expenditures
Nature, relative importance, effectiveness of promotion elements--personal selling, advertising, sales
promotion, publicity, public relations
Marketing Resources and Constraints
Capital resources (dollars, physical plant)
Executive and/or sales force experience, abilities, attitudes
Special consumer/user loyalties
Distributor loyalty and support
Patents or technology denied competitors
Market Potential
Market definition
--products and areas included
Industry/segment, competitive and own sales
--size/share (units or dollars), past and expected growth, segment size, distribution and growth,
seasonal patterns (percent or index), geographic distribution (percent or index)
Environmental Factors
--likely to affect consumer choice, total market and segment growth, geographic market location, ability
to supply market
Economic factors
--level of economic activity, discretionary income, population, technological advances, work force
composition, time utilization and leisure
Regulatory factors
--government constraints, subsidies, agencies, applicable laws and policies
Social and cultural factors
--status, work, impulsiveness, expression, rationality, intuition, sex, attire
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISING SITUATION
Target Audience(s)
--consumers, users, distributors, non-market publics Advertising goals for each target
Attitudes toward product and advertiser
Result of previous promotions
Advertising expenditures invested in each target
Budget
Total advertising expenditure(s) for previous year(s)
Advertising expenditure(s) as a percent of sales (units and dollars) for previous year(s)
Competitive comparisons
Budget breakdown
Budget level tests
Messages--to each target audience
Basic selling proposition(s)
Promotional theme(s) and actual ads
Evaluation of message effectiveness
Competitive comparisons
Media
Media mix employed for each target audience
Total dollars spent in each medium
Evaluation of effectiveness of each media mix
Competitive comparisons
Scheduling patterns
Geographic concentration
Organization of the Advertising Function
Advertising Department
Reporting pattern--to whom does the advertising manager report (marketing director,president, sales
manager)
Organizational level--centralized, decentralized
Internal department structure
Work mix--specialization, cooperation, vital functions, personnel needs
Organizational pattern--functional, product geographic, customer
Qualifications of advertising manager and subordinates
Outside specialists--availability, economic factors, control of staff specialists
Characteristics of relationships with other departments--legal, product development, production,
accounting, marketing, marketing research
Advertising Agency
Agency size, philosophy, tenure, product conflicts, special skills, location, record, growth, client
turnover, facilities
Functions performed--creative, media, research, merchandising, planning
Personnel--cooperation, compatibility, coordination, available time
Relationship between advertiser and agency
Compensation system--commission, fee, percentage
INTEGRATED PROMOTION STRATEGY
Promotional Problems and Opportunities
Opportunities and/or problems which advertising can be used to resolve
Promotional strategy match unique product/service attributes with consumer (market segment) goals,
problems, needs
Target Audience(s)
Identify and select potential consumer, user, distributor, and/or non-market prospects
Summarize key characteristics of target which should be considered in developing message and media
strategy--demographics, attitudes toward product, consumption and shopping behavior, media habits
Segment potential--total number of individuals/households/companies in the target audience and
expected consumption rate
Sales Concept (for each target audience)
Prospect problems, needs, goals
Overt behavior(s), subjective response(s), and situation(s) in which target prospect experiences
"problem"
Specific behavior(s) advertiser would like prospect to take to solve "problem"
Benefits--solution(s) product offers to help prospect solve "problem"
Selling points--evidence to convince target prospect to believe and accept product benefit(s).
Competitive position
How proposition differs from those of competitors
Likely competitive reaction
Promotional Strategy
Prospect behavior sequence--actions prospect typically takes in learning of, believing in, taking action on
proposition (describe actual prospect behaviors not category labels)
Information--learn-feel-do (awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, purchase, regular use)
Emotion--feel-learn-do
Habit--do-learn-feel
Social--do-feel-learn
Estimate percent of target market at various communication levels, identify opportunities for
improvement
Promotional mix--designed to move prospect through decision sequence.
Advertising
Packaging, point of purchase
Sales promotion--exhibits, contests, deals, novelties, free samples
Publicity, public relations
Word-of-mouth, observing others
OBJECTIVES
Marketing Goals--unit and dollar sales, market share
Advertising Goals--measurable effects of advertising exposure
Problem, opportunity
Target audience description
Measurable communication effect
General effect--awareness, knowledge, belief change, behavior
Specific effect--message content in strategic terms
Percent of target audience to be affected
Time necessary to accomplish desired effect
Evidence and reasoning supporting each objective
ADVERTISING STRATEGY
Copy Platform
Proposition--concise statement of selling concept
Target audience
Consumer problem, need, goal
Benefits that solve problem, satisfy need, achieve goal
Selling points--product attributes offered as physical evidence product can perform aspromised
Competitive positioning
Approach--how selling concept will be visualized in message(s)
Dramatize prospect problem
Emphasize selling point(s)
Point out unique competitive advantage
Dramatize benefits
Appeal--basic human appeal to which advertisements will be directed (rational, emotional,fear, sex)
Why would this appeal to the target audience?
How would target audience members relate this to their own problem(s), need(s) or goal(s)?
Theme--principal slogan, headline, or other identifying characteristics across all messages and media
Why would this theme appeal to the target audience?
How would target audience members relate this to their own problem(s), need(s), or goal(s)?
What is the mood (feelings) the message(s) should evoke from the prospect?
Product portrayal--how product is physically symbolized, justify
Characters--who or what will be the dominant characters, justify
Shopping information--how to purchase product (where it can be found, price, size, colors, styles),
justify
Facilitators--information useful in overcoming constraints to purchase or action (special purchase
incentives, payment terms, return privileges, purchase assistance, toll free numbers, coupons), justify
Reassurance--information provided to those who have already purchased the product, justify
Message executions--rough layouts, storyboards, scripts, tapes, mock-ups
Message evaluations--diagnostic information on the ability of messages to communicate (recognition
scores, day-after-recall scores, tracking study results)
Activity of key competitors--strategy, sample advertisements, effects
MEDIA STRATEGY
Target audience--profile primary and secondary audience groups, use variables appropriate to media
selection, match with media categories and vehicles which selectively reach prime prospects
Geographic emphasis
Selected markets
Levels of market support--BDIs, CDIs, market weight
Media objectives
How media must contribute to marketing, advertising, creative goals
How messages should be distributed among prospects through time (reach, effective reach, frequency,
continuity, number of markets), justify
Creative requirements--media attributes most likely to improve message effectiveness, how do creative
decisions influence media choices
Activity of key competitors--budgets, strategies, media and market effects
Media categories which accomplish goals most effectively; within media categories, media classes,
sections, dayparts, formats, that should be used--highlight creative, exciting, innovative uses of media
Schedule timing--introductory, roll-out, sustaining, heavy-up, seasonal (lead, parallel), pulsing, flighting,
continuity, competitive (neutralize, offset, combat, avoid)
Duration (start/stop dates)
Macro schedule--timing over entire planning period
Micro schedule--timing within segments of planning period
Budget constraints, allocation
Minimum cost of entry for each media category compared with available funds
Allocation to targets, markets, media, months, quarters, campaigns, contingency Efficiency goals--CPM,
CPP
Media vehicle options--selection criteria for matching media categories and vehicles with strategy
requirements
Probability of message exposure given vehicle exposure
Efficient single/multiple target audience delivery--demographic, product use, life style, ratings, CPM,
CPP
Compatible editorial/programming environment, special editions
Quality, color reproduction
Audience and circulation trends, primary versus secondary readers
Geographic flexibility
Production capability, requirements--page size, commercial length, color
Immediacy, news value
Position, location, competitive separation, clutter
Response measures
Marketing promotion support
Quantity discounts
Media imperatives
Page openings, reading/viewing/listening time/days
Qualitative, subjective criteria--reputation, credibility, copy checking, tone, atmosphere, excitement,
prestige, leadership, believability, impact
Media schedules in tabular form for each target audience, media category and combination (monthly
plan summaries, flowcharts)
Media vehicles purchased within media categories
Time lengths or page sizes
Insertion dates and times
Anticipated costs
Monthly plan effects--reach, effective reach, frequency, exposure distributions, GRPs, gross impressions,
CPM, CPP
Yearly flowchart--media categories, vehicles, insertions, total/monthly cost, total/monthly reach,
effective reach, frequency, GRPs, CPM, CPP
Merchandising value--ability to promote selected media categories, vehicles
Alternative strategies, obvious strategies not used, justify
Advertising Budget
Total advertising appropriation
Total amount to be spent on all advertising
Justification--reasoning and evidence that support the size of the total advertising appropriation
Ability to support advertising objectives
Method used to determine total appropriation (given, task approach, advertising-sales ratio,
competitive parity)
Likely effects of expenditures (awareness, recall, coupon redemption, sales)
Is the budget affordable?
Relation to past and anticipated competitive activity
How and why does the budget differ from previous appropriations in size and relative to sales units and
dollars
Is there a need for multiple budgets?
What is likely to happen with appropriation increases, decreases
Budget Allocation
Detail cost estimates
Geographic allocation
Selected advertising media
Message(s)--size, length, content
Target market (audience) segments
Seasonal allocation
Message production
Research
Contingency
Justification--rationale and evidence that support each allocation decision
Administration--how advertising budget will be controlled.
Measuring Advertising Effectiveness
Define elements and decisions to be evaluated--budget, message, media
Effectiveness evaluation procedure(s)
Specific measurable standard for evaluation
Technically sound and valid means by which actual performance will be measured
Corrective procedures, timing, responsibility
Evaluating Consumer Benefits and Legal Effects of Advertising
Legal standards to be met
Consumer standards to be achieved
Relevant and useful information content

Efficient use of advertising

############################################################

3.Client agency relationships are crucial and complimentary.Please share ur view on this.

SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP MEANS

"The clients who score highest provide clarity on briefs, approval processes, strategic direction,
objectives and direction. Their capabilities are outstanding in terms of experience and professionalism;
they exhibit strong knowledge of their business, market and competitors. They value their relationships
in terms of trust, respect, cooperation, staff continuity and levels. They are disciplined with timelines,
schedules, deadlines and strategic processes. They are supportive of quality in terms of creative output,
strategic/media reco's and the best use of agency skills and resources. Finally, they have initiative and
are proactive, anticipate needs and consider the needs of others.

OTHER FACTORS

▪ Joint or shared ownership of the process (and cost) for true collaboration and commitment;
▪ Involvement from all individuals who meaningfully interact in the relationship;
▪ Client and agency scoring their own and each others' performance;
▪ Detailed gap analysis to identify the key issues;
▪ Benchmarking against norms by client category and region;
▪ Extensive verbatims to clarify the issues;
▪ Analysis and interpretation of results by independent experts with action plans and follow-up to
ensure desired results are achieved."

All parties involved must remain pro-active in monitoring and evaluating the level of trust, confidence,
understanding, and success felt by every other member of the group. Disconnects can strain the
relationship until it collapses. Only constant, open
communication can solidify the client and agency's expectations and perspectives regarding the other.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Distinguishing Qualities of a Great Client RELATIONSHIP
Obviously, sustaining a successful relationship is a two-way street. Neither just the client nor the agency
can exert all the effort. On the client-side, there are a number of simple attitudes and behaviors that
foster communication and create a long-term, successful client-agency relationship.
• Instill a spirit of partnership in the relationship.
Avoid the superior/subordinate relationship characterized by an atmosphere of mistrust, lack of respect
for the agency's expertise, and undercurrents of intimidation. These tactics have no place in a
partnership. Using fear of dismissal to "deal with" an agency undermines trust and productivity.
The best advertising is only created in the absence of fear. A successful joint effort is achieved only
through mutual respect of intelligence and expertise.
• Agree on a clearly defined objective of the advertising you wish to create. Failure to define or agree
upon the precise
purpose of advertising dooms the creative process from the start.
• Give the agency the opportunity to be totally absorbed in your product, people, and culture.
Exposing agency people to client weaknesses and secrets costs more money (service time) and involves
some level of risk. However, great clients totally immerse their agencies in their product.
When an agency team thoroughly understands it's client's corporate culture, it will more likely create
campaigns that endure.
• Create an environment of experimentation and be prepared to pay for failure.
Great clients want advertising that stands out. However, nothing predicts mediocrity in advertising so
precisely as a risk-aversion environment. Although it's natural to want to conform to rules and formulas
in quest for a measure of certainty, elements of the development process are inherently uncertain. Trust
that the outcome will be viable advertising.
• Be wary of change for change's sake.
The first purpose of advertising is to create a distinctive image for a client. Imitating a trend, by
definition, fails to achieve distinction. We believe success in advertising is achieved by finding a long-
term positioning and sticking with it.
• Treat the agency people well.
Great clients know it's human nature for people to work harder for their friends than for business
acquaintances. Facilitate an environment of friendship and collaboration to get more out of the agency.
• Keep approvals simple and disapprovals kind.
Nothing saps an agency's energy more than presenting the same work over and over at succeeding
layers of the client organization.
Be honest. If you don't like something, say so.
Be specific. Don't ask for a new execution simply because this one "doesn't do it for me".
Be kind. Think of the commentary as if you are evaluating the person.
• Make the agency responsible for the advertising and give them the authority it needs to do it.
Too much involvement consistently denies the agency the ability to realize its vision. Some clients use
lack of involvement to avoid sharing responsibility for a poor end result.
Great clients state precisely why they disagree, then challenge the agency to find a solution both parties
can agree upon.
• Make sure the agency makes a fair profit.
If an account is unprofitable to an agency, that account will be less important to the agency.
• Perform evaluations of each other at least annually, and even more often in the beginning of the
relationship.
A good agency wants to know if there is a major problem before reading about it in the trade press.
Great clients draw up the terms of evaluation in the initial agency partnership process.
The Bottom Line
A successful client-agency relationship is essential to a firm's success. High financial, emotional, and
strategic costs are associated with frequent partnering shifts.
Clients must promote open communication and seek feedback to ensure the relationship continues to
meet the expectations of all involved and endures over the long-term.