Client agency relationship

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ASSIGNMENT
ON
Client Agency Relationship
Submitted by:
)

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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. Meaning 4
3. Definitions 5
4. Factors Contributing to Effective 6
5.Advertising Process 8
6.Departments9
7. Sources of income for 16
the advertising Agency
8. Reasons of Client Turnover 18
9. How Agencies get Clients20
10. How Can Client Agency 22
Relationship be improved?
11. Summary 23
12. Conclusion 24
13. References24

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INTRODUCTION
Business relationships assume a prominent role in the strategy of
leading firms, large and small. Successful business partnerships are built
on trust, confidence, understanding, and mutual success. These
relationships require a pro- active effort to sustain and are critical to
future growth.
From the point of view of agency, client turnover affects the image of
agency .Its business is affected in a negative manner. The client is also
affected when it switches over to other agency will take some time in
understanding the inherent qualities of its product , level of
competition , its competitor’s strategy , nature of its customers, etc.
Client agency relationship can be issued under the following headings:
(i) Principles of effective client agency relationship.
(ii)Reasons of client turnover.
(iii) How agencies get clients?
(iv) How can client-agency relationship be improved?
Client-agency relationships are one of the most complexes in the
business environment, requiring a substantial level of collaboration to
be effective.

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Meaning
Client-agency relationship means relationship between advertiser and
ad-agency. Cordial relationship with full trust and confidence is must to
get maximum from ad agency and agency can also work with free hand.
Certain basic principles have been evolved by the experts of advertising
management to have sound relations between the agency and the
media that help client and media to have long ending business relations
to reap the benefits of continuous relations. These are pointed as;
1). Agency and the Clients:
Advertising agency is known for selling professional services to the
clients. There cannot be any hard and fast rules for arriving at working
agreement between the two because each DVERTISING agency and its
clients are unique working under their own set of circumstances and
conditions.
a). Commitment:
Every advertiser expects that the agency he engages refrains from
accepting advertising work for his competitors. It is equally true that
the advertiser shall not engage any other agency without the prior
consent of the agency.
b). Prior Approval:
The advertising agency is to get the prior approval for all the advertising
work on the basis of client feedback and for all the expenses connected
with the advertising. It is of crucial importance because; it is a matter of
money spending and commitment.

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c).Payment:
In accordance with the agency contract with the media, the client is to
pay the agency at the media’s published rates and the agency, has the
right to retain its commission allowed by the media. Any concession
extended by the media is to be passed on to the client.
d). Mutual Trust and Confidence:
There should be an attitude of mutual confidence and trust. The agency
should be allowed to participate in panning and there should be no
interference in its executive. The company should have the freedom to
contribute creative ideas to theagency and the later should accept
them with due changes and considerations.
Definitions
According to the Bedford Group(2002)
Agency relationship is one of the most complex forms of business assoc
iations.They are in need of a good cooperation to be effective and achi
eve sufficient outcomes for bothsides. Its hard headed, resultorined
marrige intended to produce specific, measureable results.
Agency Client Relationship are not just a mystique they can be very
costly as well.
.
 The client agency relationship is the state of interaction between an
organization and the public relations firm it hires to represent it.

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 The client agency relationship is a dynamic decision- making process
in which the participants identify, evaluate, and choose appropriate
communication strategies and alternatives.
 It is a dynamic evaluation process, in which agency and client learn
about each other’s strengths and weaknesses, preferences, and
prejudices.
The Benefits of Using an Advertising Agency
Added Expertise
Media Knowledge and Unbiased Advice
Easier Administration
Media Buying
Quality Control
Information
Fending off the media
And when things go wrong
Cost Saving
Time Saving
Factors Contributing to Effective Client Agency
Relationship
1).Not to Advertise for Immediate Competitive Unit:
For better relationship in the long run, agency should not accept
business from immediate competing rivals of clients. In turn, the clients

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too are expected not to engage a second agency for handling part of
advertising activities without the consent of first agency.
2).Prompt Payment:
The client should pay the agency bills promptly, so that agency can
make timely payment to media- owners and suppliers of advertisement
material, professionals etc. The client should not except agency to
finance their advertising programme. So client should pay bills of
agency as well in time.
3).Passing Down Cash Discounts to Clients : If media gives any
cash-discount for making payment within stipulated time then such
discount should be passed down to client , provide the client pays the
agency bills by due date.
4). Not to Blame Agency for Media–Lapses: The client should not
blame agency for media-lapses related to ad-positioning. Here ad-
scheduling refers to the time and date of issuing advertisement and
Ad-positioning refers to the place in print media where ad is given.
5). Good Services: The advertising agency must provide good
advertising and marketing services to its client. If ad-agency provides
efficient services, at economic rates, at appropriate time, then it will
help to improve agency-client relationship in the long run.
6). Written Agreement: All the terms and conditions between
agency and client should be in writing so as to avoid any dispute in
future. These terms can be with regard to fees, percentage of service
charges, passing down of cash-discount received from media, due-date

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for paying the bills, time to be taken for developing and preparing
advertisement etc.
7). Frequent Contacts between Agency and Client: For
maintaining smooth agency client relation, both the parties should
interact with each other frequently. This will enable both the parties to
understand the problem of each other and to develop understanding
between advertiser and agency on various advertising decisions.
Advertiser should review the agency’s working regarding its advertising
regularly and systematically, rather than critising it at the end. Regular
review and evaluation by client will lead to right course of action at
right time. It will improve the coordination between top-executives of
client and agency, and promote trust and confident in each other.
These principles/factors contribute to healthy client agency
relationship. Their absence will hamper the agency client relationship.
Advertising Process
When preparing our search proposal, we should take into account
that the “lead-in” time needed to place an ad can vary anywhere from
days to months depending on the publication. We should plan to have
our ad approved and an estimate of the cost done at least one month
prior to the date when we want the ad to be published.The advertising
process for professional staff and faculty positions involves :
1. Writing an Ad
2. Getting Approval for the Text of the Ad
3. Estimating the Cost of the Ad

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4. Placing Ads & Posting Announcements
5. Paying for Ads
 Departments
 Account Services / Account Management
The major department in ad agencies is
account services or account management.
Account service employees work directly
with clients and potential clients, soliciting
business for the ad agency and determining
what clients need and want the agency to do
for them. They are also charged with
understanding the client’s business situation
and representing those needs within the
agency, so that ads can be brought to bear
on the correct problem.
Account planner / Director
The Account Planner is the main planning executive who works in
partnership with the client on long-term account planning. He knows
what is happening in the market place, the attitude of the consumer
towards the client’s as well as the competitor’s brands. The account
planner was originally employed to "represent the consumer" in the
advertising i.e., find the best way to pitch the clients products to people
by better understanding them, what they want and how to talk to
them.

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In many agencies, there is a dedicated media department and
there are also some large and small agencies that exclusively handle
media strategy and media buying.
Account Supervisor
A middle management position: he or she manages the account
within a medium term perspective. This includes strategic planning,
market analysis, competitive activity analysis, as well as recognizing and
capitalizing on business building opportunities.
Account executives
Account executives represent their ad agency to their clients. They
understand sales and advertising problems of the client and address
the client’s need to the advertising approach. In advertising ‘The
account’ is the client. The business of each client with the agency is
referred to as an account. An ad agency handles assignments of a
number of clients. The Account Executive motivates guides and
coordinates the activities so that deadlines
are met and the client’s expectations
become a reality.
 Creative department
The creative department is the people who
create the actual ads - form the core of an
advertising agency. Modern advertising
agencies usually form their copywriters and
art directors into creative teams. Creative
teams may be permanent partnerships or
formed on a project-by-project basis. The art
director and copywriter report to a creative

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director, usually a creative employee with several years of experience.
Although copywriters have the word "write" in their job title, and art
directors have theword "art", one does not necessarily write the words
and the other draw the pictures; they both generate creative ideas to
represent the proposition (the advertisement or campaign's key
message). Creative frequently work with outside design or production
studios to develop and implement their ideas. Creative department
consist of two key personnel i.e. art director and copywriters. These
positions and ad agency is explained below
Art Directors
Art Directors in Advertising aren't necessarily the head of an Art
Department although the title may suggest it. They typically work in
teams with a copywriter. Together the team works on a concept and
design for commercials, print advertisements, and any other advertising
medium. The art director is mostly responsible for the visual look and
feel of the creative product as well as the concept. The Art Director
ensures that the end product has the same look and feel as the original
concept.
Copywriter
A copywriter is a person who writes text, or copy, for clients. Most
copywriters work in advertising or marketing, producing copy that's
intended to persuade a reader to buy a product or service or otherwise
take action. Copywriting involves providing words, which are read or
heard in advertisements. This may include slogans or jingles or detailed
text for catalogues, brochures, leaflets and journals. Copywriting also
takes the form of script for television and film commercial
advertisement.

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 Media Department
Size and scale of the advertising is not
important. What's in the mind is important. The big
bucks are not being spent on production, they are
being spent on broadcasting. The Media Department
of an advertising agency is responsible for the
planning and placement of advertising time and
space. It is a function that in recent years has
undergone considerable change. The proliferation of
media forms and the escalating cost of media time
have brought a new focus to the Agency Media
Department.
FUNCTIONS OF THE MEDIA DEPARTMENT
Media Planning
The Media Department is responsible for the preparation and the
actual presentation of the media plan. This department recommends
media and media vehicles that in the agency's opinion best fulfill the
client's marketing and advertising objectives. The recommendations are
based on a careful assessment of the client's strategic requirements
and the subsequent matching against these of the various available
media forms. In the process there is great reliance on research and the
known strengths and weaknesses of various media.

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Media Buying
Once a media plan has been approved by a client, it must then be
purchased. The procedures for this vary according to the medium under
consideration. In print media, for example, most purchases are made
on the basis of rate cards issued by various newspapers or magazines.
In broadcast, however, negotiation is involved. The objective of this
negotiation is quite simple - to achieve maximum media efficiencies in
obtaining the most for the least, or, in other words, the most audience
for the least amount of money.
Media Estimating
Every single purchase made by the Media Buyer must be recorded
in advance of the actual running of the advertisement. This is to enable
the agency to bill the client for monies spent on their behalf and to
check the invoices submitted by the media. This document is called an
estimate.
 Marketing Research Department
Marketing research is three things:
1. The identification of information needs (i.e. defining
the problem)
2. The systematic gathering, recording, analyzing and
interpreting of data about problems relating to the
marketing of goods and services (i.e. providing a
solution to the problem)

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3. The analysis and evaluation of action taken on the basis of
information (i.e. monitoring and modifying the initial solution).
The single most important reason then for doing marketing
research is to guide the marketer in the analysis, planning,
implementation and control of marketing and communications
programs to satisfy both customer needs and organizational goals. It
does this by providing decision-makers with information necessary to
choose between alternative courses of action.
 Print Production Department
Print Production, more than any other agency department, relies
on graphic art technology to help give birth to an ad. If there are to be
no complications in the ad's delivery to the printed page, then strict
technical rules must be followed.
What Print Production People Do?
Print production people:
Meet deadlines. Publications insist on strict deadlines and it's
crucial that production pay strict heed to them.
Use sophisticated technology. To ensure that those deadlines are
met, the Production Manager must possess a solid working know-
ledge of the latest graphic art technology.
Co-ordinate and manage. The Print Production department's job
is to ensure that print advertising is reproduced correctly whether

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in colour or in black and white. This means exact attention to
detail and it is up to the Production Manager to provide the
specifications to suppliers.
The advertising process for professional staff and faculty positions
involves five basic steps:
1. Writing an Ad
2. Getting Approval for the Text of the Ad
3. Estimating the Cost of the Ad
4. Placing Ads & Posting Announcements
5. Paying for Ads

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 Sources of income for the advertising Agency
Commissions from Media:
• The traditional method of compensating agencies is through a
commission system, where the agency receives a specified
commission (usually 15 percent) from the media on any
advertising time or space it purchase for its clients.
The commission system had many advantage, including:
• 1. Traditional and well understood.
• 2. Simple and easy to operate.
• 3. Inspite of its conceptual imperfections it worked well in most
cases
Fee Arrangement
• Under the fee structure, the client and the ad agency negotiate a
flat sum to be paid to the agency for all work done. The agency
estimates the cost (including out of pocket expenses) of servicing
the client who either accepts or negotiates for a lesser amount.
Negotiations continue until an agreement is reached.
• There are two basic types of fee arrangement systems. In the
straight or fixed-fee method, the agency charges a basic monthly
for all of its services and credits to the client and any media
commissions earned. Agency and client agree on the specific work
to be done and the amount the agency will pay for it.
Cost plus agreement
• The cost-plus system is generally used when the media billings are
relatively low and a great deal of agency service is required by the
client. This happens most often with industrial products, new
product introductions etc. that require disproportionate amount

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of agency help in preparing brochures, catalogues and other non-
commissionable marketing activities.
• Under a cost-plus system, the client agrees to pay the agency a
fee based on the costs of its work plus some agreed-on profit
margin (Often a percentage of total costs).This system requires
that the agency keep detailed records of the costs it incurs in
working on the clients account . Direct costs (personnel time and
out-of-pocket expenses) plus an allocation for overhead and a
markup for profits determine the amount the agency bills.
Incentive-Based Compensation
• Many clients these days are demanding more accountability from
their agencies and tying agency compensation to performance
through some type of incentive-based system. While there are
many variations, the basic idea is that the agency’s ultimate
compensation level will depend on how well it meets
predetermined performance goals.
These goals often include objective measures such as sales or market
share as well as more subjective measures such as evaluations of the
quality of the agency’s creative work. Companies using incentive-based
systems determine agency compensation through media commissions,
fees, bonuses, or some combination of these methods
Percentage charges
• Another way to compensate an agency is by adding a markup of
percentage charges to various services the agency purchases from
outside providers. These may include market research, artwork,
printing, photography, and other services or material. Markups

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usually range from 17.65 to 20 percent and are added to the
clients overall bill. Since suppliers of these services do not allow
the agency a commission, percentage charges cover
administrative costs while allowing a reasonable profit for the
agency’s efforts.
 Reasons of Client Turnover
Client turnover means clients changing their ad-agencies. A client does
not approach an agency only because it produces creative stuff or it has
media strength. The Client's turnover situation arises even when a
thorough selection process has been used, and the various guidelines
for liaison and coordination with the agency have been followed in the
right spirit.
Following are the reasons for client leaving the exiting ad-agencies:
(i) Poor Quality of Services: If the client becomes dissatisfied with
the quality of advertising or marketing services provided by the
agency, then it may leave the existing agency and look for another
agency which provides better services.
(ii) Frequent Personnel Changes in Staff: Clients sometimes switches
over to new agencies when the creative team of exiting agency or
key employess of exiting agency moves out to another agency.

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(iii) Lack of Coordination:sometimes, the company key officials anthe
agency personnel find it very difficult to have the working report
warranting a kind of compromise or give and take. If both the
parties are adamant on their issues, the relations break down for
the worst and the best of their interests.
(iv) Dearth of Confidence:When the client loses the confidence of his
agency in the delicate area, of say, competence, fairness in
dealings, treatment and the like, causing tearing away of the
relations.
(v)Change for the sake of change: When change becomes the
essence of life. Man goes on changing simply for the sake of
change. According to such clients, change result better results. It
may not always be the case.
(vi)Non-availability of services: If the present agency cannot render
the services required by the client, there is no escape from joining
another that extends these much desired services.
(vii) Personal Conflict: Sometimes client and agency perceive the ad-
campaign in a drastically different manner. Persons working as top
executives of client and agency may have conflict regarding any
decision of advertising campaign like copy writing, copy designing,
selection of models, selection of media, media scheduling etc. It may
result in client leaving agency.

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Sometimes agency may also leave any client’s account voluntarily
because of:
(i) Accepting the work of immediate competitive unit.
(ii)Agency feels that client’s account is not profitable.
(iii)Client unnecessarily interferes in the working of agency.
(vi) Client does not make payment of bills, or makes
unreasonable delays in payment.
 HOW AGENCIES GET CLIENTS:
To succeed, ad agencies need clients. New clients come from personal
contact withtop management, referrals from satisfied clients, publicity
on recent successfulcampaigns, trade advertising, direct mail, or by
agency’s general reputations.
A. Referrals.
B. Presentations.
C. Networking and community relations.
D. Soliciting and advertising for new business.

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With the growth in ad-agencies, competition for client’s account is
increasing. The agencies must constantly search for new clients and
should satisfy the existing clients to maintain them with the ad agency.
Some of the ways to gain clients as follows:
(i) Searching for new clients by written letters, making calls and
visiting probable clients.
(ii) Presenting information about itself, its experience, its experts, its
previous work, marketing services offered for clients, names of
popular brands developed by agency etc. This information can be
in the form of a brochure or booklet for convincing new clients.
(iii) Creating good image and reputation of the agency by providing
efficient services. Agency that consistently develops excellent
advertising campaigns, acquires favorable reputation among its
clients. This helps the ad agency to search for more clients.
(iv) Offering marketing services along with developing and designing
ads.The clients can be attracted by providing specialized marketing
services like sales promotion, public relations, market research,
consumer research, publicity besides the conventional services of
planning, developing, placing and evaluating ad
(v)Obtaining new clients through referrals from existing clients.

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 How Can Client Agency Relationship be improved?
The relationship between a client and its fundraising agency can be a
critical factor indetermining the success of the client's fundraising work.
A close relationship in whicheveryone feels part of the same team can
not only help both parties to produce betterfundraising materials and
get better results, but it can also make the whole process ofdeveloping
the appeals more efficient and enjoyable!
The ultimate aim of the team that is created by the client and agency
working togetheris to raise as much money as possible, so that the
charity can pursue its social aims.
Each of the priorities below are important means towards this overall
end:
Understanding- both parties make the effort to understand how the
other works.
Trust- both parties trust each other and work to maintain that trust -
including
Communicating well, meeting deadlines and agreeing fair pricing.
Flexibility- there is space in the relationship for both parties to suggest
new ideas, Adjust things and improve things.
Respect- both parties respect the views, competence and situation of
the other,and communicate in a respectful way.
Shared responsibility- in the best client/agency relationships, both
parties will feel an equal sense of responsibility and commitment to the
work they are producing.

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 Summary:
Business relationships assume a prominent role in the strategy of
leading firms, large and small. Client-agency relationships are one of
the most complexes in the business environment, requiring a
substantial level of collaboration to be effective.
Client-agency relationship means relationship between advertiser and
ad-agency. Cordial relationship with full trust and confidence is must to
get maximum from ad agency and agency can also work with free hand.
The major department in ad agencies is account services or account
management
Agency relationship is one of the most complex forms of business assoc
iations.They are in need of a good cooperation to be effective and achi
eve sufficient outcomes for bothsides.
Client turnover means clients changing their ad-agencies.
A client does not approach an agency only because it produces creative
stuff or it has media strength.
The ultimate aim of the team that is created by the client and agency
working together is to raise as much money as possible, so that the
charity can pursue its social aims.

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 Conclusion
In today’s world which is fast moving & dynamic, people’s wants,
need and desires are changing; it’s very important to know them and
give them what they want. This is the main objective of advertising
where ad agency plays major role in market research, making of
creative, launching it in the market, taking the feedback of consumer
and making any product famous and acceptable among consumers. Ad
agencies are playing an important role in shaping present and future of
not just selected brand but of entire company.
References
1).Advertising And Sales Management, Dr. C.N.Sontakki
2). Advertising and Sales Management, Mukesh Trehan & Raju
Trehan
3).Relationship Marketing: Theory & Practice, Francis Buttle
4).Google search

Client agency relationship

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