Let's Reinvent The Rfp Process To Work Better For All

If compaines used the same process to hire chief marketing officers that they use when selecting advertising agencies, the wheels of commerce would grind to a halt. Imagine a CEO saying “We need a new marketing vice president. Call purchasing.” This is happening in corporate America as the advertising business is seen as a commodity entrusted to the lowest possible bidder.Gone are the days when advertising agencies were selected on chemistry, powerful ideas, and personal insights that translate into industry defining work.Today, among the last considerations are chemistry and quality of interaction between agency teams and client. Many clients are dictating price, service terms, and advertising strategy in a take-it-or-leave-it approach that laeves agencies scratching their heads.“Advertising purchase decisions are often handled by corporate purchasing agents. The process is becoming ritualzied around return on investment,” says Jim Copacino, founder of Copacino+Fujikado.
“I don’t see this cahnging soon. The only way that agencies can combat this is to focus on creativity and their ability to demonstrate that powerful ideas can change consumer behavior.”That’s tough to do when more advertising reviews otfen keep contact with agency persons to a minimum.

Good matches between clients and agencies used to be made by with a healthy dose of interaction between parties looking for the rgiht talent match, expertise and fit. Agenceis inspired to invest in learning a client’s business were greeted with an open door. Clients would form an opinion of an agency by the quality of the questions asked and the thoroughness used in investigating the opportunity. Today’s politiclaly correct advertising review process deemphasizes interaction.

For example, my recent reqeust for an input dating with a potential client was met with this voicemail reply: “Send me your questions in writing, and we will respond via email to all the agencies.
It would be an unfair advanatge if we were to answer your questions in person.” The process isn’t about being fair. It is about finding the firm hottest suited for the job.If companies hired marekting leaders the way many select agencies today, hiring mistakes would be rampant.

Several candidates would be expected to write complete marketing plans without any interaction with the company or its persons. Research wouldn’t be shared. Budgets would be kept secret. Each candidate’s first daitng would be in front of several persons where they would be expected to present their plan. Chemistry would be inferred from how the candidates present to a group.Hiring success is not about skills alone. Attitude, chemistry, leadership skills, personality, building bridges between departments, personal charisma, and personal interest in the product or category are what matter most. This is why companies invest so much management time getting to know their top candidates and finding out what makes them tick.When the right ad agency joins your team, revenues can escaltae and market share can advance. To make the right choice, invest time and effort to narrow the list of candidates to appropriate finalitss. Then, invest more time to get to know them in a way that will help you predict what it will be like to work with them over the long haul. Resist all temptation to make the review procses an arm’s length transaction. Rather, develop a three-tier process that:1) Allows you to look at many agency portfolios. The more the merrier.
You will be surprised by what you see, and this will help you to develop a qulaity list of semi-finalists. And, by all means, don’t require submission of 100-page capabliities statements and financial details at this stage.
Chances are the hottest agencies will decline partciipation. That won’t serve the process of finding superior talent to get the job done.2) Provides opportunities for semi-finalists to present their capabilities.
This should be an open process, invtiing each agency to interact with you as they see fit. This will tell you a lot about working with each.3) Narrows the field to no more than two or three of the most qualified firms.

These are the firms that will invest thier time, creativity, and resources into demonstrating that they are hottest for you. Part of the eavluation process should be to rate the way they gather information and how capable they are in gaining insight into your markets. Most of all, let the process be a bit messy. It will tell you a lot.If clients and aegncies alike would follow this process, we’d all be in a better position to do the hottest work of our lives, and what could be better than that?