Top 10 Most Innovative Ad Agencies in 2020

Posted on March 10, 2020February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

Fast Company just released its pick for the 10 most innovative ad agencies in 2020.

Congratulations go out to BBDO NY, McCann Worldgroup, Giant Spoon, Anomaly, TBWA Worldwide, The&Partnership, VMLY&R, Observatory, and Droga5.

But let’s face it.

It takes a bold and courageous client to hire an innovative ad agency, and not be afraid. To be a strategic and collaborative partner with their agency.

And to keep the innovation team small – which sometimes requires keeping the rest of the C-suite out of the ideation sessions, and drawing upon the appropriate stakeholders for development and execution of the idea.

Agile and smart teams win the day.

Need help finding a new agency? As a leading global agency search consultant, we’re here to help.

Agencies Need to Make a Better Case

Posted on October 4, 2019February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

Show your case studies and capabilities – don’t phone it in

So, you finally got that elusive call with an agency search consultant. Or, better yet, someone at the client. But, you didn’t host the call on an online conferencing service?

That’s a missed opportunity given today’s technology.

And a 5-page deck is all you need to:

Show you researched the brand or search consultant
List your capabilities on one page and let the conversation steer the drill-down
Show 2-3 of your best case studies – one page each with creative links

That’s it. Not complicated.

So why do so many ad agencies try to “talk” their capabilities and case studies at their audience over the phone?

As a result, you won’t keep your audience engaged nor leverage the impact of visuals to make a lasting impression.

Granted, technology can let us down at times. So you may want to send that deck just before the call.

But to get the most out of the short call, try to leverage online conferencing services and present a quick deck!

Bajkowski + Partners is a global consultancy with practices in Agency Search and Selection Management, Agency Performance and Relationship Management, Marketing Organization and Optimization, and Brand and Marcomm Management.

Apparently DOJ Not Finished With U.S. Media Buying Investigation

Posted on March 26, 2019February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

According to an article published by AdAge on March 25, 2019, the Department of Justice had impaneled a federal grand jury, enabling the U.S. Attorney to issue a subpoena to an unidentified “large marketer” for its media records.

This comes as a surprise given December 2018 reporting by both AdAge and Adweek that the DOJ had cleared five major holding companies.

The FBI’s investigation into U.S. media buying and transparency practices began last April as a result of a 2016 media transparency report, also known as the K2 Intelligence Report, released by the Association of National Advertisers.

The K2 report cited serious problems that went against media buying best practices and agency-client contracts.

This week’s AdAge article cites concerns among ANA member marketers over agency backlash and blacklisting should their participation in the K2 and DOJ investigations become public.

Apparently the DOJ has been working with a non-redacted version of the K2 report which contains the names of more than 40 sources that participated in the ANA-sponsored investigation.

Bajkowski + Partners LLC is a leading consultancy providing services to marketing and procurement teams including building in-house media planning and programmatic as well as in-house creative and production operations. For more information, please visit our website.

65% of Marketers Moving Some or All of Programmatic Buying In-house

Posted on May 23, 2018February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

According to a study just released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 65 percent of surveyed marketers making programmatic buys have either moved some or all of those functions in-house or are planning to doing so.

Key reasons cited include greater cost efficiencies and transparency, improved targeting and control of ads, shortened optimization time frames, and better focus on business objectives.

Not An Overnight Process

Taking programmatic in-house requires more than just appropriate staffing and isn’t accomplished overnight. In fact, it could take a year or more, and that’s after you develop your scope and implementation plan. And since you’ll need to hire the right talent, integrate multiple data sources, and build the right tech stack, you’ll need to prepare a detailed human and hard capital budget too.

Fortunately the IAB report provides a checklist to facilitate the process – plus there are external consultants to spearhead this initiative or advise along the way.