Type "Agencies" in the Search bar at the top of this page and you'll see a dozen discussions that have taken place over the years.
The most recent discussion came about after RadioINK shared a letter from an ad agency, that portrayed radio reps in the most unflattering light. Then followed a response from one of our members, Brian Winnekins, a small-market broadcaster in Wisconsin, who shared his frustrations with ad agencies; Brian received numerous emails from radio folks across the country expressing similar sentiments. Finally, on June 12th, RAB President Erica Farber weighed in. Said Farber: "We honestly deal with this almost on a daily basis." She stressed the importance of cultivating strong relationships with agencies.
This may be easier said than done, but let's give it a shot.
If you regularly and amicably deal with advertising agencies, how do you make the relationship work? What are the keys to your success?
Therefore, this week's Poll Question: How do you create strong relationships with the ad agencies you work with?
Please share your answers in the Comments below. Thank you!
We really don't work on that and I suppose we should. We have one agency in Chicago that buys ag spots with us and they take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to pay. It's not a lot but even when you're waiting on $700, 12 months is a very long time to wait to be paid.
We just were involved in a new agency to a national grocery chain who was trying to "short-sheet" the account by the national chain giving them our current Net Rate and them trying to trick us into agreeing to a much lower rate, so they could pocket the rest. That got straightened out real quick when we contacted the company.
Personally, I can't stand dealing with agencies because they now take 30 percent for themselves (15 percent commission and a made up "agency fee" to nab another 15 percent) and then they bill the client (which takes 30-60 days) and then once they get paid from their client, they take another 30+ days to pay us). But some - in the case of political buys - often pay us up front, which is nice.
So i guess it's bittersweet. We get about 10-20 percent of our business from agencies, so they are a necessary evil. I'm not sure how we can reach out and get more of a piece of the pie....usually they contact us. If we had a list of agencies in the region, we could certainly reach out to them and try to cultivate the relationship.
Oftentimes they are trying to impress their client and we find that they are disconnected and really are selling their client a bill of goods because they're making money off of clients and politicians who don't want to handle media buys themselves so they "listen" to the agency. If they agency is biased against radio, you're out of luck. The best ones use all forms of media to help a client. But agencies can also be getting kick backs from big media like iHeart, Cumulus, etc. and they will sway buys towards those groups and keep the other ones who maybe have a stronger connection to local consumers in the dark.
To answer the question, we don't do anything to "make it work" They contact us because they want the coverage we can afford them.
Brian Winnekins' letter to RadioINK in response to the agency rant detailed a litany of abuses he's endured. To quote Brian:
My experience with many agencies over the years has been the following…
Not phone calls or emails. I’ve contacted agencies about our station just asking for a 30-minute meeting to see if our station would be a fit for their client. I always tell them up front that if we are not a fit, no harm. I can’t count how many times I didn’t get a reply or return phone call.
Not following through. There have been many times that I have met with an agency and they respond that in the next planning stage we should submit a proposal. So I follow up later in the year, at the time they suggested, and have been told, “Sorry, we decided to plan early and our next year’s budget has already been allocated.” Gee, thanks for telling me. I have also had the experience of scheduling a meeting with a buyer, only to get to the agency and being told, “The buyer has another meeting and won’t be able to see you.” Instead, I meet with an intern or an assistant-assistant-assistant person. A waste of time and money for me.
Asking to lower rates. I get the email from the agency asking for rates for a client. There is no mention of who the client is or even what the client’s business is. All the agency wants is rates…nothing more. I send the rates and then get the response that I need to lower my rates because the metro stations are lower. Never mind the fact that the metro station is a group and is charging $49 a :30 and spreading that out over seven stations for an average rate of $7, and four of those stations will give no benefit to the client. It’s also just a tad hard to put something together when all that I was asked for was rates for a “client” that wants to have a “campaign” in the next month.
Asking for free stuff. This is one area that just gets me mad, but radio sales needs to share the blame for agreeing to all this “value added” garbage and thus lowering the value of radio as a whole. As a farm broadcaster, I do attend many different conventions, etc. The instant I register for the conference, my email lights up like a Christmas tree with requests from agencies to stop by Company A’s booth to do an interview about some new or amazing product that my farm listeners would be interested in. So I respond that I do have a package available for just such a request. The reply is “we are the PR agency, you need to contact the advertising agency.” So I contact the ad agency and, if I get a response, it’s usually, “Oh we have no budget for that” or “Your station is way too small for us to do a buy with, but we would really appreciate it if you would stop and do an interview.” Seriously? So my station is not worth the buy, but it’s valuable for the free interview? Plus, what do I tell Company B who is Company A’s competitor — and who DOES advertise with my station? That I’m giving Company A a free interview? Why can’t the PR and the ad agencies work together?
Slow pay. I get the buy and run the schedule as requested. I send in all the correct paperwork and I have to make a call 90 days later asking for payment. The normal response is “Oh our accounting department is working on it.” No offense, but I can’t tell the electric company or BMI or ASCAP or other bills that “The agency is processing our advertising invoice and when I get paid you will get paid.”
Asking for free coverage. So an agency calls and tells me Company A is having some fundraiser or other “non profit” event at their business and want us to cover it, with either a “news story” or some “plugs on air.” The agency won’t buy us because “we are just too small” but want something free. Meanwhile, that agency buys a big ad in the newspaper. Sorry, but my those I owe money to are not going to say, “Well Brian, you were so nice to cover that fundraiser that we are going to take a chunk off your bill.”
Making terrible buys then blaming me. I had an agency wanting to make a buy and be a sponsor of my farm programming. Great! So I get the buy — one time per day for four weeks and please rotate the following 10 commercials. I called the buyer and suggested we only run one of the commercials and/or up the schedule. Of course, the response usually is “That’s what the client wants” or “That’s all we have for budget.” When the campaign doesn’t get the response they expected then it’s my fault. Since that happened I have now turned down buys like that as it makes my station, and radio as a whole, look bad.
Wanting the “agency discount.” Why do agencies think they deserve a discount and then charge the 15%? Sure, I’m willing to give a discount for a bulk purchase. I offer that to all my clients, but an additional discount? Okay, I’ll do that if the agency gives me a “local radio” discount and drop the commission to 7.5%.
