Spark Foundry’s Anna Cherry and Matthew Turl reveals 'Exclusive Research In It For The Long Haul The Parallels of Client Relationship Tenure With Brand Performance' at Mumbrella360, 2022.

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THURSDAY 21 JULY 2022
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL?

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MATT
TURL
Chief Operating Officer, Spark Foundry
ANNA
CHERRY
National Head of Strategy, Spark Foundry
Higher res image of
Matt?

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Spark Foundry acknowledges the traditional custodians
of country throughout Australia and their connection
to land, sea and community.
We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that
respect to all Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN?

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Long term
relationships aid
in staff retention
Enduring
partnerships
create greater
brand
performance
Creativity and
innovation
flourish in longer
term
relationships

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INTRODUCING
IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL?
01

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METHODOLOGY
The In it for the Long-Haul report is a study based on responses to a
qualitative and quantitative survey of more than 100 agency and
marketing professionals.
The client-side results are based on responses from CMOs and senior
marketing leads across a range of industry verticals.
The agency participants are drawn from a range of Australian agency
owners, MDs, new business directors, strategy directors and client
service directors from across all media and communications disciplines.
Interviews were also held with consultants specialising in agency
relationships.
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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There is a direct link between brand
performance and relationship tenure.
There is also an intention-action gap.
THE FINDING
Enduring partnerships create
greater brand performance.
THE HYPOTHESIS

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felt that longer term relationships allowed
them to balance short term metrics with
longer term brand building ones.
of respondents felt that longer term
relationships made for stronger brand
performance.
of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed
that longer term relationships generate
greater trust at a C-suite level.
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022
80% 74% 75%

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7+
YEARS
2 – 4
YEARS
NOW
1980s
Source: R3, 2017| The Ouch Factor, 2021

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Curiosity to see if they can get into a
better position, whether in
investment, contract conditions, or
thinking. Almost a commercial
variant of FOMO?
Agency
Wanting to work with people
we trusted, people who had
a track record of delivery
and people who understood
our business rather than
individuals who wanted to win
awards or achieve a billing target.
Marketer
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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2 YEARS
5 MONTHS
2 YEARS
6 MONTHS
AVERAGE MARKETER
TENURE
AVERAGE CMO
TENURE
Source: State of the CMO, 2022 | Adnews, 2017

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* The knowledge, rapport and shared
corporate history.
Creative Capital* – not creativity – flourishes in
long term relationships.
THE FINDING
Creativity and innovation flourish in longer term
relationships.
THE HYPOTHESIS

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of respondents agree that longer lasting
relationships generate greater creativity
and innovation.
of all respondents agreed that it is
possible to create
creative and innovative work in the
short-term.
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022
48% 62%

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27% OVER TWO YEARS
Source: Aprais, 2022
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Round 1 Round 4
Better Relationships
Financial Services FMCG Media Automotive
Return on Investment
Better Relationships

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A foundation of trust (that should
come with the longevity of the
relationship) allows for a higher
willingness to take risk in
often unchartered territories,
therefore fostering innovation and in
turn value.
Marketer
Primarily, longer-term relationships
create trust and trust enables
innovation. Trust gives agencies
the 'capital' to take
calculated risks, and it is only
through calculated risks that
innovation is born.
Agency
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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THE UNSPOKEN TENSION
‘Think of it as an
intellectual bank account…
it’s the bank of goodwill.’
63%
takes 3-9 months for an agency to onboard a new
client
The average relationship can be as short as two
years.
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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Up to
pitch cycle
A collective belief
TIME
breeds better brand
performance and creative
capital
marketer
tenure
2YR 2.6YR
to ‘onboard’ a new
relationship
9MTHS

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It takes two.
Retention is a collective responsibility.
THE FINDING
Long term relationships
aid in staff retention.
THE HYPOTHESIS

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of agency respondents felt that longer lasting client
relationships contributed to minimising agency staff turnover.
In contrast, only of marketers felt that changing
agencies impacted their marketing team retention rates.
67%
37%
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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The reason for longer-term
relationships is usually based on both
parties being happy working together.
That then emanates to the wider
team. More integrated agencies make
staff feel more valued (as opposed to
transactional, short term
relationships).
Agency
It acts as an anchor in the agency and a
place that feels secure, rather than having
to constantly be on pitch mode. The best
creative work comes in a secure
environment of trust and encouragement,
not fear and pressure.
Agency

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When there is a long-term relationship
and little/no turnover in agency contacts,
that has a big impact on job
satisfaction. High turnover of key
account reps reduces engagement and
morale with the team as they feel they're
constantly getting new people
up to speed.
Marketer
(One of the benefits of longer-term
agency talent is) not having to
onboard multiple stakeholders who
work on your business. It is
exhausting for all levels of the
marketing team, and
relationships take time to
nurture.
Marketer
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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HOWEVER…
90%
of agency respondents
62%
of marketers
agreed that frequent
pitching makes for a more
transactional and less value
based relationship.
Source: Publicis Groupe Brand Performance / Relationship Tenure Survey, Q4, June 2022

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Long term
relationships aid
in staff retention
Enduring
partnerships
create greater
brand
performance
Creativity and
innovation
flourish in longer
term
relationships
Creative Capital –
not creativity – flourishes in
long term relationships.
It takes two.
Retention is a
collective
responsibility.
There is a direct link
between brand performance and
relationship tenure.

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SO WHAT ?
Build It Together.
Be Obsessed With
Providing AND
Proving Value.
Be Clear On What
Matters. Review
Accordingly.
3
1 2

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THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE
If marketers want innovation, which in fact is
proactivity, but we are all caught in a cycle designed
to lower cost, then how do agencies make the money
required to invest in the teams that have the
capability and the capacity to make this difference
sustainably?
Who’s responsibility is it to close the
intention action gap? Agencies by
demonstrating value return? Marketers by
better educating boards on the value of long
term thinking and long term tenure?
Everyone’s by resisting the current pitch
cadence?
If CMO and marketing team tenures are so
short (2.5 and 2.6 years respectively) then
arguably agencies hold more IP than
marketing teams? Does the C-Suite
understand this? Might it change the
perspective on pitch frequency?
If year 1 is on boarding and year 3 is
preparing for a pitch then should agency KPIs
focus only on the maximum productivity
window of year 2? (Yes we know this is
ridiculous but so is the notion of one optimal
year in 3).
If losing a client has an enormous impact on
agency people, morale and performance but
37% of marketers do not think that changing
agencies impacts their own team then is the
notion of partnership just lip service?
90% of agencies believe pitching and re
pitching erodes relationships but only 62% of
marketers agree. Is the subtext as an industry
we are not aligned on what good
relationships look like?

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Matt Turl
Chief Operating Officer
matthew.turl@sparkfoundryww.com
Anna Cherry
National Head of Strategy
anna.cherry@sparkfoundryww.com
REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN NEXT YEAR’S SURVEY
research@sparkfoundryww.com

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THURSDAY 21 JULY 2022