The survey summarizes findings from a study conducted by Provoke Insights in December 2017. They surveyed 736 advertising and marketing professionals, including 149 from advertising agencies and 587 client-side marketers. Key findings include: - Companies are increasingly hiring multiple specialized ad agencies while some conduct marketing in-house - Social media agencies are most frequently hired, and larger companies work with more agencies - Payment structure has shifted from retainer to a mix of retainer and project-based work - Cost is the primary reason for switching agencies, while research/data is also important for larger companies - The vendor selection process typically takes 3-6 months from RFP to selection

1. December, 2017
The Agency Selection Process
___________________________
Advertisers & Client-Side Marketers
Research Study
www.provokeinsights.com
April 2018

2. Introduction
The advertising and marketing landscape is changing and
considering we are seeing more marketers conducting advertising
initiatives in-house, what are they still outsourcing in 2018? What is
the payment structure for these projects? Are there areas that
could use improvement? What makes marketers most likely to
select an advertising agency? How do marketers and agencies
measure advertising success?
This study, conducted by Provoke Insights, a thought leader in
branding and advertising research, surveys both advertising and in-
houses marketers to best answer these questions.

3. Methodology Advertisers (149 respondents)
Works at an advertising agency
with 2+ employees for at least one
year. Their job role is account
management, analytics, art buyers,
content marketing, creative,
finance, leadership, media
buying/planning, new business,
production, project management,
search specialists, social
media/community management,
strategy, or web development.
1 Client-side (587 respondents)
Works at a company with a minimum of
25 employees and has an advertising
budget. They have full or shared
decision making authority of ad
budget, marketing vendor selection, or
marketing initiatives
2
How To Read the Deck
Statistical differences between subgroups were tested at a 90% confidence level and
are indicated by capital letters in the analysis. Margin of error is +/- 3%.
Smaller companies are defined as under 500 employees and larger companies as 500+
employees.
Note numbers may not add up to a 100% due to rounding.
Provoke Insights conducted a ten minute online survey in December
2017. The research firm surveyed 736 advertising and marketing
professionals. The two segments are as follows:

4. Key Findings
Understanding the competitive
landscape

5. Partnering
with
Agencies
Companies are increasingly
hiring multiple specialized ad
agencies to bolster their
marketing efforts. However, some
smaller companies opt to
conduct the advertising in-house.
Firms who outsource their
advertising, on average, work
with 4 agencies at a time. On
average, businesses have
worked with their primary
agency for five years.
Social media agencies are most
frequently commissioned. Larger
companies are also more likely to
hire web, full-service, digital, and
media agencies as well.
Agencies are overall satisfied
with their vendors. Businesses
were most satisfied with how their
primary agency understood their
business objectives.
ROI, distrust, and expectations
not being met are reasons for
dissatisfaction with the
relationship. Smaller businesses
are also less satisfied with the
research and data supplied by
their agency.
Larger companies tend to
measure marketing
effectiveness using multiple
techniques. Smaller firms use
research less to measure
success.
A notable change in the industry
is in how agencies are being
paid. While retainer used to be
the norm, payment structure is
now a combination of retainer
and project based. Interestingly,
over a tenth of large companies
solely use a project based
structure. However, this is much
more prevalent among
companies with less than 500
employees.

6. Cost is the primary reason for an
account to go into review followed by
the relationship, lack of research, and
responsiveness. Cost becomes less of a
factor for larger companies while
research and relationships play a
bigger role in the decision.
Companies take, on average, between
3-6 months to choose a vendor from
RFP to selection with four agencies
competing in the process. Smaller
companies have a shorter decision
cycle: half take under two months to
vet and select an agency.
Agency
Selection

7. Detailed
Findings

8. Partnerships with
Ad Agencies

9. Commissioning an
Agency vs. In-house
Q. Does your company conduct all marketing in-house or does your company hire a marketing/advertising agency(ies)?
44%
36%
20%
Almost half of companies conduct
their marketing solely in-house; this is
especially true for companies with
less than 500 employees.
Base: In-house Marketers (n=587)
Base: In-house Marketers that hire
outside agencies (n=326)
How Companies Conduct Marketing
Companies with under 500 employees
33%
67%
Companies with 500+ employees
Companies that hire advertising agencies
All marketing
initiatives are
outsourced
Marketing initiatives
are conducted in-
house and
outsourced
All marketing
initiatives are
conducted in-
house.

10. Number of
Agencies
on the
Roster
Companies with under
500 employees (A)
(that hire outside agencies
n=109)
Companies with
500+ employees (B)
(that hire outside agencies
n=217)
25% B 9%
47% 48%
13% 22% A
2% 9% A
14% 13%
1 agency
2 -4 agencies
5 -6 agencies
7 -9 agencies
10+ agencies
Companies work with an
average of four agencies
at a time (median).
However, larger
companies are more likely
to use five or more
agencies to fulfill their
marketing needs.
•Q. How many marketing/advertising agencies does your company currently work with?

11. Type of
Agencies
Commissioned
39%
23%
37%
24%
37%
24%
28%
34%
29%
40%
45%
47%
46%
13%
17%
18%
19%
19%
21%
21%
23%
28%
28%
31%
35%
39%
Media
CRM
Design/Creative
Brand Consultancy
Search Marketing
Content Marketing
Traditional
Communications/PR
Promotional
Digital/Interactive
Full Service
Web Design
Social Media
Companies with under 500 employees Companies with 500+ employees
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
Companies are using multiple types of agencies
to meet their needs. Firms that specialized in
social media are the most-hired type of agency.
Larger companies are also more likely to hire
web, full-service, digital, and media agencies.
•Q. Which of the following types of marketing/advertising agencies is your company currently working with? (Select all that apply)
Base: Hire outside agencies
(n=109) (n=217)

12. Payment
Structure
Q. How do you typically structure payments with your Primary Agency (retainer or per-project basis)?
60%
24%
16%
41%
38%
22%
70%
17%
13%
Both Per-project basis Retainer
Total Companies with under 500 employees Companies with 500+ employees
A
B
B
No longer are agencies solely
on retainer. Typically,
companies commission
agencies on per project and
retainer basis. This is particularly
true for larger companies.
A B
(n=109) (n=217)
Base: Hire an
outside ad
agency
(n=326)

13. Marketing
Initiatives
by Company Size
Type of Marketing Initiative
Companies with
under 500
employees (A)
Companies with 500
+ employees (B)
Base Size 236 351
Banner Ads 57% 64%A
Paid Social 56% 65%A
Print Ads 53% 56%
Social Media Management 45% 56%A
Events 43% 48%
Brochures 43%B 36%
Direct Response 39% 38%
Public Relations 39% 46%
Radio Ads 34% 42%A
SEM 33% 43%A
SEO 30% 40%A
TV Ads 28% 48%A
Mobile Apps 26% 46%A
Out-of-Home 23% 30%A
Tradeshows 22% 27%
Loyalty Programs 20% 32%A
Product Placement 19% 23%
Telemarketing 17% 29%A
Affiliate Marketing 15% 25%A
POP Advertising 14% 19%A
Cause Marketing 11% 19%A
Guerilla Marketing 8% 10%
Companies most often implement
banner ads and paid social. Larger
companies are more likely to invest in
mobile apps and television
commercials. Smaller companies are
more likely to use brochures or other
print marketing materials.
•Q. Which of the following marketing initiatives does your company implement? (Select all that apply)

14. Determining
Success of
Marketing
Initiatives
55% 54% 53%
50%
39%
33%
20%
4%
70%
68%
50%
57%
59%
61%
24%
1%
Web/Mobile
Analytics
Social Media
Analytics
Sales Revenue Direct
Response
Tracking
Quantitative
Research
Qualitative
Research
Cost Per Lead Do not
measure
effectiveness
initiatives
Companies with under 500 employees Companies with 500+ employees
A
A
A
A
Larger companies tend to
measure marketing
effectiveness using multiple
techniques. Smaller firms
use research less to
measure success.
•Q. How does your company determine marketing, advertising, or PR initiative(s) effectiveness? (Select all that apply)

15. Satisfaction
with Primary
Agency
39%
56%
2% 3%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
In-house marketers
have partnered with
their primary
agencies for an
average of
5 years
While the vast majority are at
least satisfied with their primary
agency, only a fourth say they
are very satisfied. This leaves
room for agency improvement.
95%
Base: In-house Marketers that hire
outside agencies (n=326)
Q. Overall, how satisfied are you with the Primary Agency?

16. The Pitch
Process

17. Motivations
for Putting
An Account
In Review
Q. Which of the following would be the main reasons your company would consider switching a marketing agency it partners with? (Select up to two)
Unsurprisingly, cost is the biggest
reason why companies switch
advertising agencies.
Access to research and data is the
second biggest reason for switching
agencies, particularly for larger
companies.
3%
4%
5%
9%
8%
17%
17%
21%
22%
27%
28%
33%
0%
2%
4%
8%
12%
16%
25%
20%
25%
10%
16%
49%
2%
3%
5%
9%
10%
16%
18%
21%
22%
23%
24%
37%
Change in my
co.'s leadership
Working style
Trust
Want a more
innovative firm
Looking for a fresh
perspective
Understanding your company’s
objectives
Prior experience in
your industry
Marketing effectiveness
Responsiveness
Access to
research/data
Relationship
w/ agency
Cost
In-House Marketers Companies With Under 500 Employees Companies With 500+ Employees
B
(n=190) (n=49) (n=141)

18. Vendor
Selection &
Timelines
Q. Typically how long is the vendor selection process from sending out an RFP to agency selection? When vetting advertising/marketing agencies, how many do you consider at time?
Most frequently
companies take between
3-6 months to choose a
vendor from RFP to
selection with four
agencies competing in
the process. Smaller
companies have a
quicker decision cycle.
36%
54%
41%
59%
43%
54%
5%
3%
5%
Companies with
500+ employees
Companies with under
500 employees
In-House Marketers
2 months or less 3-6 months 7 months or more
Companies typically vet
4 agencies at a time
(n=326)
(n=109)
(n=217)

19. Respondent
Profile

20. Size of
Advertising
Agency
Q. How many employees work at your company?
Number of Employees
2-24 25%
25-99 13%
100-999 30%
1,000-4,999 15%
5,000+ 17%
n=149

21. Type of
Ad Agency
And Job
Role
Q. What best describes the type of advertising/marketing agency you work for? What best describes your job role? (Please select the closest job function)
Type of Agency
Traditional/Brand/Full-service
Agency 36%
Digital/Search 17%
Creative/Content/Social/Web
design 16%
Media 15%
Other 17%
Job Role
Account/Project Management 23%
Media 21%
Content/Social/SEO/SEM 18%
Creative/Art Buyer 11%
Strategy/Analytics 11%
Leadership/New Business 9%
Other 7%
Average experience in
advertising industry
Mean: 7.81 years
Median: 5
(n=149)

22. Annual
Revenue
Ad Agencies
5% 5%
13%
14%
15%
12%
8%
9%
3%
16%
Under $250,000 $250,000 -
$499,999
$500,000-
$999,999
$1,000,000-
$2,499,999
$2,500,000-
$4,999,999
$5,000,000-
$9,999,999
$10,000,000-
$99,999,999
$100,000,000-
$499,999,999
$500,000,000-
$999,999,999
$1,000,000,000+
(n=149)
Q. What is your company's annual revenue?

23. Size of
Company
In-House
Marketers
Q. How many employees work at your company? Q. Which of the following categories best describes your organization's primary industry?
Number of Employees
2-24 0%
25-99 20%
100-999 31%
1,000-4,999 22%
5,000+ 27%
(n=587)

24. In-House Marketers
(n=587)
Retail 14%
Healthcare/Pharma 11%
Hospitality/Tourism 8%
Education 8%
Banking/Finance/Insurance 8%
IT/Comp Hard/Software 7%
Real Estate 6%
Jewelry/Fashion 5%
Automotive 4%
Consumer Packaged Goods 4%
Other 25%
The of
Industry
In-House
Marketers
Q. How many employees work at your company? Which of the following categories best describes your organization's primary industry?
(n=587)

25. Role in
Decision-
Making
Process
In-House
Marketers
(n=587) 85%
73%
70%
54%
Marketing/Ad
initiatives
Ad /Marketing
vendor selection
Advertising/Marketing
department's budget
Public Relations
initiatives
Q.Which of the following areas in your company do you have shared or full decision making authority? (Select all that apply)
Decision Making Authority

26. 1%
4%
7%
8%
12%
9%
20%
14%
11%
15%
Under $250,000 $250,000 -
$499,999
$500,000-
$999,999
$1,000,000-
$2,499,999
$2,500,000-
$4,999,999
$5,000,000-
$9,999,999
$10,000,000-
$99,999,999
$100,000,000-
$499,999,999
$500,000,000-
$999,999,999
$1,000,000,000+
Annual
Revenue
In-House Marketers
(n=587)
Q. What is your company's annual revenue?

27. About
Provoke Insights
Full service research and strategy firm located in the
heart of Times Square, New York

28. Provoke Insights is a full service market research firm and brand
strategy consultancy that helps brands navigate through today’s
cluttered marketing space. We are the nerds behind the
advertising, branding, media, and content marketing initiatives.
Our obsession with data and research makes your marketing
strategy compelling and impactful. From guiding brand strategies
to fielding surveys, we have the tools and the brains to successfully
implement and test your advertising initiatives.
As experts in traditional and innovative research methodologies,
we provide strategic solutions to help answer your marketing needs
through tools such as quantitative and qualitative research, social
listening, competitive intelligence, and trends analysis.
Please check out our website to learn more:
www.provokeinsights.com
Provoke Insights
1460 Broadway
NY, NY 1003
212-653-8819
info@provokeinsights.com