Entering into a relationship with a new agency is an investment of time and resources. We developed the following information and tips to help clients plan for a smooth agency hiring process.


There are several reasons to hire an agency.

An agency can provide expertise and resources that are not available to a company or brand. Many in-house teams are working at or above capacity so they don’t have resources to work on multiple projects. Some agencies don’t want to take on the challenges of bringing certain marketing services in-house. And with today’s expanding numbers of marketing opportunities and fragmented media landscape, it isn’t realistic for most brands to have expertise in every area. In these situations, an agency well versed within a specific genre makes sense.

Agencies can give fresh perspective and insight into a client’s customers, products and business, offering different and new ideas and solutions to challenges.

Also, an agency can provide efficiencies by keeping its client fully updated on the ‘big issues’, while not bogging down its client with the numerous details of project execution, management and administration.


In some cases, even when a company has one or more agency in its arsenal, it may bring in a specialty firm that can help target a specific demographic, such as the youth market. A niche agency can successfully execute a certain type of program efficiently or develop relevant creative. The right agency working within its area of expertise should be able to execute fresh, exciting work with professionalism, creativity and efficiency that will hopefully provide results that meet its client’s goals.


Once the decision to hire an agency is made, the following are useful steps in an agency hiring process:


A good first step is to document your needs. Doing this gives a prospective agency insight into your situation and goals. It also can help stake-holders within your organization align on key elements of the program and prevent unmet expectations later. The approach to documenting your needs can vary from listing a few key points written in an email to a detailed Request for Proposal. A good RFP will outline the following:

• Business and brand background and positioning (the more the better)
• Summary of desired work and objectives (include any special expectations and considerations)
• Details on your target consumers (and customers and/or distribution system if appropriate)
• Project specifications or restrictions, if appropriate
• Budget range or cap
• Timelines for responding to the brief and for the program

Some clients don’t like to provide project financial information, however a budget cap or range is helpful in guiding the agency to develop properly scaled, feasible solutions to your marketing challenges.
Note that agencies will spend a great deal of time and energy responding to an RFP. Therefore, potential clients should be clear, in advance, with the agency about the following:

• If the RFP process may be used as only ‘information gathering’
• If an agency may not be hired as a result of the process
• If funding has not been approved for the agency’s proposed project(s)

In these circumstances, many agencies will gladly respond to your request, but they deserve to know these details in advance.


There are a few ways to research potential agencies. You can network within your organization or with other businesses or experts. You can read trade publications or conduct online research. When you have a potential candidate agency, you then should have an initial phone interview with the agency to discuss your project and the agency’s services and to learn more information about the agency. This discussion can help determine if an agency is a good fit to proceed with your selection process. As you conduct this phone interview, consider the following:

• Does the agency really do the things you’re looking for or are they just saying ‘we can do everything’?
• Can the agency provide examples of past work that is relevant to your needs?
• What other relevant clients does the agency work with?
• Is there chemistry and personality fit on the phone?
• How does the agency manage client work and update clients on progress?
• How does the agency staff client accounts?
• How does the agency bill for services?
• Do they mark up expenses?

When you select the agencies that you will invite to respond to your Request for Proposal, give them your RFP and make yourself available to discuss it with each agency. Remember, the more clearly you communicate about your project, the more likely you will get results you are seeking. Give each agency a reasonable RFP due-date.


You should plan to receive your agency proposal in person or via phone conference. Criteria for evaluating proposals should be identified in advance and consistently applied to each agency. This typically includes agency experience and expertise, concepts presented, ability to execute, metrics system, cost and other factors specific to the project. You may want to include other decision makers in the Proposal Review. Be sure they are briefed in advance on the details of the RFP and the review criteria.


Once you have selected the agency that is best for you, you’re ready to hire them. Hiring the agency typically involves signing a service agreement, agreeing on a payment schedule and having a kick-off meeting to address program start-up issues. It also is important to remember that while an agency will do much of the work outlined in your project brief, the client should be prepared to have staff manage the agency and its relationship.