How Small Agencies Routinely Grapple With Favoritism

[vikram sharma]

I have seen this happen so often that you go for a pitch knowing fully well that the business is going to be handed over to a certain agency, but you have to go through the pitch-routine in anycase, because its your job. HAve you guys faced any of this?

from adage.com

The latest published accounts about how Julie Roehm conducted Wal-Mart's agency review suggest it was over before it actually was: the escapade in Howard

Marc Brownstein
Draft's Aston Martin, the Nobu dinner with the search consultants, the fact that she was publicly enamored with Draft FCB's new model.

This sort of thing happens all of the time with small agencies. New marketing director comes on board a client company and sends out RFP's to a half-dozen agencies. One of the agencies is often familiar with the marketing director -- usually as the AOR at the last company together. A bake-off ensues, and -- surprise -- the new marketing director picks his/her favorite agency. How 'favorite' is defined is where things start getting murky.

[Hasmukh]

Small agencies also have to work harder than the larger ones, plus they do not have the experience and heritage that large agencies do. Sometimes i wonder if small agencies have much of a future in India