“Challenges of a CMO” #1: Juggling Agency Partners
Posted by: Ellen Jackson - 11.07.24
From reducing spend to keeping brand consistency, how can you achieve more with less agency partners?
Imagine trying to herd cats with, well, more cats. Sounds chaotic, doesn’t it? Yet, this is what managing multiple agency partners often feels like.
Welcome to the first instalment of our “Challenges of a CMO” blog series, where we tackle the issue of juggling multiple agency partners.
The problem
You’ve got a line-up of talented specialist agencies all handling different parts of your brand and comms. Individually, they’re great at what they do – that’s the reason you hired them. But together, it’s sort of like trying to herd cats, using more cats. And it’s not getting better. In fact it’s getting more and more difficult to juggle while managing your own daily tasks.
Your calendar looks like a game of tetris, with meetings racking up left, right and hump day. You make sure your brand is consistent across the different projects and teams. You manage each agency’s capacity to meet your deadline. You deal with agencies that are dead set on their idea or process even though it doesn’t fit with the bigger picture. You keep an eye on every partner’s cost so you don’t end up over budget. And breathe. And at the end of it all the final result isn’t really like what you bought into at the start of the process.
We get it. And it’s not just you.
The research
Research shows plenty of CMOs are experiencing difficulties with their agency roster. In fact, according to the latest Up to the Light report – What Clients Think 2024, 43% of marketing directors would ideally like to be working with fewer agencies.
The same research also found that agencies aren’t doing enough to give brand CMOs a comprehensive view of trends and competitors. With 77% of marketing directors stating they do not have enough time to properly monitor competitors and marketing trends.
And when it comes to collaboration: 80% of clients with in-house marketing resource would like to see a greater level of collaboration with external agencies. Even though 95% of clients with in-house creative resource still see the value in using external agencies for particular challenges.
So, although CMOs see the value in working with an external agency who can give them specialist help, they’re not getting the collaboration and proactive approach they need.
How can you solve these challenges?
Ride Shotgun was created with these issues in mind. There was a real gap in the market for an agency that gives you everything you need under one roof, with less wasted spend over multiple teams.
We’re made different.
We’ve created an agency that thinks big strategically, goes big creatively and delivers big in production. All in one place. Whether you need a lead strategic partner or effective content production to get your brand out there, we draw from expertise from right across the business to work with you to ensure you smash your sales and marketing goals. Without ever losing the integrity of your brand. We call it joined-up brand journeys.
Experts at every step
It means we have experts at every step who work well together, communicate daily and produce amazing work. You’ll find everything from strategy, to creative, to production, to activation in our ranks. This makes it easier for CMOs like you to manage everything from cost, to capacity, to inter-team relationships. Whatever you need, we’ve got your back.
Proactive thinking
As a CMO you don’t have the time to keep up with the latest trends and tech innovations – especially with so many of them popping up. So brands tend to spend more money exploring what could work, with plenty of dead ends in the process.
Let us be like a sat nav on the journey. We have dedicated teams with the capacity to be proactive and keep an eye on the latest innovations for you. Be that our dedicated tech team testing what will work for you in the AI sphere, or a strategy team always ahead of the curve for your sector. Meaning less wrong turns for you and more tech and trends that actually add value to your brand.
We already have smart production solutions using AI, virtual and hybrid production techniques and we undertake regular cross-sector trend forecasting to keep brands like yours ahead.
In short
Get back time
One team with everything you need under one roof.
Keep consistent
A team that work together every day to keep brand consistency.
Save cost
Reduce the spend associated with having multiple teams.
Stay ahead
Dedicated teams exploring the latest tech innovations and industry trends.
In-house vs Agency?
Finding the right combo of agency partners that tick all your boxes can really put the pain in campaign. So, how do you find the right balance for your brand? In blog #2 of our “Challenges of a CMO” series. We’ve put together this infographic to give you the pros and cons of each kind of agency model and help you find what works for you.
Wrestling with more agency partners than you need? Let’s chat.