“Execution is flawless, pricing is reasonable (especially important for those of us serving the nonprofit sector), insights are fresh and actionable, and the presentation of the work is clean and professional.”
Lisa McIntyre,
Senior VP/Strategy Development,
Russ Reid Company
Specialties: The Agency World
We know what it’s like to partner with agencies: branding, advertising, direct marketing, media, fundraising, graphic design, and consulting agencies. We’ve worked with some of the best, either being brought in by the agency and introduced to the client, or brought in by the client and introduced to the agency.
Handled improperly, this three-way relationship can be uncomfortable at best…counter-productive at worst.
Agencies want and need research support, not competition for the client’s attention. Creatively, the agency should be the star of the show, and our role is to be the supporting player – the research professionals brought in to help enhance concepts, creative, and winning strategy for the end client.
This doesn’t mean we’ll rubber stamp everything an agency does regardless of how the target audience reacts. Our role is to help agencies sharpen their work even further, and provide the feedback that will guide their efforts on behalf of the end client. But the crucial point is: we will do so in a way that respects the agency’s relationship with the client, rather than upstaging the agency or trying to claim part of that relationship.
Our understanding of our place in this process is a major reason the agencies we serve continue to trust us with their most important (and most profitable) clients, and why clients have no concerns introducing us to their agencies as the research specialists.
