Greg Wright

During the pandemic there were various reports of bad business practices in the agency search and pitch process. The bad practices were found on both the client and agency side of the process. Many of the bad practices cited in the trade press stemmed from inconsistencies in the agency search and selection process. These bad practices leave both client and agency yearning for opportunities to simplify the process and in turn, benefit the business – and the industry as a whole.

Earlier this week, the ANA released the results from the first LGBTQ+ Marketing Inclusion survey as part of a report on LGBTQ+ Marketing Inclusion, including best practices. The survey results are overall positive with half of respondents stating that had at least one ad that featured an identifiable LGBTQ+ community member in the past year. However, the survey results showed that there is still hesitation from brands to embrace inclusive marketing. Moreover, that hesitation could be hindering brand growth.

In-house agencies and marketing teams have always been at the heart of their brand. The importance of in-house marketing teams through the past year has only been accelerated due to increased reliance on them to deliver business results.

Last week, the ANA released the report “The Business Case for Relationship Management” which covers the findings from quantitative and qualitative research conducted by the ANA and the 4A’s. This report looks at the current state of affairs related to relationship management program adoption levels, overall satisfaction, and benefits derived from their use.