More ad spend means higher expectations

14 January 2010

Will Cooper and Charlotte McEleny’s cover story in nma 17 December 2009 was a positive read, highlighting that 2010 will see growth in ad spend across display and search budgets.

While it’s great to see agencies forecasting growth in online ad spend next year, the reality today is that an increased budget means significantly more work because clients are stretching their budgets and expecting more for their money.

Agencies need to be realistic and smarter about what they can deliver within these budgets to ensure profitability while returning value to their clients. It’s common knowledge that budgets are often burned through by the time the production end of a campaign is reached, usually due to a combination of poor estimating at the start of the campaign and a lack of control over scope and change management. The result can be fantastic creative rushed through delivery resulting in seriously compromised quality even if it manages to go live on time.

As soon as agencies begin to understand what their strengths and limitations are and adopt more efficient and cost-effective avenues, such as outsourcing and de-coupled production, there’s no reason why they won’t be able to recognise their full creative potential, make a profit and deliver value to their clients.

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