Clients today want experts (read: specialists) rather than generalists to help them solve marketing challenges. Increasingly over the last 3+ years clients have asked Setup to help them find reputable agencies that have been vetted through the Marketing Readiness Report™ (link to services page)  process.

Last month we announced a shift in our model to offer clients more marketing agency choices. Recently, a large (global) financial services client asked us to conduct a unique event designed to help them select a new performance marketing agency partner. The client and I had spoken in the past about conducting a “Lunch & Learn” session where we invite many agencies of different disciplines into their office to expose them to multiple agencies in a short period of time.

This particular request was for three agencies of a similar discipline (pay-per-click, conversion optimization, and analytics). We obliged by inviting three qualified Setup partners to the client’s office where they were each given 15 minutes to outline their organization, their approach, and a few case studies relevant to the client need. Each of the three agencies knew which agencies they were competing against in this process.

The resulting event garnered rave reviews from both the client and the agencies. The client loved that they were able to get a “taste” of three highly qualified agencies during the span of a single hour. Conversely, the agencies loved that they did not have to prepare an extensive pitch paired with spec. creative. The event was analogous to a “speed dating” event in that the participants have a few minutes together to suss out whether there is initial chemistry without wasting an entire dinner.

Here is what the client had to say about the experience:

"Setup™ listened to our specific needs and saved everyone time and energy by introducing us to several highly qualified marketing agencies in a casual environment. Our entire team felt that this format was hugely beneficial to help us find the right partner."

They were so impressed with all three agencies that they invited them back to continue the initial conversation. Moving forward, the agencies will be proposing how they can solve the client need and one of those three agencies will win the business.

Based on the success of this event, we would like to offer a similar opportunity for any client that wants to engage a succinct group of well-vetted agencies able to solve a specific problem. The investment from the client would merely be a tightly defined brief or a quick interview with Setup to ensure that we match the right agency partners. The investment from the agencies is a few minutes of their time to show off agency capabilities and a case study or two. The result is a less expensive, less time-intensive agency selection process.

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