Client vs. Agency Side Marketing: Understanding the Different Career Paths

Marketers graduating from college often ask me whether they should pursue client- or agency-side opportunities for their initial job out of college. I tell them that in the long term, it is always best to get experience with both, but initially, a stint on the agency-side provides more opportunities to learn about different marketing roles, industries, and experiences than the client-side.

Joe Koufman, Founder and CEO of Setup, the matchmakers bridging the gap between agencies and brands, and Andrea Striebel, the VP of Marketing for Floor & Decor, share their thoughts on agency- vs client-side careers.

What Client-Side Marketers Want (and Don’t Want) from their Marketing Agency Partners

In the last 10 years, Setup has conducted five Marketing Relationship Surveys, connected over 800 Brands and Agencies, conversed with well over 1000 Brand-sides marketers, and enacted 50+ Agency Assessments for Agency partners. Here’s the secret: Clients just want to have good chemistry! But how do you develop it?

6 Questions for Inspirational Women in Marketing Series | Part 13

To celebrate women in the marketing profession and to continue highlighting them throughout Women’s History Month, we asked women marketing leaders to contribute to our Women in Marketing Series detailing their personal triumphs, tribulations, and advice about working in the marketing industry. Part 13 features leaders from Nationwide, NAPA, Neogen Corporation, and Pratt Industries, Inc.

March Madness is in the "Air"

It may be hard to believe today, but the Nike basketball sneaker department was hanging on by a shoe lace, struggling to make any headway against Converse and Adidas in 1984.

What steps did the Nike team take to put them back on the map? And how did Michael Jordan impact that success?

6 Questions for Inspirational Women in Marketing Series | Part 12

Our ongoing Women in Marketing series highlights marketing leaders from different backgrounds and industries who continue to innovate and push the boundaries of their role.

This segment features the advice and journeys of leaders from CVS Health, Prudential, and more.

Why Clients End Their Agency Relationships + Why Agencies Think They Do

After surveying over 300 marketers on both the Agency and Client side, we were able to determine that there is a disconnect between why Clients fire Agencies, and why Agencies think they are fired. By pointing out this misunderstanding, both parties may be able to communicate better to salvage relationships or grow from the feedback.

Dissatisfaction with an Agency’s value is the number one reason why a Client ends an Agency relationship. But do Agencies know this?

Marketing Industry/TrendsSetup - marketing matchmakersFebruary 20, 2024marketing relationship surveyComment

7 Notable Marketing Lessons from Super Bowl LVIII Ads

Evan Rosenthal, Setup's Business Development Manager and resident football fanatic, shares his take on the 2024 Super Bowl ads. As a company that focuses solely on benefiting and evaluating marketers, we've seen our fair share of ads. These were our favorite.

Marketing Industry/TrendsSetup - marketing matchmakersFebruary 13, 2024Super Bowl ads, super bowl commercialsComment

My Journey in Navigating the World of Agency Growth: It's Not Just Business, It's Personal

After over 20 years in the agency marketing world, Rhonda Beckmann, the SVP, Growth of Setup, shares her advice about what it takes to work in sales. In my career, I have discovered what separates the everyday salesperson from top-tier growth talent. It's not always a strategy that can be articulated, as most are just being their authentic selves. However, these inherent qualities are what make them stand out:

A Leader’s Guide to Appreciating Your Team

At Setup, we conduct frequent Agency Assessments where we interview Client partners and Agency teams to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our Agency partners. It really helps shine a light on why our partners are so awesome, but it also gives us insight into what Clients are prioritizing in their partnerships and what helps retain a happy and effective Staff.

Why Do Brands Ghost Agencies?

We’ve noticed that brands have a habit of ghosting qualified marketing agencies. Why do they do this? What are they missing out on? How can agencies avoid being ghosted?

Marketing Industry/TrendsSetup - marketing matchmakersOctober 17, 2023agency-client relationshipComment

Marketing is a Team Sport | AMA Event Recap

The American Marketing Association’s Atlanta Chapter hosted a riveting event featuring a conversation between marketing leaders from Atlanta’s major sports leagues and moderated by Setup CEO + Founder, Joe Koufman. This blog breaks down the lessons that can apply to all marketers.

Marketing Industry/Trends, Industry BlogsSetup - marketing matchmakersSeptember 12, 2023Comment

5 Ways to Prove Marketing’s Value to the C-Suite

Why is Marketing always first on the chopping block when it comes to budget cuts?

Because of soft metrics that are harder to track and “fluffy” language, Marketing can be overlooked by executives who don’t understand its value and overall contribution to success.

Marketers are advocating for themselves more easily using analytics, but what other methods could CMOs, VPMs, Marketing Managers, and any Marketer in an organization use to get the C-Suite on the same page?

Marketing Industry/TrendsSetup - marketing matchmakersAugust 29, 2023Comment

Navigation

For Brands

For Agencies