The Importance of using an Agency of Record

In the advertising and marketing industries, the term Agency of Record usually means a single agency that was in charge of all the promotional services that a company might need. Traditionally, those promotional services included everything from creative media placement to brand strategy, however, these days, they can include a variety of other services as well, such as digital marketing, web development, and more. This model used to be the best way for agencies to keep operating in the past, as they had consistent business and full control over the strategy and implementation for their clients. Throughout the years, with all the changes in the market, these types of agencies had to adapt and change, but that hasn’t made them any less important.

Strategy

Since the client only has a single point of contact when working with an Agency of Record, the brands along with the project owners have complete control over how the brand strategy is going to be developed and implemented. This approach significantly lowers the chances of any knowledge gaps or miscommunication between different departments, which can happen when a client works with multiple agencies or public relations professionals.

Efficiency

Another reason why clients should have an Agency of Record is the fact that when a company works with a single agency over a longer period of time, it gets more opportunities in terms of efficiency which is an advantage that other companies that work with multiple agencies or public relations professionals aren’t able to leverage. This is especially true when a company’s branding and story are particularly complex and its learning curve is steep. That’s why it’s best for companies with more complex branding to work with an Agency of Record, which is already going to have all of the relevant experience and knowledge as it’s been working with the client for a longer period of time. Instead of having to board a new PR professional or agency for each new project or campaign that the company wants to execute, this is a great strategy to save time and make everything more efficient.

Responsibilities

When companies only work with an Agency of Record and a single point of contact, it’s a lot easier to figure out which person had which responsibility, and who was in charge of what. In the case that the campaign or project doesn’t generate the right results or isn’t going according to plan, it becomes a lot easier to figure out the root cause behind the potential issues simply because of the fact that each person was assigned a specific responsibility or a set of tasks. Not only that, but when it comes to making difficult decisions, or in the case when a company is going through a crisis, it’s a lot easier for clients to have an Agency of Record that they’ve previously established a trusting relationship with.