That’s a pretty long title for a job, is must be important, right? Turns out, it actually is.
A Public Relations search consultant (or ad agency search consultant) helps a client find the perfect advertising agency for them. There are hundreds, even thousands, of agencies out there and it can be a daunting task for many business owners to pick the right one.
These search consultants are typically used by big companies. Initially, the consultant will send invitations to the select few agencies they feel would fit their client best, then get them together and run the match between the two. The specialist is going to look at a couple of things. Their process at first is logical and linear – agency X is looks like it could be great for company Y, because of Z. It eventually progresses beyond this, into a more intuitive, gut-feeling type of interaction. It’s a lot like marriage in that way – chemistry is undoubtedly important, but the real deal maker or breaker is going to be the mutual benefits.
Typically, agency search consultants are hired for one of two reasons. First, to optimize a current relationship, be it media, PR, creative, whatever. The second reason is to look for a new AOR (Agency of Record) relationship with one of those types of firms (digital, PR, media agency, etc.). Again, these agents are there to increase the likelihood of a successful long-term partnership between companies.
The consultant is mostly hired for the ability to run a best-practices campaign. They help the client understand the need/issues they are having, and establish requirements for the agencies they look at. Once they complete this task (called an “agency requirements brief”), the agency search consultant begins to narrow down the list of agencies according to what fits their client best.
So, the main question is, “Why hire these consultants at all? Surely an agency can be found by a company on its own.” And the answer is that while a big business can certainly take the time to creep through lists of agencies, there are simply too many of them for that to be feasible.
In the US alone, there are over 9,000 marketing services registered. The CEO or CMO of businesses that are usually in the position to hire these agencies are already busy enough, and they don’t have the time to look through that many. Eventually, they would get so frustrated that they would end up closing their eyes and pointing a finger. This is why advertising agency search consultants exist.
In the end, a reputable agency search consultant is just like any other consultant: someone a business can trust to represent its best interests.
A Team
www.a-teamadvisors.com
multiple locations and contacts
see this link
AAR Partners
155 East 55th Street, Ste 5C
New York, NY 10022
212.644.0790
ABA Consulting, Inc.
5080 Spectrum Drive Suite 760 West
Addison, Texas 75001
972.774.9960
Ad Management Insights, LLC
3018 John Marshall Drive
Arlington, VA 22207
703.241.2121
ADvice & ADvisors
www.adviceandadvisors.com
244 West 74th Street
New York, NY 10023
212.799.1973
AgencyFinder
www.agencyfinder.com (North America)
www.agencyfinder.eu (Europe)
4327 Cox Road
Vantage Place
Glen Allen, VA 23060
804.346.1812
Agency-Select
tel +1.646.355.4030
tel +44 (0)20 7060 1014tel +972.575.5448
mobile +972-522-202-484
Skype JoanW1
Agency Spotter
318 Cherokee Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30312 USA
Alan Krinsky Associates
301 East 48th Street Suite 8F
New York, NY 10017
212.752.0539
Ark Advisors
multiple locations and contacts
see this link
Avidan Strategies, LLC
110-20 71st Road
Forest Hills, NY, 11375
718.997.6463
(not quite a search consultant as much as a marriage counselor- see article in Ad Age)
Bajkowski + Partners
6 Varick Stree
New York, NY 10013
212.226.3919
The Bedford Group
www.bedfordgroupconsulting.com
3343 Peachtree Road NE
Suite 333
Atlanta, GA 30326
Phone: 404.237.4565
Fax: 404.846.2172
Email: info@bedfordgroupconsulting.com
Blamer Partnership
NYC, LA, Dallas and Santa Fe
825 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-520-8520
interesting “White Paper” PDF- Another_Review_Consultant_Really
Bob Wolf Partners/TPG
202 San Vicente Blvd. Suite 16
Santa Monica, CA 90402
Tel #: 310.260.1340
Fax #: 310.260.1341
The Borenstein Group
11320 Random Hills Road
Suite 540
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: 703.385.8178
Fax: 703.385.6454
Email: corporate@borensteingroup.com
Bull & Beard
305 West 4th Street, Suite 2-B
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
888.996.BULL (2855)
Drexler Fajen & Partners
127 West 96 Street 3J
New York, NY 10025
646.459.2325
Efficio
Two Villanova Center
795 East Lancaster Avenue, Suite 210B
Villanova, PA 19085 USA
610.721.3507
External View Consulting Group
www.ext-viewgroup.com
9925 Jefferson Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
310.841.4502
Flock Associates Ltd.
7 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8PS
United Kingdom
0.776.846.5952
1800 Camden Road
Suite 107-102
Charlotte NC 28203
347-371-3048
Group Newhouse, Inc.
P.O. Box 30245
Raleigh, NC 27622
919.845.3282
Hasan & Company
8601 Six Forks Road, Ste 400
Raleigh, NC 27615
Phone: 919.676.5301
Fax: 919.676.5305
Hitch
2750 South Park Drive
Bellingham, WA 98225
360.220.3286
Jackie Walts Consulting
6235 Aspinwall Road
Oakland, CA 94611
Phone: 510.339.9105
Fax: 801.383.6343
Joanne Davis Consulting
325 East 57th Street, #7D
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212.935.0320
Fax: 212.223.2932
Jones Lundin Beals
now know as R3:JLB
JUEL Consulting
340 Madison Avenue
19th Floor (between 43rd and 44th)
New York, NY 10173
212.220.9346
Kullberg Consulting Group, LLC
http://kullbergconsultinggroup.com
171 Forge Road
North Kingstown, RI 02852.1001
Phone: 401.886.5001
Fax: 401.886.5234
MagiKbox LLC
71 Arch Street
Greenwich, CT 06830
Phone: 203.422.6111
Fax: 203.422.6116
MatchWorks
www.matchworksonline.com
33 Gold Street #616
New York, NY 10038
Phone: 917.408.0360
Fax: 917.408.0359
McBride & Associates
www.mcb-associates.com
7019 Serr Court, 2nd Floor
Modesto CA 95356-9659
209.577.1464
MediGroup, Ltd.
1308 Egypt Road
P.O. Box 839
Oaks, PA 19456-0839
Phone: 610.666.1955
Fax: 610.666.5911
Email: info@medigroupltd.com
Mercer Island Group
PO Box 1599
Mercer Island, WA 98040
206.236.0447
Morgan Anderson Consulting
300 Moonhaw Road
West Shokan, NY 12494
518.719.3396
NM Marketing Communications
706 Waukegan Road
Glenview, Illinois 60025
Phone: 847.657.6011
Fax: 847-657-8425
E-mail:info@nmmarketingbiz.com
The Oystercatchers
79 Wells Street
London, W1T 3QN
United Kingdom
+442079704785
Pile and Company
The Prudential Tower
800 Boylston Street
14th Floor
Boston, MA 02199-8130
Phone: 617.267.5000
Fax: 617.421.1899
R3:JLB formerly Jones Lundin Beals
500 North Michigan Ave., Ste.300
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 847-917-1800
-or-
15 West 53rd Street
Suite 9J
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 917-863-4255
Reid Neubert and Friends
Corte Madera, CA 94925 P.O. Box 422
Phone415.924.8037
Email: reid@neubertweb.com
Reynolds & Fyshe
2869 Bloor St. West, Suite 143
Toronto, Ontario M8X 1B3
416.992.6269
RFP Assistants & YP Assistants
173 Chestnut Ridge Rd
Bethel CT 06801
203.748.8198
Robb High Associates
132 East 43rd Street #455
New York, NY 10017
917.856.1058
The Rojek Consulting Group, Inc.
Crown Centre – Suite 600
5005 Rockside Road
Cleveland, OH 44131
Toll Free: 1.877.476.4669
Phone: 1.216.573.3780
Fax: 1.216.573.3783
Roth Observatory, FKA Roth Associates
120 East 79th St. _#5c
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212.861.9420
Fax: 212.861.9425
LA OFFICE
1510 Carver Street
Los Angeles, CA 90278
Phone: 310.896.8275
RSW/US
www.rswus.com/services/#agencysearch
6725 Miami Avenue, 2nd Floor
Cincinnati, OH 45243
Phone:513.559.3111
Search Consultants International, Inc.
4545 Post Oak Place #208
Houston, Texas 77027
Phone: 713.622.9188
Fax: 713.622.9186
Email: info@searchconsultants.com
Select Resources International
1520-C Cloverfield Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: 310.453.9200
Topsail Group (previously Norcia Group)
P.O. Box 488
Old Saybrook, CT 06475
Phone: 914.921.3351
Fax: 914.967.0458
Cell: 914.552.3277
Trinity P3
Sydney
Suite 702, 53 Walker Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
612 9964 9900
Melbourne
Suite 201, 63 Stead Street
South Melbourne VIC 3205
t: + 613 9682 6800
Singapore
Level 27, Prudential Tower, 30 Cecil Street
Singapore 049712
t: + 65 6631 2861
Hong Kong
Level 21, The Center, 99 Queens Road, Central,
Hong Kong
t: + 852 3478 3982
Zyman Group
www.zyman.com
950 East Paces Ferry Road
Suite 3300
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Phone: 404.682.5400