The Partnership of the Year Award will celebrate a marketer and agency team that has risen to the challenges while maintaining a robust relationship
With the current economic climate and lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the relationship between marketers and agencies in creating effective brand marketing has never been more crucial.
“In the past 18 months, we’ve seen a stronger relationship developing between marketers and their agencies, driven largely by the turbulent economy and budgetary constraints, compounded by limited resources and the increasing use — and confusion around — martech [marketing technology],” says Johanna McDowell, CEO of the Independent Agency Search & Selection Company (IAS) and Scopen partner.
The digital revolution has led to a fragmenting of spend, creating a need to collaborate in combating potential pitfalls in the consumer market,” says McDowell.
“The sheer volume of work required for a brand to stay ahead of the pack is not something a marketer can do alone. They risk not being seen, and determining which channels should be used is best done when marketers and agencies work together on each campaign.”
As client-agency partnerships become closer, winning the IAS-sponsored Partnership of the Year Award at the annual FM AdFocus Awards — which celebrate agencies and individuals for their creativity, marketing skills and business acumen — has gained even greater meaning.
Combating uncertainties through robust partnerships
McDowell says too much is happening in an atmosphere of uncertainty for marketers and agencies to do anything but hunker down together and create best-fit solutions.
“Rampant inflation and other global challenges, along with the distinctly South African issue of load-shedding, means stronger marketer-agency teamwork is the only way to mitigate potential issues.”
Those who have found a way to partner in combating difficulties are able to deal with the turbulence together, McDowell says.
So, how can agencies and marketers make sure they’re armed against all eventualities?
“They can continue to forge their partnership by being flexible and willing to bend rather than break as they navigate their way through everything from budgets and technology to understanding and agreement on platform choices,” she says.
“It is because circumstances during and after the pandemic have brought so much change that the Partnership of the Year Award has taken on a whole new meaning for our industries, and we’re looking forward to well-deserved accolades being delivered.”
Testament to the ever-increasing importance of this award among clients and agencies is the record number of entries in this particular category at the AdFocus Awards this year. The secret to great partnerships in an uncertain era, “is to be in lockstep across all decisions. It’s what the judges will be looking for from entries in the FM AdFocus Awards 2023 Partnership of the Year Award”.
The winners of the 2023 AdFocus Awards will be announced on November 22 2023. For more information on the awards, visit www.adfocus.co.za
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