The selection methods most commonly used in Mexico continues to be pitching (for both creative and media agencies), which is used in 78% of cases (70% in 2021) and in line with the global average (77%).
Internationally, China is the leading country in creative agency selections by pitching and 95% of accounts are won in this way.
This is according to Scopen's seventh edition of its biennial study Agency Scope in Mexico.
Increased time with creative and media agencies
Mexican advertisers work with a creative agency, on average, for a period of 4.5 years (3.9 years in 2021), the same as the global average. Portugal is the market where the relationships are longest (6.4 years) and China where the relationships are shortest (3.1 years).
With media agencies, the average duration has also increased in the last two years: 4.1 years in 2021 and 5.2 years in 2023. In this case, the global average is 4.9 years, and Portugal is again the country with the longest relations (6.5 years) and China where they are shortest (3.1 years).
Most common remuneration model
An annual fee remains the most common remuneration model for creative agencies (in 69% of cases), ensuring a continuous relationship, although at the same time, there is an increase in the number of advertisers who declare to pay their agencies “for specific projects” that are approved throughout the year (36% in 2023 vs. 32% in 2021).
In the case of media agencies, the most used method is also the Iguala (Annual Fee) which has significantly increased compared to the previous edition (80% in 2023 vs. 68% in 2021), with less and less renumeration by commission on media investment -online/offline- (15% in 2023 vs. 26% in 2021).
On the other hand, the variable offered to media agencies is increasing in practically all the markets in which this study is conducted and the fact that the media agencies commit to results and the success of their campaigns, helps establish a variable based on data targets that can be measured.
Satisfaction with agency work
Of Mexican marketing managers, 87% declare themselves satisfied with the work done by their creative agencies and only 4% declare dissatisfaction with the service they receive.
The clients of independent agencies are the ones who are most satisfied with their agencies (92% are satisfied compared to 81% in the case of clients who work with group agencies).
The high satisfaction level explains the low intention to change agencies in Mexico, where only 9% of advertisers say they are thinking of changing agencies (and 4.1% are sure of the change).
Lower satisfaction with media agencies
In the case of media agencies, the satisfaction of advertisers is lower (80% declare themselves satisfied and 29% declare themselves “very satisfied”). However, only 7% declare dissatisfaction (2% “very dissatisfied”).
This also explains an increased intention to change the media agency of advertisers (14%), a figure that doubles the percentage of dissatisfied customers, so that, even if they are satisfied, there are advertisers who are considering changing.
Growth in business
The satisfaction of Mexican advertisers is also reflected in the contribution that marketers assign to the growth in business of the companies in which they work. In the case of creative agencies they attribute, on average, a percentage higher than 24% and in the case of media, just over 26%.
Most valued awards
The Effie Awards (42%) and the Cannes Lions Festival (32%) are the most valued awards in the sector by those responsible for advertising & marketing in Mexico, well above the rest and with more mentions than those obtained in the previous edition in which, mainly due to the non-celebration of many festivals due to the pandemic, the communications to promote them also decreased.
Most admired company and campaigns
In this edition, Coca-Cola appears in first place as the most admired company for its marketing and communication in recent years, followed by NIKE and ABInBev-Modelo.
Among the campaigns most valued by marketing managers, Corona takes first place (coming from 22nd in 2021), Victoria takes second place (from being 12th) and Coca-Cola takes third place (second in the last edition).
Most admired agency
As for the creative agencies that stand out, seven rankings have been developed that analyze different aspects: Spontaneous knowledge, Creativity, Exemplarity, Attraction, Perception of the market, Customer evaluation, and Opinion of the competition. In them, remarkably, as in the previous edition, Ogilvy leads five of the seven rankings and appears in second place in the ranking of Opinion of the competition.
Among the media agencies there are six rankings, given that Creativity is not valued in this case.
In this edition, Starcom appears in all six, leading the rankings of Attraction, Customer Evaluation, and Opinion of the Competition. Also noteworthy are Havas Media (which appears in four, leading in three of them) and Mindshare (which appears in three).
The first part of the findings can be viewed here.