The following positive results are revealed in Scopen’s Agency Scope 2022 study in Colombia.
All indicators related to advertisers´ evaluation of their agencies are highly positive, and even better than those obtained in past editions, which were already good.
Advertisers declare themselves much more satisfied than in 2020 (43.6% declare themselves "very satisfied" with their creative agencies. 13.3% more than in 2020 and 39.6% with their media agencies - 10% points more than in the last edition).
Due to this great satisfaction, the predisposition to change has decreased: 75.5% of advertisers will most definitely not change their creative agency and 76.9% their media agency (20 points more in 2020 in both cases).
All this reflects the great work that agencies are doing for advertisers. Of 47 service attributes analysed, in 32 of them, creative agencies are better valued than in the last edition; and of 35 attributes, media agencies evolve positively in 27 of them (especially in the digital area).
And, not only that, but advertisers consider that their agencies are contributing more and more to the growth of their businesses (in both cases with a percentage close to 30%). That almost a third of business growth is due to the agency´s work reflects the importance that the advertising industry has when it comes to its clients ' businesses, and the great work they do together.
Consequently, advertisers recommend their agencies to a greater extent (NPS grows by 15 points for both creative and media agencies) and advertiser-agency relationships are consolidated, both in duration (average duration grows by half a year) and, in the relationship model, becoming more and more ongoing and less for specific projects.
When we ask advertisers about their current internal challenges, they remain the same as in the past: strengthening their prestige and perception in the market and adapting to the new times.
However, they are increasingly concerned about understanding their consumers and how to reach them, and betting internally on creativity, innovation and digital.
Once they´ve declared their challenges, we ask them which companies (agencies, media, platforms, consultants, etc.) they consider could help them face these challenges, and this is where the great change lies compared to the past.
It is no longer the large digital platforms that dominate the top positions (as was the case in 2020 and is still the case in most of the markets where we carry out the Agency Scope), but rather the most mentioned creative and media agencies.
Advertisers consider that they are the ones who can and have to help them overcome their challenges. They trust them and see them as responsible for this help.
Another point we ask advertisers is if, of all the agencies they work with, regardless of their profile, they consider any of them as their "lead agency" (an agency that leads the communication of their company and is the one that coordinates the rest of partners). In just six years, the percentage of customers who confirm this has almost doubled, increasing from 24% to 46%.
The agencies have positioned themselves internally with their clients, not just as providers of communication and marketing services, but as partners capable of leading, coordinating and implementing. The internal reinforcement that the agencies have made in key areas such as data, strategy and digital, has resulted in the current better positioning.
Historically, Colombia has been a market in which important advertisers worked internally on their communication. When people began to talk about this trend in the UK we had already seen it in Colombia. It was a big concern for the agencies. Their competitors were no longer so much other agencies or consultancies or digital platforms, but rather their own clients.
However, in this edition, we observe how advertisers work less in marketing areas and disciplines internally. And not only that but, compared to the rest of the markets, Colombia is behind when it comes to in-house services.
The great work of agencies with advertisers, their constant evolution in areas such as data, and business strategy among others, and the "bad experiences" of some advertisers that have tried out this trend, have been the main reasons behind this change. Work carried out by the agencies, their knowledge, their contribution are very complex to internalise.
