A $40M to $50M media account, run to a 12-week calendar.
A global consumer products company, with brands aimed at children and the adults who buy for them, needed a US media agency for its full planning and buying mandate.
Situation
The mandate covered 20 to 30 brands a year across linear TV, OTT and VOD, YouTube and gaming, online video and display, print, audio, cinema, out of home, and social. Two audiences had to be reached at once: kids as end users and adults as shoppers. The company had launched its own in-house team for social and retail media buying the year before, so the new agency had to work alongside it and help build that capability rather than replace it.
What we did
We ran the RFP as the single point of contact for every participating agency. The brief asked for capabilities, a strategic media planning exercise for one of the company's boys' brands, and a point of view on innovation, attribution, and analytics, plus a detailed cost breakdown, technology and brand safety partners, reporting cadence, and account structure. All questions and answers were shared with every agency. Shortlisted agencies presented in two-hour sessions to a panel from marketing, procurement, analytics, and corporate strategy, scored against six criteria: effectiveness, in-season flexibility, innovation and insights, partnerships, efficiency, and account management.
Outcome
A full US media search on a set calendar: RFP issued in early January, written proposals in early February, shortlist a week later, presentations in early March, and an agency start date of April 1. The relationship led to a second search for the same company four years later.
Facing something similar?
Fifteen minutes. We’ll tell you whether the pattern matches and what we’d do first.