Advertising Agency Search Consultants – The Personal Shopper Of The Ad World — Updated 24 March, 2023
I’ve updated my list of the advertising agency search consultants universe. After updating we’re at 42. But, I can not update the “34” URL – so, there. Let me know if I am missing any consultancies. Thanks.
Is Your Agency Findable?
Blows my mind that more (together) advertising agecies are not know within the agency search community. ya know… the people that are looking for your agency for your next client.
Before I get into the subject, I want to make an important point. Whether or not your agency has the chops and appropriate expertise to get the attention of a search consultant, please try to look and act different. Be unignorable.
Yes, you might be a great social media agency or media planning and buying group. But, I bet you have at least a dozen look-alike competitors.
Get It Right – First = Ask The Tough Questions Before You Contact Advertising Agency Search Consultants
Ask how you will stand out under the scrutiny of expert agency search consultants. Ask yourself, would you be interested in your agency? Ask me to help you.
The Big World of Advertising Agency Search Consultants
Advertising agency search consultants help clients locate the perfect agency out of hundreds, even thousands, of small and large agency options. It is estimated that about 10% to 15% of all searches use the services of a consultant (I am thinking about dollar volume, not total agency searches.) I suspect that the number of consultant-led pitches is well over 50% for clients that have large budgets, complicated accounts and now, highly specialized agency requirements.
Should Your Agency Contact An Advertising Agency Search Consultant? It Depends.
Should your agency contact the search consultants on this list? Well, yes and no.
Here is the drill. Most of these consultants work for larger clients and they have hundreds of agencies to keep track of. They get lots of incoming from agencies every day — see the interviews below. Based on my 28 years of conversations with search consultants, I can tell you that most of the incoming agency information gets ignored even in a fast-paced world where consultants need to keep abreast of the agency universe. Why? Agencies get ignored because most agencies do not really have a realistic reason to get on the consultant’s radar.
Realistic? Consultants are primarily interested in a core set of agency attributes. Obviously, they are looking for agencies that match their current searches. However, in general, any new agency (new to market or new to them) needs to have some distinctive attribute to get a consultant’s attention. That means having a good reason for these busy consultants to pay attention to you. What might that mean?
Here are some examples of what I would get my attention if I were a consultant:
- Are you seriously creative (like really creative and can prove it?)
- Have you been discovered by the trade press?
- Can your agency handle really large, complex accounts?
- Do you have international offices?
- Did your team just leave a hot agency where y’all did famous work?
- Do you have media planning and buying expertise?
- Do you have demonstrable digital expertise? You can’t just say we do social media. Did you crack mobile advertising?
- Do you have deep experience in an important client category?
- Are you known for your strategic chops?
- Is your name as ignore-free as Barton F. Graf 9000?
- Is your agency or pitch totally Unignorable like Canada’s John St.?
Get the picture?
The bottom line is that you need to think about what agency attributes will be of value to the consultant. Do you have some special sauce that a consultant needs to know about for their business and clients? Before you make any contact, please take the time to understand what search consultants look for.
Expert Opinions On The World Of Advertising Agency Search Consultants
First, my opinion…. do not waste a consultant’s time.
I have valuable interviews with advertising industry experts in my book on pitching: The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. (Buy it at the top of this page). A couple of interviews are with industry-leading search consultants. Here are two responses that go directly to the question… “should my agency make contact with an advertising agency search consultant?”
The first answer is from Russel Wholwerth of External View Consulting. The second is from Darren Woolley of Australia’s TrinityP3 — both are on the master list.
PL: I assume that you get a lot of incoming from agencies. How could a small to mid-sized agency get your attention? What attributes should they have before they bother making contact?
Russel: We get at least 20 to 30 inquiries from agencies every week. Most agencies act as if they have no clue how we operate or that they will need to really stand out to generate interest. Great work will always get our attention. Also, agencies that are off the standard deviation curve excite us. Too many agencies sound and look alike.
Darren: Interestingly we have noted a change in the marketing mix. Even advertisers from multinational companies, with a global or regional agency alignment are increasingly interested in small to mid-size agencies to improve and often compensate for deficiencies in the aligned agency. Therefore med-sized agencies with particular strengths are increasingly important and in demand in the agency mix. As are smaller agencies that can articulate and prove a core specialist competency that makes them distinctive from others is a real benefit.
So, to answer the “should you make contact” with national search consults question… I’d do these three things to start the process.
- Make sure that your agency can stand out in a national or international search by having something special to sell. Brand distinction rules here. These are good days for specialists. Be one.
- Understand the needs of the consultancy you are pitching before you make any contact. Do some research and don’t just mass mail every consultant. Use your marketing gray-matter to think through how to sell what you have to sell. You may only have one shot.
- Make sure your agency is listed in consultant agency databases.
On to the list. Yes, it is unwieldily. That’s why you need to take the appropriate time to study each consultant before you make any contact. Otherwise, you will be wasting a lot of time. Especially, yours.
The Consultant List
AAR Partners
www.aarpartners.com
155 East 55th Street, Ste 5C
New York, NY 10022
212.644.0790
Leslie Winthrop
winthrop@aarpartners.com
Lisa Colantuono
lisa@aarpartners.com
Ark Advisors, LLC
140 East 83rd Street, Suite 4BA New York, NY 10028
Ann Billock, Co-Founder & Partner 212.861.3976 annb@ark-advisors.com
Ken Robinson, Co-Founder & Partner 917.498.7067 kenr@ark-advisors.com www.ark-advisors.com
ADvice & ADvisors
www.adviceandadvisors.com
244 West 74th Street
New York, NY 10023
212.799.1973
Linda Fidelman
linda@adviceandadvisors.com
AgencyFinder
www.agencyfinder.com (North America)
www.agencyfinder.eu (Europe)
4327 Cox Road
Vantage Place
Glen Allen, VA 23060
804.346.1812
Chuck Myst
Chuck@agencyfinder.com
Agency-Select (UK)
www.agency-select.com
646..355.4030
44.0.20.7060.1014
Joan Weinberg
info@Agency-Select.com
Agency Spotter (a digital approach)
318 Cherokee Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30312 USA
Brian Regienczuk
hello@agencyspotter.com
The Burnett Collective
917.536.2344
19 Stanton Street, #23 New York, NY 10002
Casey Burnett, Managing Partner
casey@burnettcollective.com
Jenn Marcum Leary, Partner
jenn@burnettcollective.com
Alan Krinsky Associates
www.akrinsky.com
301 East 48th Street Suite 8F
New York, NY 10017
212.752.0539
Alan Krinsky
alan@akrinsky.com
Ark Advisors
www.ark-advisors.com
140 East 83rd Street, Suite 4B
New York, NY 10028
Ann Billock
212.861.3976
annb@ark-advisors.com
305 West 86th Street, Suite 5A
New York, NY 10024
Ken Robinson
917.498.7067
kenr@ark-advisors.com
Avidan Strategies, LLC
www.avidanstrategies.com
110-20 71st Road
Forest Hills, NY, 11375
718.997.6463
Avi Dan
avi@avidanstrategies.com
Bajkowski + Partners
www.bajkowski-partners.com
6 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
212.226.3919
Laura Bajkowski
laura@bajkowski-partners.com
The Bedford Group
www.bedfordgroupconsulting.com
3343 Peachtree Road NE
Suite 333
Atlanta, GA 30326
404.237.4565
Jane Bedford
bedford@bedfordgroupconsulting.com
Tiffany Allen
tallen@bedfordgroupconsulting.com
Kerry Kielb
kkielb@bedfordgroupconsulting.com
Dan Plachta
dplachta@bedfordgroupconsulting.com
Blamer Partnership
www.blamerpartnership.com
825 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212.520.8520
Steve Blamer
steve@blamerpartnership.com
2863 Via Victoria
Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274
310.800.5282
Craig Campbell
craig@blamerpartnership.com
9600 Edmondson Drive
Denton, TX 76207
323.804.5757
Larry Varnes
larry@blamerpartnership.com
Bob Wolf Partners/TPG
www.bwp-tpg.com
202 San Vicente Blvd. Suite 16
Santa Monica, CA 90402
310-260-1340
Dan Pearlman
dpearlman@bwp-tpg.com
Bull & Beard
305 W. 4th Street, Suite 2-B
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
888-996-BULL
Robby Berthume
Info@bullandbeard.com
The Burnett Collective
http://www.burnettcollective.com/
19 Stanton Street, #23 New York, NY.
Casey Burnett, Managing Partner 310.896.8275 casey@burnettcollective.com
Ebiquity
110 William Street, #2401 New York, NY 10038
Jim Mason, Managing Director, Client Service 404.642.0805 jim.mason@ebiquity.com
Hasan + Shumaker
Six Forks Road, Suite 400 Raleigh, NC 27615
Hasan Ramusevic, CEO 919.264.6198 8601 hasan@HasanandShu.com
JLB+Partners
205 North Michigan Avenue, Ste. 810 Chicago, IL 60601
David Beals 312.396.4155 Ext. 1 david.beals@jlbp.com
Mary Conrad, Managing Director 312.396.4155 Ext. 2 mary.conrad@jlbp.com
Joanne Davis Consulting
325 East 57th Street, #7D
New York, NY 10022
212.935.0320
Joanne Davis
joanne@joannedavisconsulting.com
External View Consulting Group
www.ext-viewgroup.com
9925 Jefferson Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
310.841.4502
Russel Wohlwerth
russelw@ext-viewgroup.com
Debra Wurzel
debraw@ext-viewgroup.com
3158 Hawkslanding Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45244
513.225.0242
Gerry Preece
gerryp@ext-viewgroup.com
Hasan & Company
www.hasanandco.com
8601 Six Forks Road, Ste 400
Raleigh, NC 27615
Phone: 919.676.5301
Hasan Ramusevic
hasan@hasanandco.com
ID COMMS
45 Folgate Street
5th Floor
London
E1 6GL
United Kingdom helen.burke@idcomms.com
45 West 18th Street
6th Floor
New York
NY 10011
United States tracy.chafetz@idcomms.com
Jackie Walts Consulting
www.jackiewalts.com
6235 Aspinwall Road
Oakland, CA 94611
510.339.9105
801.383.6343
Jackie Walts
jackie@jackiewalts.com
Joanne Davis Consulting
https://joannedavisconsulting.com/
325 East 57th Street, #7D
New York, NY 10022
212.935.0320
Joanne Davis
joanne@joannedavisconsulting.com
JUEL Consulting
www.juelconsulting.com
340 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10173
212.220.9346
June Blocklin
blocklin@juelconsulting.com
Elizabeth Zea
zea@juelconsulting.com
Alan Krinsky Associates
301 East 48th Street Suite 8F
New York, NY 10017
212.260.8334
Alan Krinsky
alan@akrinsky.com
Listenmore (Oh Canada)
Stephan Argent
416-500-6530
Offices on five continents.
Mercer Island Group
PO Box 1599
Mercer Island, WA 98040
206.236.0447
Stephen Boehler
steveb@migroup.com
Robin Boehler
robinb@migroup.com
Matt Driscoll
mattd@migroup.com
Mitchell&McCue LLC
4431 Alta Vista Lane Dallas, TX 75229
214.357.3196
Peter M. Mitchell peter@mitchellandmccue.com
Morgan Anderson Consulting
www.morgananderson.com
300 Moonhaw Road
West Shokan, NY 12494
518.719.3396
Arthur Anderson 212.741.0805
aanderson@morgananderson.com
Pile and Company
www.pileandcompany.com
The Prudential Tower
800 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02199-8130
617.267.5000
Judy Neer, President
jneer@pileandcompany.com
Meghan McDonnell, Sr. Vice President
mmcdonnell@pileandcompany.com
R3:JLB
www.rthree.com
500 North Michigan Avenue, Ste. 300
Chicago, IL 60611
312-396-4155
David Beals
david.beals@rthree.com
Mary Conrad
mary.conrad@rthree.com
Kim Kilchenmann
kim@rthree.com
15 West 53rd Street, #9J
New York, NY 10019
917.863.4255
Brian Goodall
brian.goodall@rth
Reynolds & Fyshe (Canada)
www.reynoldsandfyshe.com
3044 Bloor St. West
Suite 143
Toronto, Ontario M8X 2Y8
416.518.5458
Chris Kuiliman
Email: chris@reynoldsandfyshe.com
RFP
http://www.rfpassociates.net/
173 Chestnut Ridge Rd
Bethel CT 06801
203.748.8198
Steve Drake
The Rojek Consulting Group, Inc.
https://www.rojekconsulting.com/
Crown Centre
5005 Rockside Road
Cleveland, OH 44131
216.573.3780
Lorraine Rojek, President
lrojek@rcgconsulting.com
Cameron McNaughton
cmcnaughton@rcgconsulting.com
Dave Windahl
dwindahl@rcgconsulting.com
Roth Observatory (International)
www.rothobservatory.com
120 East 79th St. _#5c
New York, NY 10021
212.861.9420
Dick Roth
dick.roth@rothobservatory.com
1510 Carver Street
Los Angles, CA 90278
310.896.8275
Stuart Pocock
stuart.pocock@rothobservatory.com
44. (0)20.7571.0415
Roth Ryan Hayes
Bedford, NY – New York – Los Angeles
Matt Ryan
914-843-6494
ryan@rothryanhayes.com
Chris Hayes
917-701-5283
hayes@rothryanhayes.com
Russel Wohlwerth
(424) 702-5623
Russel@rothryanhayes.com
Select Resources International
www.selectresources.com
1520-C Cloverfield Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310-453-9200
Catherine Benison
catherine@selectr.com
Melissa Cheng
melissa@selectr.com
Rod Damrow
rod_d@selectr.com
Pamela Rhodes
pamela_r@selectr.com
Stone Soup Consultants
720 Forest Avenue Glen Ellyn, IL
60137-3906
Deb Giampoli, Founding Partner 630.697.2941 deb@stonesoupconsultants.com
Karen Adams, Founding Partner 847.736.2188 karen@stonesoupconsultants.com
Tenx4
40 Corte Real #6 Greenbrae, CA 94904
Ashley Cohen, Partner 707.338.4579 ashley@tenx4.com
Sabrina Galati, Co-Founder 415.225.2356 sabrina@tenx4.com AJ Resnick, Co-Founder 302-502-2577 aj@tenx4.co
TrinityP3 (New York / Sydney / London / Singapore)
http://www.trinityp3.com/contact
Darren Wooley – Founder, Global CEO – +61 2 9964 9900
darren@trinityp3.com
Zach Rosenberg Consulting, Inc.
www.zachrosenbergconsulting.com
310.779.6789
4018 Hilton Head Way Tarzana, CA 91356
Zach Rosenberg, Founder zach@zachrosenbergconsulting.com
___________________________________________________________________________
Need a plan to get the attention of the right advertising agency search consultant. Let’s talk about marketing your agency to grow your business – faster. You are in a hurry, right?
Contact me now and take me up on my impossible to refuse 15-minute Vito Corleone offer.
Leave a Reply