Read this article on Marketing Interactive online:

The crux of a survey they did (Feb 2009):

1. Question asked:
   1. “Given the state of the world economy what do you think agencies should be most focused on right now?”
2. Answers
   1. 2009 will be the year agencies concentrate on relationships and keeping their businesses running
   2. 68% of the 370 participants answered “client relationships”, while a further 30% answered “cash flow”
   3. The remaining said creative awards and creative rankings were their top priority, or should be any agency’s top priority, during the downturn.

My comment posted on the magazine:

Surprised me that not many people referred to more cutting edge work, RoI based initiatives or better cross media integration. Client relationships? And when were they not important? And what happens when the downturn rebounds? Relationships are not a tap that could be opened with varied intensity. They have to be Consistent, genuine and meaningful. The other thing that came out was cash flow- again very inside out approach. What have clients got to do with your cash flow again? Ditto for your awards and trophies. Did anyone in this exercise say we need to get more measurable, more innovative and INVEST MORE in better people- train more people and build a better culture of solidarity, respect, innovation and accountability? Speaks volumes about the state of affairs we have today in this field.

I’m not sure if this was a close ended survey (I think it might have been due to exact 100% splitting between three answers). If this was, I think it does not send the right signals to the brand owners either. We need to have a more open ended survey and debate on this one.

Do you agree?