Agency Fee Benchmarking – Insights

TrinityP3’s fee benchmarking service is designed to help businesses gain greater clarity around the fees and charges associated with marketing agency services. By comparing the fees charged by different agencies and analysing industry standards, businesses can gain a more accurate understanding of how much they should be paying for marketing services, and whether they are getting good value for their money.

Here we provide a range of resources to help you get started with this process. Whether you are looking to review your current agency fees, negotiate a new contract, or simply gain a better understanding of how agencies charge for their services, our articles allow you to make more informed decisions and achieve better outcomes for your business.

Find more information on agency commercials arrangements here or explore more details and insights below.

Overcoming Obstacles to Agency Value-Based Pricing Fees

Overcoming Obstacles to Agency Value-Based Pricing Fees

The past 18 months or so have seen more advertisers and agencies looking to move away from “traditional” FTE/resource/cost-recovery-based pricing ...
Why Value Trumps Cost in Agency Remuneration Fees

Why Value Trumps Cost in Agency Remuneration Fees

My grandfather was a frugal man, borne no doubt from living through the Great Depression, then going to war and ...
What does financial and rate benchmarking mean at TrinityP3?

What does financial and rate benchmarking mean at TrinityP3?

Benchmark. It’s a term we use a lot at TrinityP3, and the concept underpins much of the work we do ...
Why average cost per agency FTE is dependent on the task at hand

Why average cost per agency FTE is dependent on the task at hand

Average cost per FTE is a very common procurement measure for assessing agency costs. It is basically the equivalent number ...
The often-hidden cost of in-house agencies

The often-hidden cost of in-house agencies

The industry conversation about in-housing agency services continues with the protagonists proposing the pros and cons of the move to ...
Past, present or future – which tells you more about your agency fees?

Past, present or future – which tells you more about your agency fees?

Wondering if your agency fee is fair and reasonable? When we benchmark agency fees against a scope of work there ...
Agencies talk about creativity. Consultants talk about insights.

Agencies talk about creativity. Consultants talk about insights.

If you have any interest in advertising and marketing, you will find yourself on the subscription list of a multitude ...
The problem with setting agency fees is most are making it up

The problem with setting agency fees is most are making it up

Would it surprise you that many agencies set their resource plan to the agreed fees? In the absence of any ...
What is more important in assessing agency fees, productivity or price?

What is more important in assessing agency fees, productivity or price?

If Oscar Wilde was alive today, would he write that a marketer “is someone who knows the price of everything ...
Agency Fee Benchmarking

Is the problem with agency fee benchmarking simply a matter of statistics?

It is often quite annoying when asked if we sell our industry benchmarks, You see, over more than a decade ...
Ageism in advertising

Ageism in advertising is as much a cost issue as a perception one

Louis Loizou, a Freelance creative Director in the UK recently shared on LinkedIn his thoughts “I’m not 54. I’m 22 ...
Is there nothing fair or reasonable about agency remuneration?

Is there nothing fair or reasonable about agency remuneration?

During more than 15 years of agency benchmarking and negotiations two words I have often heard repeated in these discussions ...
Advertising agency value benchmarking

Cost benchmarking and value benchmarking your agency, which one gives the best results?

In response to the question of “What is a cynic?” Oscar Wilde wrote “A man who knows the price of ...
Overworked agency staff

The negative impact of overworked agency staff on agency remuneration

Any work related death is a tragedy. But the death of a young woman at Dentsu Inc in Tokyo on ...
The flawed economics of falling agency salaries and falling overhead rates

The flawed economics of falling agency salaries and falling overhead rates

It is interesting that when you listen to some marketing procurement and consultants there appears to be a consistent story ...
Five common traps when assessing or defending agency value

Five common traps when assessing or defending agency value

Benjamin Graham famously wrote ‘Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.’ He was a smart guy, and ...
Before you move forward with agency remuneration, make sure you look back

Before you move forward with agency remuneration, make sure you look back

For more than a decade, we have been helping advertisers to benchmark and improve their agency remuneration arrangements. We do ...
What to do if you think you are being overcharged by an agency

What to do if you think you are being overcharged by an agency

It was an interesting conversation recently, with the head of a digital agency that had found themselves in a dispute ...
Assess your agency's performance with accurate agency benchmarks

Assess your agency’s performance with accurate agency benchmarks

Agency remuneration benchmarking can be quite a controversial topic, especially for agencies. But it is also a point of contention for ...
Scope of Work Monitor

How the Verificom Agency Fee Calculator helps agencies and advertisers agree agency fees

Recently we were presenting the results of an agency remuneration-benchmarking project to an advertiser and members of the team asked ...
What is the best way to benchmark agency compensation

What is the best way to benchmark agency compensation?

Due to the constant updates to the operating systems of the iOS requiring updates to the app, we have discontinued ...
Why lower agency retainers lead to higher production costs

Why lower agency retainers lead to higher production costs

It is common to have creative agency, and increasingly digital agency fees, broken into two component parts. First is the ...
The importance of rates in assessing an agency and their people

The importance of rates in assessing an agency and their people

TrinityP3 recently launched the Ad Cost Checker online benchmarking system to allow advertisers, procurement and agencies to be able to ...
A simple way to check your advertising agency fees

A simple way to check your advertising agency fees

Are you are an advertiser, marketer, procurement professional or even an agency manager? One of the key issues that arise ...
How do your agency rates stack up and why?

How do your agency rates stack up and why?

Due to the constant updates to the operating systems of the iOS requiring updates to the app, we have discontinued ...
Agency remuneration benchmarking is more than just rates

Agency remuneration benchmarking is more than just rates

Last year I was contacted by a major advertiser's global procurement team asking if I would tender to provide them ...
How to step beyond simply cost benchmarking your advertising agency

How to step beyond simply cost benchmarking your advertising agency

A marketer called me the other day and asked "Can you benchmark agency fees?" I told them that we had ...
The top 5 agency accounting practices that irritate clients

The top 5 agency accounting practices that irritate clients

My mother always used to say that "trust is earned, not given". Which is just like money then - most ...
The dangers of misusing benchmarking

The dangers of misusing benchmarking

Yesterday I was talking with an agency CEO who is currently going through an audit with one of their clients ...
What is included in your advertising agency overhead cost and what is not?

What is included in your advertising agency overhead cost and what is not?

One area of agency remuneration that creates confusion for many marketers, procurement and even agencies is the calculation of the ...