Enhancing the quality of the relationship between the client and the advertising agency: the case of strategie agency

Abstract

Advertising agencies are repositioning and defining themselves as customer-centric businesses to face fierce competition, industry risks and increasingly demanding clients. For the communication agency Strategie Agency, this repositioning began in February 2019 when it unveiled its new brand image. The objective of this project thesis is to contribute to Strategie Agency's reflection on how to improve the quality of the relationship with its clients as well as to propose to the agency a concrete action plan to be put in place. This exploratory research is based on a literature review as well as qualitative research to better understand the issue. The qualitative research consists of nine participatory observations, a focus group with six members of the Strategie Agency sales team and five qualitative questionnaires with Belgian advertisers. This study identifies the technique of customer journey mapping as a tool for improving the quality of the relationship between the client and the agency. The use of the map has enabled to distinguish and prioritise different opportunities. Among these opportunities, the development of methodology templates was selected as the one that would bring the most value to the agency given its feasibility and should, therefore, be put in place first.