Five inconvenient truths about client–agency partnerships in 2021 and how to fix them

This article examines the increased tension in client–agency relationships amid the COVID-induced recession, and how to make 2021 an opportunity to renew and refresh these partnerships.

The 2006 Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” featuring former US Vice President Al Gore, reenergized the environmental movement after making a dire assessment of the global warming threat. So, it seems rather appropriate to use a similar title to describe the state of client–agency partnerships in 2021, as we are still in the middle of a health crisis that is having a disastrous impact on the advertising/marketing sector and the entire economy. It, too, is revealing some inconvenient truths. Let us have a closer look at the tsunami effect the coronavirus pandemic continues to have on partnerships between brands, agencies,...

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