Much is written about the process of hiring an advertising agency (ad agency). The hiring process itself is relatively easy - with a handful of finalists, you fine-tune and define the requirements, come to agreement on fees for services, establish legal terms and conditions, etc. The challenge however is not hiring, but finding qualified candidates.
If one accepts the premise that every client wants the very best advertising agency (ad agency) they can afford, then the task begins by defining precisely what the client needs and wants in an agency. The client can begin with a clean sheet of paper to define such attributes, or take advantage of existing attribute "menus" which can be found at appropriate third-party Internet web sites designed specifically for that purpose.
If you accept the fact there are more than 30,000 advertising agencies in the US alone, then it is impetrative that each client reduce the size of that list substantially in order to create the smaller, more manageable invitational list. If such "cuts" were to be attempted based on services desired (such as account management, creative, media buying, direct marketing, etc.), little reduction would be seen in the original list of 30,000 until the collection of
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desired services had grown considerably. When clients are asked to identify some of the most critical agency attributes, previous experience in category is generally high on everyone's list. Meaning, clients want to speak with and consider advertising agencies that have previous or existing experience in their business category. With tremendous pressures to see sales activity almost immediately, few clients are willing to take the time, or make the investment, to allow the new advertising agency to become educated on their nickel.
The candidate identification process begins by finding advertising agencies with experience in your particular business. Then it makes sense to screen them further, looking for those that are able to provide the services you want and need. Define and refine your list even further. Seek those that have experience marketing goods or services to the people who purchase your goods or services. If that means "females 25 - 40" or "senior citizens," then make that a condition. If geography or location is important, define that as well. Overall experience (years in business), size (generally staffing rather than capitalized billings) plays a role, and in some cases, membership in specific associations will add value.
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UK & Europe 
Other
