NEWSROOM
Marketing Professions’ Most Comprehensive Agency Database Gets Overhaul …
The “New Look” for agency selector service, AgencyFinder, is more than just a cosmetic improvement.
(Richmond, VA, May 2, 2011) – The only constant in the world of advertising and public relations is change. At least that’s what it’s seemed like for a pair of professions rocked by economic downturns; a media industry turned upside-down and collapsing corporate marketing budgets.
“There has never been a more critical time for agencies to pursue new business and for clients to find and pair up with the right marketing partner,” said Charles Meyst, CEO of AgencyFinder.com and AgencyFinder.eu, the most comprehensive worldwide database of ad agencies and public relations firms in the industry. Mr. Meyst’s business blends the matching technology of a dating service with its own, unique blend of one-on-one consulting to help hundreds of clients find the right agencies every year.
“Finding and hiring the best ad agency or PR firm for your business isn’t something you do by just typing key words into a search engine or looking up in a “yellow page directory.” There’s a more involved methodology to it that produces the best results every time,” continued Mr. Meyst. “We’ve honed that methodology over the past fourteen years.”
And now, for the first time in nearly half-dozen years, AgencyFinder is undergoing a significant change in their web interface. “So many things have changed and improved over the last five or six years that we felt it was time to freshen things up a bit and make the registration and search processes even easier,” explained Mr. Meyst.
By adding video enhancement, deepening the Q & A database and introducing a streamlined 21st Century agency invitation and client evaluation platform, AgencyFinder now serves as a comprehensive online resource for both agencies in search of new clients and for clients who need to find new or additional marketing service providers. “There are 86 pages of content – from how-to’s to more than 3,000 case studies and 21,000 or more agency essays – all to make it easy for agencies and clients to evaluate and select the perfect candidates,” claimed Mr. Meyst.
Along with the increased pool of informative articles, the site also went through a design change that made it easier to use. “Our new logo exemplifies our approach to simplification and greater focus on bringing together clients and agencies,” said Mr. Meyst. “We’ve done it so often that it’s easy to take for granted. Our re-design process helped us completely re-think how we worked and how we serve both advertisers and the agencies that pay our fees.”
AgencyFinder’s service is offered at no cost to advertisers seeking agencies or to consultants working on their behalf. The service is funded through registration and subscription fees paid by agencies when they build their profiles and set their records “active.” If an agency’s record surfaces in a search because their attributes matched or exceeded the client’s specifications, those profiles, including the agency’s website-link, are ultimately presented to clients for consideration.
AgencyFinder assisted in the placement of $214,000,000 in new business with registered advertising agencies, PR and marketing firms last year.
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About AgencyFinder – AgencyFinder and its companion web sites agencyfinder.com and agencyfinder.eu is a service of Business Partnering, Int. (BPI), a Virginia corporation founded in February of 1997. The service is unique in its match-making process for pairing advertising, public relations and marketing agencies with clients and is intended for use by companies seeking agency support for projects, campaigns or long-term relationships. Searching is free to marketers and supported with complimentary search consulting advice (telephone and on-site consultations) provided by BPI’s executive staff. Advertising agencies and public relations firms (right-sized for budgets less than $100,000 to more than $200 million) pay an annual registration fee to be in the on-line database and to be eligible to participate in AgencyFinder-managed reviews.
Contact: Mike Bawden
Principal – Bawden & Lareau Public Relations
563-359-8654 – phone
563-343-0411 – mobile