Wyomissing, PA – According to Second Wind’s 2009 Annual Agency Survey Report, midsize and smaller advertising agency hourly rates were up in almost all areas during the survey period. Although increases were modest, rates have trended sharply upward over the past three years. The majority of agency hourly rates exceeded $100 per hour, with several categories exceeding $120 per hour. Categories seeing an increase in hourly rates include account service, account planning, art direction, strategic planning, multimedia/interactive and website design.
Of survey participants, 79% are agencies of record for clients with 49% of clients holding this status. Eighty-three percent of agencies have signed agency of record agreements with those clients. “It is important to use contracts or letters of agreement with agency of record clients,” remarked Laurie Mikes, COO of Second Wind. “While instituting client contracts can be tedious, legal documents can prevent misunderstandings in the long run as ground rules are set at the beginning of the agency/client relationship. More importantly, these contracts can shelter agencies from media-client billing issues.”
Founded in 1988, Second Wind is a member-based organization allowing more than 900 midsize and smaller ad agencies and marketing firms to share their business knowledge and marketing expertise. Second Wind surveys members annually on topics including finances and accounting, payroll and employee benefits, operations, technology, new business and planning.
The Second Wind survey also found that the average time for agencies to collect receivables remains too long, with 50% of respondents waiting 45 days for payment of client invoices. Another 33% wait 30 days, which is ideally what agencies should strive for; 15% wait 60 days, which is up 2% over last year.
“We have seen increases in agency collection periods this year,” said Mikes. “Clients delaying payment on completed projects is becoming a major issue for smaller and midsize agencies. We recommend moving to milestone billing tactics to help alleviate this problem, rather than waiting to bill when projects are complete. This allows agencies to receive some payment up front and midway through a project.”
In addition, the survey asked agencies what kinds of clients or industries they serve. Second Wind found that 47% of respondents focus on health care accounts, 34% on industrial/manufacturing, 31% on education/non-profit, 31% on banking/financial, 20% specialize in tourism/hospitality and 19% focus on retail clients.
In addition to annual surveys, seminar and workshop opportunities, members of Second Wind benefit from daily access to critically needed business resources and creative information programs. Second Wind is one of the world’s leading trainers of advertising professionals and sells training materials and publications through the online store at www.secondwindonline.com. A major resource is Second Wind Online, with its high-powered, data-rich Knowledge Base, and a popular members-only Forum.
For more details on Second Wind’s 2009 Annual Agency Survey Report or other Second Wind offerings, call 610-374-9093, email info@secondwindonline.com; or visit Second Wind Online.
# # #
Second Wind Contact: Laurie Mikes
laurie@secondwindonline.com
Second Wind Ltd.
P.O. Box 6284, 1424 Penn Avenue
Wyomissing, PA 19610-0284
610-374-9093
Second Wind Online
Find Second Wind on Facebook
Follow Us on Twitter
Second Wind RSS
Of survey participants, 79% are agencies of record for clients with 49% of clients holding this status. Eighty-three percent of agencies have signed agency of record agreements with those clients. “It is important to use contracts or letters of agreement with agency of record clients,” remarked Laurie Mikes, COO of Second Wind. “While instituting client contracts can be tedious, legal documents can prevent misunderstandings in the long run as ground rules are set at the beginning of the agency/client relationship. More importantly, these contracts can shelter agencies from media-client billing issues.”
Founded in 1988, Second Wind is a member-based organization allowing more than 900 midsize and smaller ad agencies and marketing firms to share their business knowledge and marketing expertise. Second Wind surveys members annually on topics including finances and accounting, payroll and employee benefits, operations, technology, new business and planning.
The Second Wind survey also found that the average time for agencies to collect receivables remains too long, with 50% of respondents waiting 45 days for payment of client invoices. Another 33% wait 30 days, which is ideally what agencies should strive for; 15% wait 60 days, which is up 2% over last year.
“We have seen increases in agency collection periods this year,” said Mikes. “Clients delaying payment on completed projects is becoming a major issue for smaller and midsize agencies. We recommend moving to milestone billing tactics to help alleviate this problem, rather than waiting to bill when projects are complete. This allows agencies to receive some payment up front and midway through a project.”
In addition, the survey asked agencies what kinds of clients or industries they serve. Second Wind found that 47% of respondents focus on health care accounts, 34% on industrial/manufacturing, 31% on education/non-profit, 31% on banking/financial, 20% specialize in tourism/hospitality and 19% focus on retail clients.
In addition to annual surveys, seminar and workshop opportunities, members of Second Wind benefit from daily access to critically needed business resources and creative information programs. Second Wind is one of the world’s leading trainers of advertising professionals and sells training materials and publications through the online store at www.secondwindonline.com. A major resource is Second Wind Online, with its high-powered, data-rich Knowledge Base, and a popular members-only Forum.
For more details on Second Wind’s 2009 Annual Agency Survey Report or other Second Wind offerings, call 610-374-9093, email info@secondwindonline.com; or visit Second Wind Online.
# # #
Second Wind Contact: Laurie Mikes
laurie@secondwindonline.com
Second Wind Ltd.
P.O. Box 6284, 1424 Penn Avenue
Wyomissing, PA 19610-0284
610-374-9093
Second Wind Online
Find Second Wind on Facebook
Follow Us on Twitter
Second Wind RSS