5 AOR Shifts to Prospect Now

Whether you’re selling media, services, tech, or sponsorships, an agency of record (AOR) shift indicates potential opportunity ahead. Here are five recent shifts that business development professionals in the marketing landscape should take note of. Before diving into the specifics, let's break down why AOR appointments affect pitch-worthiness and how the opportunity trigger works for different sellers.

Agencies and Service Providers

AOR shifts are often part of a domino effect, meaning additional changes and agency hires are likely to come. If a brand hires a new creative AOR, they may be shopping for media, PR, production, and specialty agencies to work on a project or AOR basis. If you’re an agency or marketing services provider, see an AOR hire as an opportunity to position your services to a brand that’s open to taking a new direction (assuming your service differs from that of the agency of record just hired).

Media

An agency hire signals a change in direction and often a campaign on the horizon. For media sellers, this means the time to build relationships is now. If the agency is handling media, connect with the newly-hired team responsible for planning and executing buys. The client is the one who hired the agency, so their openness to change can mean they might consider offerings they’ve previously passed on. It's a good time to build a relationship with them as well.

Adtech & Martech

An AOR hire means that brand-side decision-makers responsible for marketing strategy are open to new ideas and strategies. They might be more likely to consider vendors outside of their legacy partners. If your technology is utilized by an agency, depending on the type of agency hired, there may be an opportunity to pitch to a fresh set of newly-hired eyes.

Sponsorship Sales

If a brand hires a new AOR, sponsorship sellers are encouraged to reach out and see if the new decision-makers are open to allocating dollars towards partnership opportunities. If you can get the brand in front of their target demographic, newly-hired eyes will be open to new strategies and relationships. Reaching the right brands at the right time is key to winning new sponsors, so as soon as a new AOR is in place, reach out to remain top-of-mind.

1. BMW Motorrad Names New Creative AOR After Promoting Marketing Head to VP of Brand

After promoting Trudy Hardy to marketing VP of BMW Motorrad, the brand named Hill Holliday creative AOR in November. Hill Holliday now handles strategic recommendations, creative development, and channel usage, including print, digital, and social media initiatives.

Motorrad has more than doubled its year-over-year digital display spend (up 116%) from November 2018-2019. In the past 12 months, most ads were placed programmatically (79%) through Google. Its top spending period this year was Q2.

Media Seller Opportunity: The top demographic includes millennial males and middle-aged males. Offer digital, print, and social space to entice middle-to-upper-class men with new motorcycles.

Agency Opportunity: This creative AOR announcement may be followed by further reviews, as reviews tend to come in pairs. Reach out to secure your place for potential media or digital responsibilities.

2. Michelin Announces Havas Media as AOR

French tire company Michelin named Havas Chicago as global AOR. Havas will manage all U.S. media buying and planning, working with TBWA/Chiat/Day, which retains Michelin’s global creative remit.

According to iSpot, Michelin has spent $3.9M on national TV ads year-to-date, a drastic decrease from $20.2M in the same timeframe of 2018. The drop in TV spend comes as they shift to higher digital spend.

Adbeat reports digital display ad spend as $645.2k in the last year. 79% were placed site direct on sites such as superstreetonline.com, cardomain.com, mustangfords.com, superchevy.com, and popsci.com.

Media Seller Opportunity: Michelin typically spends the most in Q2 and Q3. Their target audience is older millennials and Gen X men. They have recently shifted most of their spend from TV to digital. Reach out soon to stay top-of-mind for 2020 Q2 if you can provide ad space.

Agency Opportunity: In September, Michelin named Weber Shandwick as its PR AOR. There may be future opportunities for agencies to secure business, as reviews tend to follow one another. Reach out if you can provide digital services.

3. JFK Library Foundation Names Creative AOR, Plans Spring 2020 Campaign

Boston’s John F. Kennedy Library Foundation named Portland’s The VIA Agency creative AOR last month. In spring 2020, VIA will release a campaign in support of the JFK Presidential Library through print, OOH, broadcast, and digital display.

In 2018, the Foundation placed digital display ads at the end of Q4, so sellers should reach out soon for possible Q4 2019 spending. Watch for pushes on significant JFK days for possible digital display opportunities. The JFK Presidential Foundation placed a TV spot in January 2018 for $5.6k, targeting a split amount of Gen X viewers and their children. With the new campaign hitting broadcast, sellers will likely want to use affordable TV space targeting those demographics.

Media Seller Opportunity: Offer digital, TV, print, and OOH for the coming spring 2020 campaign, targeting parents and children (Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X).

Agency Opportunity: The Library has an Instagram page, so agencies with social experience could reach out with services in this channel. Since it worked with TMA on a project basis, consider reaching out with digital and creative services as well.

4. Regis Shifts AORs After Hiring CMO

In its latest Q1 earnings call (FY closes in June), Regis execs mentioned that the Supercuts parent is working with new agency partners after naming a new CMO earlier this year. Regis is now working to upgrade its marketing and advertising with agencies such as Barkley and TBWA/Chiat/Day. Other agencies will likely be added to the roster, and the company continues to invest in digital influencers.

According to iSpot, year-to-date national TV spend of $3.7 million has targeted various male, sports-oriented audiences. Most Supercuts commercials have debuted during Q4, but nearly half the amount compared to the same timeframe in 2018. This drop is likely due to Regis’s ongoing focus on digital.

During the past 12 months, Adbeat reports that Regis and its brands have spent $39,500 on digital display adverts placed primarily site direct and programmatically. This marks a 253% increase from the $11,200 spent from October 2017-18.

Media Seller Opportunity: This shift toward digital, along with Regis’s focus on influencers, signals that Regis wants to reach more millennials and Gen-Z with a slight male skew. The company also uses OOH, print, and radio.

5. Justin’s Names New AOR, Increases Digital Spend

Justin’s named Barkley (Boulder) AOR in November to oversee brand strategy, creative campaign development, media planning and buying, social media strategy, and design. Barkley will develop and execute a media campaign to increase brand awareness and household penetration.

Justin’s marketing VP, Penny Andino, was elevated to the position last year from marketing director. Justin’s seems interested in increasing its marketing investments, but its team is currently small. Parent company Hormel Foods Corporation has increased marketing expenses across brands since 2017, so we should continue to see a rise in spend.

Digital display spend remained higher from January through May and picked back up again from August through September. Spending in this channel increased year-over-year by 279% from $153.6k to $581.8k in the past 12 months. Most ads were placed site direct onto publishers such as thekitchn.com, outsideonline.com, wellandgood.com, looper.com, and listindiario.com.

Media Seller Opportunity: Justin’s targets better-for-you consumers and retail grocers across the country. When reaching out, offer digital space for better-for-you millennial moms. Digital display spend was highest from Q1 through mid Q2. Reach out with Q1 2020 ad space.

Agency Opportunity: Justin’s tends to partner with agencies near its Boulder, CO headquarters. Those in the West will likely have the upper hand. Keep an eye out for reviews likely within the next 12-18 months.