Media auditors are the obvious choice for media expenditures, but marketers also rely on non-media agencies and production companies. What to do in such cases?

For advertisers, working with media auditors has become routine. Their role in ensuring transparency, budget control, and media spending optimization constitutes a key element of marketing strategy. However, non-media activities also play a significant, often larger role than media itself, in enhancing brand effectiveness and competitiveness. Similar to media, these areas require support in selecting the best partners, evaluating contract execution (auditing), and advising on collaboration with non-media agencies and companies.

Collaboration with such agencies differs significantly from relationships with media houses. Their activities focus less on hard data and more on creative, strategic, and production processes. Assessing their work and effectiveness is often more complex and harder to formalize. Creative agencies deliver visual and narrative content designed to evoke specific emotions or reactions. Evaluating their quality is often subjective and based on taste, experience, and intuition. The challenge, therefore, lies in maintaining objectivity when assessing the results of such agencies.

Processes in non-media agencies are more iterative and require intensive collaboration between the client’s and agency’s teams. During the process, discrepancies in expectations, ambiguities in agreements, and difficulties in budget management may arise. Additionally, these activities often focus on building long-term relationships with audiences and strengthening the brand’s image, making their impact visible only over time. The results of such efforts stem from integrated processes, making it difficult to attribute them to a specific campaign or agency.

Unlike media activities, collaboration with non-media agencies lacks established auditing standards. Marketers often rely on internal evaluations or project team opinions, which can lead to erroneous decisions. Creative and production budgets are highly flexible, complicating the assessment of expenditure justification. Modern campaigns involve numerous agencies executing various elements of a marketing strategy, increasing the risk of communication inconsistencies or duplicated costs.

Solutions addressing these challenges are emerging in the Polish market. For example, services are available to help advertisers manage creative and production processes similarly to media audits. These firms assist clients in partner selection, contract evaluation, and advisory, improving marketing processes.

One such entity specializing in comprehensive support on the Polish market is Shortlist Consulting, which leverages its experience with creative, interactive, strategic, and production agencies to support advertisers at every stage of collaboration—from supplier selection through performance auditing to training. This approach enables companies to better manage marketing budgets and build more effective relationships with agencies.

The activities of non-media agencies and production companies are crucial for the effectiveness of marketing strategies. Without support in their selection, evaluation, and management, advertisers may face difficulties in achieving consistency and efficiency in their efforts.

Companies choosing to manage these processes independently must be prepared for the challenges associated with their complexity. Alternatively, collaboration with experts can provide significant value, helping advertisers optimize marketing activities and build a competitive edge.