Search
Director of Client Services
Organization
Marketing Services Company
Situation
This long standing client who was well established in a number of marketing services disciplines wanted to develop a start-up Direct Marketing Agency to complement their service offering. While exceptionally well known and respected for their existing businesses, the client had no track record or credentials in direct marketing.
Assesment
One of our New York-based consultants conducted extensive research in the direct marketing industry. This research included not only identifying the top Client Services talent in the market but also assessing what the priorities were in delivering effective direct marketing services. It became evident that prior to hiring someone to manage prospective clients, the agency would need creative product to attract these potential clients.
Challenge
The first challenge was getting client buy-in to re-focus the assignment from a search for a Director of Client Service to a search for a team of Co-Creative Directors. The second challenge was to attract top creative talent to a start-up agency affiliated with a company that had no presence in the direct marketing field and one that was not aligned to an Advertising Agency.
Solution
As effective direct marketing is a sophisticated blend of creative and science, The ExeQfind Group adopted a strategy of identifying and attracting a top creative team that also had strong strategic skills and were savvy in business development, in order to immediately build credibility for this new start-up. To make such a move attractive to the premier candidates, the Director managing the search worked closely with the client in structuring a package that included performance bonuses based on business acquisition and an equity stake in the new company.
Candidate
In this instance there were two candidates – the top direct marketing creative team in the market. Both of these candidates had a track record of developing effective and award-winning direct marketing campaigns. Both had strong strategic thinking skills in addition to their creative prowess and both were very comfortable in leading new business activities – a mix of skills difficult to find in creative people.
Postmortem
At the three month update, the President was very pleased with her new business partners and the Company was well on its way to developing a substantial client base. Three years later, the company is one of the most respected Direct Marketing Agencies in the marketplace with an enviable client roster. The Co-Creative Directors have been promoted to overseeing creative services across all disciplines and divisions of what is now one of the largest integrated marketing services companies in North America. Subsequent to these hires, consultants with The ExeQfind Group filled the Director of Client Services role as well as several other key positions within this new division.