Key factors shaping client success in the advertising and marketing industry: how strategic adjustments and daily interactions drive long-term relationships
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2025-12-10
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Rosenthal, Benjamin
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This dissertation analyzes the key factors shaping client success in the advertising and marketing industry and investigates the mechanisms that either sustain or systematically erode long-term client-agency alliances. The modern relationship between advertising agencies and their clients has transcended the era of the simple vendor, evolving into a high stakes strategic alliance. Yet, despite mutual desires for enduring collaboration, these partnerships often systematically erode, not due to failures in creative output, but due to friction in the behavioral mechanisms of their daily interactions. This research addresses the critical question of how long-term alliances fail by confronting the pervasive methodological gap in the literature, which historically relied on static quantitative metrics and failed to capture the subjective lived experience of the strategic partnership. Employing a qualitative, interpretivist, and inductive methodology, this study conducted in-depth interviews with 14 senior executives (including CEOs, CMOs, and Global Directors) from both the agency and client sides. The analysis synthesized the foundational theoretical frameworks, spanning Account Management, Project Management, and Relationship Marketing (Morgan & Hunt, Grönroos), with empirical insights to define that the true driver of long-term loyalty is Relational Integrity, which must be actively managed as a strategic asset. The findings conclude that the Trust Imperative is central, demanding a transformation where the agency shifts from obedience to honest authority; this is evidenced by the necessity of “Brutal Honesty” (telling the client necessary strategy truths) and unwavering Operational Integrity (adherence to budget and timeline) to build genuine accountability. Conversely, this integrity is undermined by Systematic Barriers such as the Hierarchical Barrier (organizational distance that limits specialist access), and Misaligned Incentives (remuneration models that reward siloed profit over client growth). The research concludes that Client Success is fundamentally determined by the ability of the agency to transcend the vendor role and become a Strategic Anchor for the client’s business, thereby validating that Strategic Adjustments and Daily Interactions are inseparable components of a long-term relationship.