YourPreviousAgencyWasn'tStupid
A new client often starts by criticising their previous agency.
"They didn't know what they were doing."
"The account structure made no sense."
"They wasted so much money."
Sometimes that's true. Sometimes it isn't.
What we've learned:
That "nonsensical" account structure? Often built to accommodate client requests that the agency couldn't push back on.
That "wasted" spend? Sometimes the result of "we need more volume" pressure from the brand.
That "obvious mistake"? Sometimes obvious now, with data that wasn't available then.
The constraints agencies work within:
- Clients who won't share margin data
- Brands that demand growth at any cost
- Stakeholders who measure success by ROAS alone
- Approval processes that block necessary changes
- Internal politics that prioritise certain products
An agency can only be as good as the context allows.
Why this matters:
If we blame everything on the previous agency, we miss the systemic problems that created the situation.
If the previous agency failed because they weren't given proper data, we'll fail too unless that changes.
If the previous agency was pushed to spend unprofitably, we need to establish different expectations.
Our approach:
Before we criticise, we ask questions. What constraints were they working within? What data did they have? What pressures were they under?
Sometimes the answer is: they were genuinely bad. That happens.
But often the answer is: they were making reasonable decisions with incomplete information and conflicting demands.
Understanding that helps us avoid the same fate.