Originally published on Campaign.

Tobi Asare, Business development director, OMD UK

The AAR’s 2022 H1 report shows that media appointments were up 3% in H1 of 2022 versus H1 of 2021, so we are yet to experience the new-business slowdown in media. However, it would be wise to prepare for what could be around the corner.

I have a glass-half-full view of the road ahead. A potential slowdown could bring new opportunities for agencies to deepen relationships and really focus on understanding client challenges and finding new ways to overcome them, which could result in new briefs or expansion of scope. At OMD UK, we had an incredible year in 2021 in terms of net new growth, and by putting our clients’ challenges at the heart of everything that we do, we finished the year with an impressive streak of contract extensions. Extending and expanding our relationship with our flagship financial services client without a pitch is a testament to this.

Markets are cyclical and there will eventually be a surge of new-business activity, so the agencies that have an agile end-to-end business development strategy and have used the time to strengthen client relationships, agency reputation and nurture talent will be the ones who will ultimately come out on top and have less to worry about.

Read the full article here.