Hasta La Creative!

As someone who spent 19 years at an agency, and my last 18 years consulting with clients on their agency compensation agreements, I read Rance Crain’s recent opinion piece and conversation with Gary Burandt with much interest.

In it, Gary argued that “losing the 15% media commission was the biggest game changer in the ad business since it started,” adding that “in retrospect it would have been better for the agencies to voluntarily agree to a lower commission of 10% and keep a system in place that was working well.” He also noted that the conversion to client fees and hourly rates “has made no one happy and has become a distraction on both sides.”

While I greatly respect Gary’s industry experience and smarts, I have to respectfully disagree with most of his arguments on the commission system, and can see no scenario where a move to a 10% vs. 15% commission rate would have made any difference.

Continue reading at AdAge.com