IAS named most-rated pitch consultant in South Africa

Having surveyed marketing agencies across South Africa, media house MarkLives has found that the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS) is the highest recommended pitch consultant across the country. The firm credits its success to staying ahead of market trends. 

IAS characterises itself as an intermediary consultancy that works on improving and development the professional relationship between marketers and agencies. The firm also works with each side individually to help develop innovative tools and services that can boost competitiveness.

The firm is operating in an economy where marketing is increasingly growing in profile. South Africa’s economy has been struggling in recent times, which has led many businesses to be tight with their spending. At IAS, however, the belief is that their business is “recession-resilient.”

Market experts have growing increasingly vocal in their claims that spending on marketing is important at all times, especially in times of a spending crunch. The reasoning is that brands that have particular visibility during times of trouble portray resilience and strength to consumers.

According to Founder & CEO at IAS Johanna McDowell, IAS appears to benefit from this reasoning. She reports that the marketing budgets in 2019 are almost identical to those in 2012. On the one hand, this represents stability. On the other hand, she reports that marketing agencies are now expected to achieve a lot more with the same budget.

Technology has been the answer for many, with data analytics allowing businesses to attain a nuanced understanding of consumer behaviour and preferences. For McDowell, this has been coupled with staying ahead of the curve when it comes to industry trends across the globe.

McDowell stresses the importance of global summits and conferences in keeping abreast with market trends. These events are normally attended by businesses from different corners of the globe that bring with them new ideas, strategies and predictions on upcoming challenges and expenditure.