Relationship counseling for advertising agencies and clients : a textual analysis of framing in trade publications

Abstract

Although the conflicts between agencies and clients have existed for as long as advertising agencies have existed, agencies and clients have appeared to face increasing difficulty maintaining their relationships. Many previous studies have used the survey and interview methods to understand the factors contributing to agency-client relationship problems, largely ignoring what industry media outlets have to say about these problems. In response to the need for a better understanding of industry discourse, this study used a qualitative textual analysis to investigate ways in which three prominent advertising and PR trade publications, Ad Age, Adweek and PRWeek, have framed issues in the agency-client relationship from 2015-2017.