Well, it’s nearly over, this mixed bag of a year. Sitting where we do, in the middle of agencies and clients, we get to see and hear a lot of different views of this economic climate.

We know personally of several agencies who have had to shut their doors this year, never good news, particularly when staff have been laid off.

Interestingly, most of the agencies we know who’ve gone under have blamed themselves rather than ‘the market’. They attribute their demise to leaving it too late to respond to the changing needs of clients and their marketing budgets. Examples include:

• not developing a serious digital offer whether through acquisition or partnership
• not having a clear offer and/or targeting strategy for business development
• a lack of investment in proactively looking for new clients and/or markets

On the other side of the coin, we’ve added over 600 new agencies to our already extensive agency database and more of our clients have won business this year than for the last 5 years.

Out of interest, here is a breakdown of client wins by discipline:

• Research: 19%
• Digital: 17%
• Full service/integrated: 17%
• Design/branding/packaging/corporate com: 17%
• BTL, PR and media planning &buying: 30%

As a glass half full kind of person, I always look forward to the forthcoming year with the hope of more and better! I wish this to all my readers!

Blair Enns, a Canadian business development consultant and author, will be talking at the final Designers Breakfast of 2011 on Thursday November 24th.

Entitled ‘Add value, don’t give away your thinking for free’ it will focus on how to reclaim the high ground in client relationships and abandon free pitching.

The series this year has delivered some hard-hitting truths and insights into business development and client relationships from a design agency perspective – if you missed any of them, they will be available online from January 2012.

Following my recent talk at the Designers Breakfast in July the next event is on Thursday 22nd September at BBH in Kingly Street, W1B 5DS.

It is entitled ‘Expand your horizons: getting business overseas is easier than you might think’

UK design talent is even more in demand internationally so now is a great time to seek opportunities overseas.

The panel is made up of design agencies who have recently won business abroad, some of whom have done it on their own and some with help from UK Trade & Investment.

Click here for ticket information