Marketing agencies selection checklist before signing

What to take away

Choose the references yourself

The agency will offer its happiest clients, so ask for others. Request two clients who left in the past 18 months and one whose scope changed mid-engagement. Those three show how the agency behaves when work goes wrong or plans shift.

Ask each reference what was agreed, what changed, how the agency responded and whether they would hire it again. Record each answer, the supporting evidence and any follow-up questions in the same fields, then revisit those notes when you decide. Consistent notes stop a charming call from outweighing a weak record.

Treat this step as the second filter. Once a proposal comparison has narrowed the field to one or two agencies, references test whether the pitch matches what past clients experienced. Any gap between the two is a question to settle before signature, not afterwards.

Confirm the scope the contract rests on

Put the deliverable, the audience, the channels and the budget range on one page, and attach it to the contract. If two people disagree about what success looks like, the brief is not ready. Include what you will not buy, and name the decision-maker and budget holder.

A clear scope stops a digital marketing company from selling you a broader retainer than you need. Ask the agency to restate the scope in its own words, and compare that wording with yours line by line. Differences found now cost nothing to fix.

Match the fee lines to your template

Check that the fee schedule uses the same lines you asked every firm to complete. Fees, media spend, third-party costs and mark-up should sit on separate lines. Anything outside the monthly fee must be named, so you know what a quote leaves out.

Compare like-for-like quotes rather than assuming a standard fee or commission. The budget template shows which cost groups to keep apart, so an extra charge cannot hide inside a bundled line. Ask who approves any spend above the agreed lines before it is committed.

Screen advertising claims and sector rules

Marketing claims sit under a mix of self-regulation and statute, and the regulator picture differs by channel. Ask the agency which rules apply to your campaign and who signs off claims before they run. Name that person in the contract.

For most UK advertising, the Advertising Standards Authority applies the CAP and BCAP Codes.

For broadcast and telecoms-adjacent marketing, check the rules published by Ofcom. An agency that cannot say which regulator covers your channel has not done the groundwork for your sector. Ask for its answer in writing.

If any part of your campaign runs in the United States, note that the Federal Trade Commission publishes notices of penalty offences that flag civil penalties for misleading advertising. A supplier with US exposure should explain how it manages that risk.

Get data handling terms in writing

Ask where client and customer data will be stored, who can access it and what happens at the end of the contract. Get the retention period in writing. Check that the data processing terms address the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If personal data will be transferred outside the UK, ask which transfer mechanism applies, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. Ask too whether data is used to train any third-party model.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's data protection regulator. Vague answers are a warning sign.

Read the contract for exit, not just entry

Check notice periods, intellectual property, media spend ownership and what you keep if the relationship ends. Confirm who owns the ad accounts and creative files. An exit clause you understand is worth more than a discount.

Ask which tasks the agency will subcontract, since surprise subcontracting is harder to manage than a disclosed one. Name the people doing the work and the hours they will commit. The commercial contract checks list the clauses to settle before signature.

Set a day-90 review before you sign

Agree what day 90 will review: delivery against scope, reporting quality and the relationship. Put the review date in the contract. Use the same review date with every shortlisted supplier, so you compare like with like. A supplier that resists a scheduled review is telling you something useful.

Decide the two or three numbers that define success and who reports them, so day 90 has something to measure. Write the reporting dates beside the review date. Be sceptical of anyone who cannot explain how their figures are produced.

Before you sign

Common questions

Who should the references be?

Clients the agency did not choose: two who left in the past 18 months and one whose scope changed mid-engagement. Ask what was agreed, what changed and whether they would hire the agency again.

When should these checks happen?

Write the checklist before you invite anyone to pitch, or the pitches will set your criteria for you. Apply these checks to the one or two agencies left, before anyone signs, so any gap can still change the terms.

What should the contract settle on exit?

Notice periods, intellectual property, media spend ownership, and who owns the ad accounts and creative files. Confirm each in writing before signature.

Why set a review date before signing?

It turns day 90 into a scheduled check on delivery, reporting quality and the relationship. A supplier that resists the date is telling you something useful.