Phillip Stutts

CEOs and entrepreneurs everywhere are exasperated, wondering where the money they pay their digital marketing firm actually goes. This frustration has become alarmingly normalized and the rift between digital marketing agencies and the companies that hire them is nearly ubiquitous.

Standard practices in the world of corporate marketing have entrenched a business model and behavior that leads to client frustration, derision and creates a need for disruption.

That disruption will be inspired by marketing practices already utilized in a parallel marketplace in plain sight but rarely looked upon to save the day: politics. Political marketing firms work with fewer resources and time than their corporate marketing counterparts — with a massively large ROI. The political digital marketplace has exposed common deceptions demonstrating that corporate marketing firms are lying to their clients.

Companies and CEOs hiring corporate digital marketers sign unbreakable, long-term contracts. No matter what, the client pays the marketing agency for their work over a six- to 18-month unbreakable period. Their focus is on landing the contract; getting clients to sign on the dotted line to guarantee payment (and sometimes, even a “signing bonus” for the privilege of working with them!) before any work begins at all. This creates a security that kills incentive for innovation and results throughout the life of that contract…

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