• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 12, 2015

Perhaps in reaction to last week's announcement that the CMO Club was formally getting into the ad agency rating game, AgencyFinder, a search engine of sorts for ad agencies, is getting an update. 

The AgencyFinder database is getting updated to include listings from branding and digital firms, design boutiques, social media agencies and other marketing-related firms. AgencyFinder Chairman and CEO Chuck Meyst said an "all-points bulletin" on the database upgrade went out to its 3,100 current registrants and he's expecting to add even more firm profiles over the next few months.

Citing a rise in requests for digital and social media campaigns this year, the change at AgencyFinder reflects a shift that Meyst says he has seen among clients who break their business down by specialty and then search for the right service providers for each piece. "That's a switch from the old 'agency of record' relationship," he add. "The result is a desire to find people who can do the job creatively and at a great price." 

Not quite the same as reviews from CMOs, but valuable none the less.