# Choose a marketing agency with a fair scoring process

A shortlist brief, pitch questions, and weighted scorecard to select an agency on evidence rather than chemistry.

- Topic: Marketing & Brand
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Marketing, Legal, Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/choose-a-marketing-agency-with-a-fair-scoring-process

## Prompt

```text
Help me select a marketing agency.

**Scope of work:** [e.g. "paid social and search", "brand refresh", "SEO and content"]
**Budget:** [agency fees and media spend, separately]
**Goals and KPIs:** [WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE in 6-12 months]
**Must-haves:** [industry experience, time zone, in-house vs. outsourced work, tools]
**Agencies being considered:** [NAMES or "help me define the profile"]
**Internal team and decision-makers:** [WHO is involved]

Create:
1. A 1-page brief to send agencies: background, objectives, scope, budget range, timeline, what to present.
2. 12-15 pitch questions that expose real capability: who will actually work on the account and their time allocation, a relevant result with numbers and how it was measured, how they'd approach our first 90 days, reporting, how they handle underperformance, fee model and markups on media or tools, contract term and exit terms, ownership of ad accounts, data, and creative.
3. Red flags to listen for (vague attribution claims, senior team in the pitch but juniors on the work, owning our ad accounts, long lock-ins).
4. A weighted scorecard: Criterion | Weight | Score 1-5 | Evidence, covering strategy, relevant experience, team, measurement, cost, fit.
5. Reference-check questions for their current clients.

Remind me to have contracts reviewed by procurement or legal.
```

## What to fill in

- agency fees and media spend, separately
- WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE in 6-12 months
- NAMES or "help me define the profile"
- WHO is involved

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.