CASE STUDY

UScellular 360 Reviews

UScellular 360 Reviews

Monitoring and Maintaining a Telecom’s Agency Relationships for Over Ten Years

Keeping a Large Marketing Machine Running Smoothly

Challenge

UScellular, the fifth-largest telecommunications network in the U.S., relies on its roster of agencies across advertising, media, PR, and other specialties to reach current and potential customers in 23 states. To keep such a complex marketing operation running at peak efficiency, Mercer Island Group runs an annual 360 process across the agency roster to uncover strengths, opportunities, and immediate action items for each relationship. We’re proud to have been working with UScellular on this important effort since 2008.

Diving Into the Data From Two Angles

Analysis

We begin every 360 process by interviewing members of the client and agency teams, collecting qualitative feedback on the working relationship, specific areas of strength and opportunity, and performance over time. Concurrently, we run an online survey to capture quantitative feedback from each participant. Respondents rate each attribute twice: once for how important strong performance is, and once for how a given team is actually performing. The difference between the metrics allows MIG to see where the gaps are between needs and reality.

Uncovering Strengths and Actionable Opportunities

Insight

Using the performance gaps we uncover in our analysis, along with direct input from respondents, Mercer Island Group has uncovered many opportunities to improve and increase the efficiency of UScellular’s marketing relationships. Over the span of 10 years we have made recommendations in the areas of agency output, production efficiency, and client guidance.

Sharing Recommendations for Continued Excellence

STRATEGY

Each 360 review ends with a detailed presentation to each participating team exploring our findings and sharing the context behind them. Recommended next steps from each annual review help UScellular check in on the health of their myriad agency relationships and continue to strive for marketing excellence in all areas.

Tracking the Health of Relationships

RESULTS

In a 10+ year span, our 360 process with UScellular has:

  • Served as the basis for several important relationship-repair efforts over the years
  • Helped define performance compensation payouts for some agencies
  • Provided a much more stable agency roster than industry norms since 2008

Because our effort with UScellular runs annually, the client team can compare performance year over year and easily recognize trends in the health of each relationship, tracking agency performance (as well that of their own client teams) over time to ensure that small issues don’t turn into broken relationships, and that areas of strength continue to promote healthy partnerships, gains in efficiency, and benefits to the overall business.