I read this article last week on the Contagious site (http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/) where Paul Castledine talked about how agencies must justify their work to clients or they can forget it. While the article threw around a bit of antiquated jargon and didn't really provide any new or interesting insights, it did inspire me to give some more thought to the very real issue around accountability of design, advertising and media agencies in the current climate.
 
I have seen quite a few articles like Paul’s discussing how traditional agencies are becoming  increasingly concerned with the fact that what they do can't always be effectively measured and now that "clients are far more demanding" (as Paul says) agencies are  struggling to justify exactly what they deliver. Now, if I was a traditional agency, I'd be concerned also.
 
I think that clients have the right to be  demanding, considering the amount of money they spend with agencies and  those agencies that are making little  effort to understand their clients’ businesses should start doing so while ensuring that they are offering tangible benefits for their services.
 
The mantra for 2009 should be - listen to clients, gain a clear understanding of their business needs and provide quantifiable solutions.
 
Full article here: http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/News%20Article.aspx?REF=1004