What are Client Tiers?

CHOOSING CLIENT TIERS IN CREATIVE BRIEFS

Client tiers help Creative Studio understand the strategic importance of the client relationship. They do not describe:

• How urgent the brief is
• How difficult the creative is
• How much attention the client personally requests
• How important the opportunity feels to the salesperson

When briefing, choose the tier based on the client or agency relationship, not the urgency of the individual brief.

🥇 TIER 1 

• Clients under Big 6 agencies (and Simply Black in Africa) or Top Global brands
• The "Big 6" refers to the six largest global advertising and marketing holding companies that control a vast majority of worldwide media spending, creative campaigns, and public relations
• Even small clients count as Tier 1 if they belong to a Big 6 agency
  
• Why this matters - these relationships may involve:
  • Global or multinational accounts
  • Important agency partnerships
  • Opportunities across multiple markets
  • High long-term retention value
  • Strong strategic value to Eskimi

*Read our Big 6 overview here.

Not sure whether an agency belongs to the Big 6? Check the approved agency list below before selecting the tier.

🥈 TIER 2

• Important local or regional clients that do not qualify for Tier 1
• This includes:
  • Recognised top clients in your local market
  • Large independent agencies
  • Important regional clients
  • Established accounts with high local strategic value
    
• Why this matters - these clients may offer:
  • Strong local or regional relationships
  • Repeat business
  • High retention value
  • Important revenue within a specific market
  • Opportunities to strengthen Eskimi’s local position

If you are unsure whether an account qualifies, confirm it with your regional or commercial lead.

🥉 TIER 3

• When the client does not qualify for Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 7

• This usually includes:

  • Smaller independent agencies

  • Smaller direct clients

  • Standard accounts without a confirmed strategic classification

Tier 3 clients generally don't qualify for custom creative work, as the goal it to move them to a low touch environment. However, if there is an opportunity to grow the client, or there is a high media investment value attached, let's talk!

🏅 TIER 7

• Gambling and performance clients which were handed over to Roigen

Tier 7 is a special routing category. It does not mean “seventh priority.”

🌿 GROWTH CLIENT

• Accounts in active growth phase, or with high upsell potential
• There is clear evidence that the account is actively growing or has a realistic, near-term upsell opportunity
• This may include:
  • Confirmed additional campaigns
  • A documented increase in planned spend
  • Active expansion into new markets
  • A confirmed opportunity to add products or formats
  • A specific upsell already being discussed with the client
    
• Why this matters:
  • Growth clients may have additional commercial potential
  • Strong creative support can help Eskimi deepen the relationship and convert confirmed opportunities into future business

🆕  NEW CLIENT

• First custom Rich Media brief with Creative Studio
• Why this matters - the first Creative Studio project establishes the client’s expectations of our:
  • Creative quality
  • Communication
  • Process
  • Reliability
  • Overall service
•  First impressions matter; new clients get elevated treatment on their first brief regardless of size

The New Client flag applies only to the first custom Rich Media brief. Remove it from future briefs for the same client.

Growth Client and New Client are additional priority flags. They do not replace the client’s main tier.

HOW ESKIMI WORKS WITH BIG 6 AGENCIES

There’s this thing in the advertising world called the “Big 6,” which refers to the biggest ad agency holding companies around the world. Before starting to navigate this ecosystem, one often has no idea how complicated it is.

Agency holding companies are “live organisms” that rapidly change, expanding and acquiring new members or losing some of them along the way.

Most of us see hundreds of agencies worldwide as individual players in the industry. However, all of them fall under the giant umbrellas of slightly more than ten agency holding companies (parent advertising agency groups that own smaller agencies).

Read our blog post on the Big 6 here.

Eskimi & The big 6.pdf