The Drum’s Recommended Agency Register (RAR) reorganises for global expansion
The Recommended Agency Register (RAR), the agency selection service owned by The Drum, is restructuring and rebranding as the business prepares for global expansion and growth.
The Drum RAR
The service, which lists agencies across more than 160 different marketing disciplines - as rated by their clients, will split into two divisions. The first will be focused exclusively on the online platform, which enables clients to find and shortlist agencies that are best fitted to their needs. The second division will offer agency selection consultancy services direct to clients.
RAR will also become more closely aligned with The Drum brand. The Drum is Europe’s biggest marketing news platform and is increasing services to enable marketing professionals to find, compare, rate and contact providers across marketing industries. The data in these services is also invaluable for providers seeking independent and comprehensive feedback on how they rate against the market and their direct competition, based on direct client ratings.
The company said the new organisation and rebrand will enable RAR to better benefit from opportunities outside the UK, where it is growing its presence, especially in the US and Asia-Pacific. The Drum’s marketing news and features website, thedrum.com, now attracts almost a third of its traffic from the US, and half from outside the UK, the company said.
As part of the restructure Diane Young, co-founder of The Drum, will take the reins of the agency division and run the online, publishing, and awards elements of the business. The director of RAR, Steve Antoniewicz will run the new division focused on consultancy, Initially developing UK consultancy in relation to agency selection, but the business will make longer term plans in line with the service expanding into the US and Asia-Pacific.
Commenting on the restructure, Young said: “There are clear advantages for our agency members in being more visible on The Drum, and it will be easier for brands to find our service and use it to choose agencies. As we move into international territories, we can benefit from The Drum’s international reputation.”