You don't have to be ruthless to win...

What uppp,

I’ve been seeing this a lot lately…

Agencies bragging about "stealing" clients by undercutting other firms by 40% or more.

“Well okay, but what’s wrong with that Jackson?”

Here's my take:

You don't have to be unethically ruthless to be competitive.

Media buying is competitive by nature…

But most of the time you're competing WITH your clients, not against them.

Their wins are your wins.

When their ROAS goes up, your retainer gets bigger.

Where it actually gets tricky is agency vs agency.

Personally, I'll never undercut another firm.

Not because I can't, I absolutely could slash rates and steal deals if I wanted to.

(Hell, I could probably even throw in a pizza party for it and really seal the deal)

But because I value my team and the work we do...

I'd rather LOSE a deal than cheapen what we bring.

That doesn't make me less competitive, though.

I'm still petty as hell when it comes to outperforming other agencies, cause I want our creative to crush theirs and our strategies to deliver better results.

That's real competition.

Now look, I've been burned by being "too nice" in past business exits.

And that’s when I learned there's a difference between having ethics and being a pushover.

I'll fight hard for what matters and protect our values aggressively…

But I won't sell my soul to win a deal.

The agencies that undercut everyone? They're in a race to the bottom, and that's exactly where they end up.

But us? We're building something that lasts.

Something our team can be proud of.

And something that delivers real value instead of just the cheapest option.

That’s all for now,

Jackson

P.S. Those agencies that "steal" clients with low prices?

Just watch how many clients fire them within six months for sh*tty performance. 🤷