How much hospitality should media agencies be offered? (And how much should they accept?)

Tim Burrowes

January 28, 2009 10:35

Media owners who don’t provide free hospitality are being quietly told they’re not doing enough for media agencies, Liam Walsh, boss of performance network Drive PM, has warned today.

Writing on his Talking Digital blog, he says:

“An agency principal whom I like and respect told me recently that we don’t take them on enough trips like cooking classes. That our second biggest competitor wipes the floor with us on the hospitality front.”

Entertainment of media agency staff has long been a tactic used by media owners. Those who argue that the practice is acceptable say that it is no more than building a relationship which can help clients get the best deal, and allow the media owner to better educate the agency staff to its offering in a relaxed setting.

Subscribe to keep reading

Join Mumbrella Pro to access the Mumbrella archive and read our premium analysis of everything under the media and marketing umbrella.

Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.