Bajkowski + Partners WBE Certification Renewed for 2025

Posted on October 25, 2024October 25, 2024 by Bajkowski + Partners

Bajkowski + Partners LLC (B+P), a strategic marketing and agency resource management consultancy, is proud to announce its re-certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the New York Chapter of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC Certification is the gold standard for women-owned business certification in the United States.

Laura Bajkowski, principal and owner of B+P, finds that “WBE certification enhances our reputation among Fortune 500 clients that strive to provide smaller and independently owned consultancies with opportunities to work on key initiatives that have major impact on their business success.”

WBENC’s meticulous vetting process, which includes an in-depth review of a business structure, operations, policies and business plan, is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their suppliers, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier diversity programs, which in turn empowers women as leaders and brings about a more diverse, balanced and sustainable economy.

WBENC Certification, combined with professional development and engagement in the WBENC network, provides unsurpassed opportunities year-round, both virtually and in-person, for women-owned businesses to grow and expand their business and innovation through events, programming and connections with major corporations and other WBEs

Please follow the links to learn more about Bajkowski + Partners services and clients, or to discuss a potential project.

About Bajkowski + Partners LLC:

Founded in 2007, Bajkowski + Partners is a New York limited liability company headquartered in New York City, with senior consultants across the U.S. and Canada, and partners in EMEA and APAC. B+P is a global consultancy with practices in Agency Search and Selection Management, Agency Performance and Relationship Management, Marketing Organization and Optimization, and Brand and Marcomm Management.

About WBENC:
Founded in 1997, WBENC is the nation’s leader in women’s business development and the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 18,000 certified Women’s Business Enterprises, 14 national Regional Partner Organizations, and more than 500 Corporate Members, most of which are Fortune 500. Thousands of corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands, as well as many states, cities, and other entities, look for and accept WBENC Certification. Through the Women Owned initiative, WBENC also is a leader in supporting consumer-oriented female entrepreneurs and those who do business with them by raising awareness for why, where and how to buy Women Owned. For more information, visit www.wbenc.org and www.buywomenowned.com.

Bajkowski + Partners officially certified as a women-owned businesses

Posted on December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

New York City—12/6/2021— Bajkowski + Partners LLC, a women-owned business (WBE) specializing in agency search and marketing operations management, is proud to announce national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

“We’re proud to be officially recognized as a WBE and fully support the inclusion of female, minority, veteran and LGBTQ-owned businesses in our supplier recommendations to clients.” – Laura Bajkowski, owner and principal of Bajkowski + Partners LLC.

The WBENC standard of certification is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman or women.

To learn more about Bajkowski + Partners LLC, please visit our website.

About Bajkowski + Partners LLC:

Bajkowski + Partners is a global consultancy with practices in Agency Search and Selection Management, Agency Performance and Relationship Management, Marketing Organization and Optimization, and Brand and Marcomm Management.

Is ’40 the new 70′ the Latest Marketing Trend?

Posted on October 7, 2019February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

If you look at the marketing industry, it seems that way. Welcome to the new ‘grey attrition’

While it’s been a ‘young person’s business’ at ad agencies for a long time, corporate marketing jobs also seem to be ‘out with the old, in with the new’ – unless you’re the CMO. Whether at an ad agency or on the brand side, this is a disturbing marketing trend.

Seems like we receive at least one email a month from a colleague who has a friend / colleague that’s suddenly unemployed and, because they’re over 40, run into a ‘grey wall’ with human resources or job app websites.

One man of a certain age, according to a recent Digiday article, spent the last three years as a permalancer while he looks for a permanent advertising agency gig.

There are likely many factors driving this new ageism in the marketing industry.

One such culprit is certainly marketers driving down agency comp. This eventually forces advertising agencies to find cheaper talent solutions. And eventually marketers complain that the agency team is too junior and, worst yet, fires the agency.

Mergers and acquisitions, consolidations, and reorganizations also contribute to ‘grey attrition’ at both clients and agencies as they unload higher salaried staffs.

Whatever reason you come up with, it is still a human one.

It’s time marketers and agencies rethink scopes, and staffing – on both sides.

Pressures to increase ROI need to factor in the value of experienced human capital.

With that ‘grey attrition’ also goes your knowledge base. Indiana Jones once said, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.”

We’d argue that it can be both.

Mileage doesn’t always ensure wisdom. And ‘the years’ doesn’t mean you hit the brakes on learning.

Let’s stop and rethink this marketing trend.

When did Agencies and Vendors become banks for their Clients?

Posted on October 7, 2019February 10, 2021 by Bajkowski + Partners

Increased pressure from brands on their agencies and vendors to extend payment windows is greater than ever

Mega brands such as General Mills and Chrysler are seemingly throwing their weight around, conducting agency searches of which agency payment terms have reached a new low – or should we say high?

General Mills’ recent creative agency review reportedly demanded a payment window of 120 days. And according to a post on Digiday, “Chrysler succeeded in pushing its payment window to 180 days last fall…And around the same time…a big brand started asking for payment terms of a full year, according to the 4As, which received complaints from creative and media agencies about the terms.”

The client in that latter situation asked agencies to “work out a deal where on paper it looked as if the agencies had agreed to payment terms of one year”. Often this results in having agencies and vendors pre-bill far in advance and reconcile later.

So in reality, cash-flow management has not improved.

At least that’s what occurs with some of our clients and agencies, whether we’re handling a search or modernizing their agency contracts that have to include such burdensome corporate-wide payment windows that go beyond a 30-day period.

The Digiday article further reveals that marketers requiring these abnormally long payment periods assume agencies will get financing to cover the widening payment to expense gap.

Yet the client won’t pay the financing fees.

Clients should realize that such demands, if an agency acquiesces, can become part of the agency overhead – so you’re still paying the finance charges.

Equally troublesome is the use of third-party invoice processing systems that charge agencies for every invoice that is submitted – non-reimbursable of course.

Agencies are in the business of driving brand revenue through their communications expertise, not money-lenders to clients.

Wonder if client-side staff would be okay with being paid 120 days out.

Definitely not.

Is this what clients really mean by wanting agencies to be their partners?

Probably not.

Yet here we have another strain on client-agency relationships.