There are indeed times when, as a retained agency, you can be too involved with a project or client to notice the glaringly obvious. This was one reason that led me to branch out and form Ashton x Ashton, with the belief that each project is time-sensitive and fully delivered before starting the next. Retainers can become too cosy and both parties can lose sight of specific KPIs for no other reason than they don’t have to pay attention.

By shunning the easy life of regular monthly income I have forced myself to justify every recommendation. So far, it is working.