--- name: find-marketing-agency description: Use whenever the user wants to find, shortlist, vet, or enrich US marketing agencies — including branding, content marketing, PPC/paid media, social media, email marketing, performance/demand-gen, video production, and full-service digital agencies. Triggers on requests like "shortlist three B2B branding agencies in California", "find a PPC shop with ecommerce experience", "we need a content marketing partner for a SaaS launch", or "pull contact info for these 12 agency domains", even when the need is described indirectly. Drives the ServiceGraph API (api.servicegraph.co) — a 100k+ US firm catalog filterable by industry, services, location, size, ratings, and third-party listings. Skip SEO-only asks (use find-seo-agency), web/software-development asks (use find-web-developer or find-software-developer), recruiting an in-house marketing hire, "write me a marketing plan" do-the-work asks, non-US firms, individual freelancers, marketing-software-product recommendations, and consumer/personal-brand asks. license: MIT metadata: api_base: https://api.servicegraph.co industry: marketing_agency version: "0.3" --- # find-marketing-agency Drive the **ServiceGraph API** (`https://api.servicegraph.co`) to find, shortlist, and enrich US marketing agencies. The catalog has tens of thousands of US marketing firms tagged across 26 service sub-tags including branding, content-marketing, ppc, social-media-marketing, email-marketing, web-design, video-production, inbound-marketing, marketing-strategy, and conversion-optimization. (Note: the catalog has no `performance-marketing` or `demand-gen` / `demand-generation` tag — those user-phrasings map to `inbound-marketing` / `marketing-strategy` / `conversion-optimization` plus a keyword fallback.) **Always pin `industry:marketing_agency` in the filter.** This skill exists to do that automatically — the user shouldn't have to think about catalog taxonomy. Any HTTP client works (curl, fetch, requests). Examples below use curl. ## Sibling skills — defer when scope is narrow If the user's ask is **strictly** one of the following, defer to the dedicated skill: - Strictly SEO/search-ranking work → `find-seo-agency` - Strictly web/app/software development → `find-web-developer` / `find-software-developer` If the user wants a marketing agency that *also* does SEO or web work as part of a broader engagement, this skill is correct — pin `industry:marketing_agency` and add the relevant `service_provided:` tags. ## The four-tier funnel | Tier | Auth | Cost | Use it for | |---|---|---|---| | `GET /v1/tags` | none | free | **First call of every session.** Discover legal field names, kinds, operators, values. | | `GET /v1/check?filter=...` | none | free | Validate a filter before spending an explore/search call. | | `GET /v1/explore?filter=...` | none | free, IP-throttled | Scope: count + breakdowns. Use to size the candidate pool before quota-spending. | | `GET /v1/search?filter=...` | bearer | 200 unique firms / month free | Brief firm cards. **No url, no contact info.** Use for ranking / shortlisting. | | `GET /v1/get/:id` | bearer | 50 unique firms / month free | Full bundle: url, phone, email, social, legal name, address. **Only call for shortlisted firms.** | | `POST /v1/research` | paid | not in MVP | Deferred — skip. | **Quota rule that matters**: `/search` and `/get` charge per *unique firm viewed per calendar month*, not per call. Re-paging the same query is free. Two different filters that overlap charge once for the overlap. Re-fetching a firm you already pulled this month is free. ## Session-start ritual Before constructing any filter, call: ``` GET https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/tags?include_values=1 ``` Cache the response for the conversation. Confirm the marketing-relevant service tags exist in the returned `service_provided` taxonomy (branding, content-marketing, ppc, social-media-marketing, email-marketing, video-production, inbound-marketing, marketing-strategy, conversion-optimization, etc.) — names drift, and the parser silently accepts unknown tags and returns zero results. Common mis-mappings: there is no `performance-marketing`, `demand-gen`, or `demand-generation` tag — use `inbound-marketing` / `marketing-strategy` / `conversion-optimization` plus a keyword fallback. Field kinds you'll use most: - **categorical**: `industry` (always `marketing_agency`), `state`, `pricing_model`, `company_size_signal`, `geography_served` — op `:` - **tag_set_with_evidence**: `service_provided` — Map. Op `:` with optional `@evidence` - **numeric**: `rating`, `review_count_total`, `founded_year` — ops `= >= <= > <` - **presence**: `has:phone`, `has:clutch`, `has:rating`, `has:linkedin_company`, … - **keyword**: free-text substring across firm name / brand / title / meta / legal_name. Any bareword in the filter becomes a keyword. ## Auth `/tags`, `/check`, and `/explore` are anonymous. `/search` and `/get` require a bearer token. **Resolution rule** — try these sources in order before triggering OTP: 1. **Shell environment**: `$SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN`. Most agent harnesses only inherit explicit `export`s, not dotenv files — so this catches the case where the user has it exported in `~/.bashrc` / `~/.zshrc`. 2. **Project dotenv files**: read `.env.local` then `.env` in the current working directory and look for a `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` line. **This is the common case the agent will miss otherwise** — users frequently put the token in `.env.local` (gitignored) and expect it to "just work," but Claude Code and similar harnesses don't auto-load dotenv files. If you find it, use it; don't ask. If found in any of the above, set `Authorization: Bearer ` on every authed request and skip OTP. 3. **Otherwise, walk the user through OTP** (one-time, ~30 s): - Ask the user for their email address. - `POST /v1/auth/request-otp` with `{"email": "..."}`. Returns 204; a 6-digit code lands in their inbox. - Ask the user to paste the code. - `POST /v1/auth/verify-otp` with `{"email": "...", "code": "...", "name": ""}`. Returns `{"token": "vk_...", "expires_at": "...", "user": {...}}`. - Use that token for the rest of the session. - Tell the user: *"Save this as `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN` to skip this step next time — either `export SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` in your shell rc, or add `SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN=…` to a `.env.local` file in your project (gitignored). The token is shown once and lasts 90 days."* If a `/search` or `/get` returns 401 mid-session, the token expired or was revoked — re-run the OTP flow. ```bash # 1. trigger the email curl -X POST 'https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/auth/request-otp' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"email":"you@example.com"}' # 2. exchange the code curl -X POST 'https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/auth/verify-otp' \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"email":"you@example.com","code":"123456","name":"my-cli"}' # → { "token": "vk_…", "expires_at": "...", "user": {...} } ``` ## Filter DSL One query parameter, GitHub-search-style. ``` filter := orExpr orExpr := andExpr ("OR" andExpr)* andExpr := notExpr (("AND")? notExpr)* # whitespace = implicit AND notExpr := ("NOT" | "-") notExpr | atom atom := "(" filter ")" | predicate predicate:= IDENT op valueOrList | bareword op := ":" | "=" | ">=" | "<=" | ">" | "<" valueOrList := value ("," value)* value := IDENT | NUMBER | tagAtEvidence tagAtEvidence := IDENT "@" ("low"|"medium"|"high") bareword := IDENT | NUMBER # → keyword: ``` **Four rules that bite:** 1. **AND binds tighter than OR.** `a OR b c` parses as `a OR (b AND c)`. Use parens. 2. **Comma list = OR within one predicate.** `state:CA,NY,TX` matches any of the three. 3. **Negation is `-x` or `NOT x`.** Negative literals inside a comma list are **not** allowed: `state:CA,-NY` is rejected. Use `state:CA -state:NY`. 4. **Bareword = keyword search.** Any IDENT or NUMBER not followed by an operator becomes a free-text substring across name / brand / title / meta / legal_name. Multiple barewords AND. **Marketing-flavored examples** (validate yours with `/v1/check`): ``` industry:marketing_agency service_provided:branding@high industry:marketing_agency service_provided:ppc service_provided:content-marketing industry:marketing_agency state:CA,NY -company_size_signal:solo industry:marketing_agency (service_provided:inbound-marketing@high OR service_provided:marketing-strategy@high) b2b industry:marketing_agency service_provided:content-marketing@high industry:marketing_agency rating>=4 review_count_total>=20 has:clutch industry:marketing_agency NOT (service_provided:seo OR service_provided:web-development) ``` When in doubt about whether a filter parses, hit `/v1/check?filter=...` first — it's free and returns the canonical normalized form. ## firm_id contract `firm_id` is a stable 12-hex-char handle: ``` firm_id = sha256(apex.lower().rstrip(".")).hexdigest()[:12] ``` `apex` is the registered domain (`ogilvy.com`, not `www.ogilvy.com/about`). Anyone with an apex list can compute firm_ids locally and call `/v1/get/:id` directly — no `/search` needed for BYO enrichment. ```python import hashlib def firm_id(apex): return hashlib.sha256(apex.lower().rstrip(".").encode()).hexdigest()[:12] ``` ```bash echo -n "ogilvy.com" | tr 'A-Z' 'a-z' \ | openssl dgst -sha256 -hex | awk '{print substr($2,1,12)}' ``` ## Recipes ### A. Branding agency in a state User: *"Three B2B branding agencies in California for a Series-A SaaS company."* ``` GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:marketing_agency+state:CA+service_provided:branding@high # → pool size + breakdowns GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+state:CA+service_provided:branding@high&limit=10 # → 10 brief cards; user picks 3 GET /v1/get/ # ×3 # → urls, phones, emails for outreach ``` ### B. PPC + ecommerce vertical User: *"PPC shop that specializes in ecommerce."* The "ecommerce" qualifier is keyword-extracted from firm text since client-vertical isn't a structured facet: ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:ppc+ecommerce&limit=10 ``` ### C. Multi-tag intersection — content + email + B2B vertical User: *"Content marketing partner for a SaaS launch — should also do email."* ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:content-marketing@high+service_provided:email-marketing+saas ``` ### D. Performance / demand-gen (indirect intent) User: *"Someone to run our quarterly demand-gen campaigns and own the funnel."* The catalog has **no** `performance-marketing` / `demand-gen` / `demand-generation` tags — that user-phrasing maps to `inbound-marketing`, `marketing-strategy`, or `conversion-optimization`, plus a keyword fallback for the user's exact wording: ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+(service_provided:inbound-marketing@high OR service_provided:marketing-strategy@high OR service_provided:conversion-optimization@high)+(demand OR funnel) ``` If breakdowns come back thin, drop the `@high` evidence qualifier or fall back to pure keyword: `demand industry:marketing_agency`. ### E. Quality threshold (third-party signals) User: *"Compare three social media agencies that have worked with Fortune 500 — high evidence."* ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:social-media-marketing@high+rating>=4+review_count_total>=20+has:clutch&limit=10 ``` `fortune 500` is hard to filter structurally; surface to the user in the brief cards and let them pick from there, or add as a keyword (`industry:marketing_agency service_provided:social-media-marketing@high fortune`). ### F. Video production User: *"Video production studio for a 90-second product launch film, NYC or LA."* ``` GET /v1/search?filter=industry:marketing_agency+service_provided:video-production+state:NY,CA ``` The catalog uses one `state` per firm based on HQ; if the user wants NYC specifically, use `state:NY` and surface the city to the user from the `/get` bundle. ### G. BYO apex list — enrich domains the user already has User pastes 8–20 domains. For each: 1. Compute `firm_id` locally (see contract above). 2. `GET /v1/get/` — full bundle if in catalog, 404 (not charged) if not. 3. Aggregate, present, flag the not-found ones to the user. Useful for confirming whether a list of domains is actually in the US marketing-agency catalog and pulling contact info in one pass. ## Gotchas - **Always pin `industry:marketing_agency`.** Without it, `service_provided:branding` would match design firms, IT services, and others that also have branding tags. The industry pin is what makes this skill the marketing-agency skill. - **Defer to sibling skills for narrow asks.** If the user asks strictly for "an SEO agency" with no other marketing scope, use `find-seo-agency`. If strictly web/app development, use `find-web-developer` / `find-software-developer`. This skill is for marketing engagements that span branding/content/paid/social/etc. - **`looks_not_pro_services` 404 is not a bug.** A `firm_id` may exist in `/search` but 404 on `/get` if it's been flagged. Skip and continue; not charged. - **`/v1/explore` k=20 suppression.** When fewer than 20 firms match, the response is `{"count": "<20", "suppressed": true, "breakdowns": {}}`. Drilling further makes the count smaller, not bigger. Broaden or escalate to `/v1/search`. - **Briefs from `/search` do NOT include `apex`, `url`, `phone_primary`, `email_primary`, `legal_name`, or address.** If the user asks for contact info, you must `/get/:id`. Do not pretend to have it from the brief. - **Catalog is US-only B2B.** Refuse non-US asks ("a luxury-brand agency in London"), individual freelancers, and personal-brand consulting for the user themselves. - **Multi-word phrases must be split into separate barewords.** `b2b saas` parses as two AND'd keywords. - **Quota is per-user-per-month, deduped on first view.** Re-views are free; re-pagination is free. ## Errors All errors return JSON: `{"error": {"code": "...", "message": "..."}}`. | Status | Code | What to do | |---|---|---| | 400 | `filter_parse_error` | Payload includes `position`. Fix the filter, re-validate with `/v1/check`. | | 400 | `filter_required` | Empty filter where one is required. | | 400 | `invalid_firm_id` | firm_id must be 12 lowercase hex chars. Re-derive. | | 401 | `unauthorized` | Token missing/expired. Re-run OTP. | | 404 | `not_found` | Firm not in catalog or flagged. Not charged. Skip and continue. | | 429 | `rate_limited` | Honor `Retry-After` header / `retry_after` field. | | 429 | `monthly_quota_exhausted` | Switch to `/v1/explore`-only mode for the rest of the month. Tell the user. | Authed responses carry `X-RateLimit-*` and `X-Quota-*` headers. Surface the remaining-month value to the user when it gets low so they can budget. ## End-to-end example User: *"Shortlist three B2B branding agencies in California for a Series-A SaaS company — high evidence on branding, ideally with at least a 4-star rating."* ``` # 1. Discover fields (once per session) GET /v1/tags?include_values=1 # Confirms 'branding' is a valid service_provided tag, 'rating' is numeric. # 2. Validate the filter and scope the pool (free, no auth) GET /v1/check?filter=industry:marketing_agency+state:CA+service_provided:branding@high+rating>=4+b2b # → {"valid": true, "normalized": "..."} GET /v1/explore?filter=industry:marketing_agency+state:CA+service_provided:branding@high+rating>=4+b2b # → {"count": 38, "breakdowns": {...}} # 3. Search briefs GET /v1/search?filter=...&limit=10 # Header: Authorization: Bearer $SERVICEGRAPH_TOKEN # → 10 brief cards with service tags, size, state. # 4. Present briefs to user, get their pick of 3. # 5. Pull full bundles for the 3 picks GET /v1/get/ # ×3 # → urls, phones, emails for outreach ``` End of session: report `X-Quota-Remaining-Month` so the user knows how much budget is left.