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As I travel and do more public speaking, marketing people often ask me, how can we get more effective and creative solutions out of our agency? I also hear agencies ask, how can we get clients to allow us to work strategically and to take more calculated risks? The answer to both questions can be found in the mirror.
The first thing we all need to do is stop using the voice of a victim—stop blaming each other. If you’re a marketing professional, you did not inherit your position…you earned it. You’re a smart and capable strategist. You know your product, marketing goals and target audience better than anyone. If you’re not getting what you need out of your agency, it’s not because they aren’t capable; assuming you did your due diligence before hiring them. If their work is off-strategy, did you bring them in early enough on strategy? Did you involve them at all when setting the strategy? Do you have regular strategic meetings with your agency? And the big one, do you trust them enough to have them set your strategy?
Before you agency people start pointing fingers at your clients…do you establish yourself as a strategic partner or accept what strategy your client gives you? Do you ask for regular strategic update meetings? And the big one, do you know your client’s business well enough to guide strategy for them or at least see the holes in their strategy? If you’re not willing to invest HEAVILY in your client’s strategy, how can your creative work be on-target? Worse yet, if it is on-target and you don’t have the strategic ammunition needed to protect your creative work, your client has no choice but to make your creative masterpiece “safe.”
So how do we stop the blame game and start producing truly creative work that is on-target, effective and on-strategy? Clients should involve their agency as early as possible to define the strategy and agencies must possess and invest enough intellectual horsepower to be valuable to the strategy session. At this point, clients usually say, “We can’t afford that kind of investment—monetarily and/or in time.” To that I reply, how can you afford off-target and ineffective marketing? Take the time to do it right the first time. That may mean pushing back a deadline, but the results will be worth it.
To follow are several tips to make both sides of the marketing equation more accountable to the bottom-line. Follow these guidelines and you will have more effective strategy that will lead to a much stronger creative product.
- Get the right partner. Skill set and areas of expertise are of paramount importance, but so is chemistry. The future of your company may well be on the line. Agency and client representatives must be able to trust each other implicitly.
- Marketing Professionals—know your agency’s strategic strengths. If you hire a shop known for award-winning creative, make sure they have the strategic capabilities to accomplish your goals. Check their references, client tenure and ask for case studies that are relevant to your goals.
- Agency—be realistic about your capabilities and areas of expertise. Ensure you have the strategic knowledge of the industry (or are willing to learn it for free) before bringing on a new client or project.
- Get the key people involved as early as possible. Today’s timelines and budgets don’t allow for miscommunications. Getting everyone involved early will ensure better communication and build trust with all stakeholders.
- Marketing Professionals—bring your agency strategists in to meet with all key decision-makers as early in the process as possible. Bring them in during the early brainstorming sessions if possible. You know your industry, but your agency has great insight into marketing executions and production requirements that could affect your strategy. You also want them to meet all decision-makers ASAP to start building trust. Your agency will be your wingman when it’s time to defend the work.
- Agency—bring a creative representative to early brainstorming meetings, but don’t jump the gun by starting the creative process too soon. Let the strategy develop and get buy-in from executive management. You can start creative research and exploration but don’t get locked into an idea until it is on-strategy. Build trust before you act.
- Keep the review committee as small as possible.
- Marketing Professional—trust your agency and your instincts. Make your agency defend the work. If they can, keep your hands off. Sometimes your most difficult decision is to leave it alone…you don’t have to put your thumbprint on it…it’s already there.
- Agency—Conduct your internal reviews as though they are client reviews. Be prepared to defend your strategy, not sell your creative. If the creative is on-target, it will sell itself (with a little encouragement). And remember, there is almost always more than one right answer.
- Present the final work with passion and resolve.
- Marketing Professionals—if you need to present the work up the ladder or to a committee, ask your agency to present with you. They have more history presenting creative work and know the reason behind every detail. Defend the work as if it were your own, because it is.
- Agency—Make sure you’ve given your contact everything they need to defend the work. Whenever possible, present your work. No one can defend your work better than you.
Marketing is not rocket science … unless you work for NASA. Marketing is driving demand—fundamentally, it is selling. Keep your strategy simple, bring the key decision makers in early, avoid review by committee and present your final work with resolve. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll have a more effective product and a stronger agency/client relationship. To find out more about marketing and branding, please call Sara Breuer at 800-479-2616 (sara.breuer@cartisgroup.com) or visit us at www.cartisgroup.com.
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