Marketers' Aha moments reveal the pressure points in Agency-Client Relationships

Adtherapy runs a series of workshops with Marketers called "Creative Fitness."

It is a programme designed to help marketers to get the best out of their agencies, by understanding the process and the key components in getting from good to great advertising. 

We look at the briefing process. We interrogate how to generate insights. We look at what happens to a client brief once inside the agency (the creative brief). 

We talk about the creative 'tap' - how we want it to be open as that's when you get the best value for money - when the best creative brains want to work on your business. The 'creative tap' closes when there are too many reverts or when the feedback is too prescriptive and it becomes ' give them what they want so we can get it out of here'. That's not good use of your money. The hourly rate is the same whether the tap is open or closed! 

So we talk about building relationships and  learning how to evaluate ideas/executions in order to give feedback that is constructive and inspirational.

All good stuff, right? (You can read more about the programme here.) 

Having run a number of them this year, I thought it might be fun to reflect on the Aha! moments that come of the exercises we ask the delegates to do. These usually come out when we ask our Monday Question: so, what are you going to do differently on Monday?

(Source: www.garfield.com)

In no particular order, here are the most often uttered Aha!s:

1. I'm going to give my agency more time. 
2. I'm going to spend more time planning, and writing, my brief.
3. I'm going to keep my briefs shorter.
4. I'm going to look for the good in a creative presentation, not just look for what's wrong.
5. I'm going to 'market marketing' inside my organisation.
6. I'm going to look for deeper consumer insights.
7. I'm going to spend more time talking to consumers.
8. I'm going to make time to do the brand work that isn't clearly articulated at the moment.
9. I'm going to make my briefs inspiring.
10. I'm going to learn how to evaluate ads so I can have the language to give constructive feedback.
11. I'm going to set up what the brief was and who the target market is before I ask someone in the corridor whether they like the ad.
12. I'm going to collate feedback from everyone involved so we limit reverts.
13. I'm going to spend more time looking at great work so I understand what it looks like.
14. I'm going to be less prescriptive.
15. I'm going to build a stronger relationship with my agency. 

And there are more. Marketers realise how hard it is when confronted by a brief and a blank page. They realise how much harder it is when given too little information. They also have an aha! about how difficult it is to choose the best option when presented with a pile of ideas. That shows them the value of the Creative Director, the job he or she performs and the unique skill-set they have.
Image courtesy of adamr/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

At the end of the programme, we find that there is a renewed sense of excitement about their ability to do great work. A renewed commitment to their role in providing the inputs to the agency that will lead to that great work. And a renewed promise to work with their agencies in a way that will no doubt prove invaluable to the most important person in the process: the consumer.

What these learnings also show me is the pressure points in this tricky space between logic and magic, between expectation and delivery, in an area that is super subjective. Maybe if marketers used these Aha's as a How To list, things could work a whole lot better?


For more information about the Creative Fitness Programme, or to find out more about Adtherapy's other training, mentoring and consulting programmes, visit www.adtherapy.co.za or better yet contact Gillian:  m: 0832659099 or email gillian@adtherapy.co.za

The Doctor and the Pop Star: lessons for Ad Agencies and Clients

Much has been written about the relationship between Michael Jackson and his Doctor, Conrad Murray. And of course now, we wonder whether Whitney Houston's doctor will go under the same microscope?

"The relationship between Jackson and Murray was a microcosm of the deep dysfunction in Jackson's life over his final years. On one side was a pop legend struggling to overcome addictions to painkillers and plastic surgery so he could go out on the road one more time and show the world a little of his former glory; on the other was a man desperate, and indebted, enough to be tempted by a monthly pay cheque of $150,000 (£93,000) and indulge Jackson's craving for ever more powerful sedatives."

What got me thinking was the sometimes disfunctional relationship that exists between Marketers and Ad agencies; in fact, between any expert in a particular field, and the clients who pay their salaries.

In the Agency-Client example:
The Ad agencies need the money, so they do work that they know is not right, that they don't like and don't believe in.  They sit through endless meetings "pushing back", but ultimately get "pushed over", submit revert after revert into the creative stream, until the "just-give-them-what-they-want-and-get-it-out" moment.

The Marketer believes that they must have the final say, because they pay the bills, and so force work through, even though they don't have the necessary skills to make the right decisions.

And the end result? A consumate, complete and almost tragic waste of money, on sub-par advertising. A demoralising and frustrating, resentful daily working relationship. The loss of any creative enthusiasm for the next project, and the continuation, and worsening, of the cycle.

For what? The desperate disfunctionalism of the agency who will suck it up for the cash, will almost certainly result in the loss of the business for all the above reasons.

As Lewis Pugh said on Twitter:




Now of course, he was talking about bigger, more important issues.

And in advertising, unlike the sad doctor-deluded patient example, no-one dies.

But the principles are the same.

Ad professionals : stand up for what you believe is right. And if you are not heard, then perhaps the money is not worth the professional sacrifice. Flag this relationship with someone higher up in the organisation, get the correct balance of power in place (unless of course it is the Chief who is the problem!)

But know this : if you don't, it will ultimately come back to bite you. It will affect your reputation, your staff morale, your company culture, your client relationship, your relationships with other clients. And to top it all, you'll probably get fired anyway, eventually.

Marketers: consider the skills set at your disposal, in your agency. Let them do what they advise is the best solution to your bsuienss challenge. Of course if they're no good, you need another, good, agency.

But there is  a lot of excellent talent out there that is being told what to do, rather than being asked what to do.

And we've seen how well that works.