A short decade ago, the world of advertising was going through major upheaval, with the unstoppable advance of the empowered consumer through digital and social. Brand advertisers were put under remarkable pressure to deliver growth and marketing performance in cost effective ways, while navigating the explosion of channels they could now deploy. As a result, despite the trend of in-housing, marketing leaders are increasingly relying on the expertise of multiple specialised advertising and communications agencies - with some estimating that the number of specialist agencies in the UK has doubled since 2012.
With more partners and more complex relationships - marketers themselves inevitably take on more responsibility for coordination and having to spend more effort on work and team integration - ensuring that all agency partners fully understand the context within which they were operating in
The fragmentation and increased specialisation of advertising and communications - isn’t going to reverse. Whether its AI, Web3, blockchain or decentralised social platforms - there is going to be more challenges and questions for marketing leaders to think about. However, there is one universal truth that decision makers should follow
Appoint agency partners, not agency suppliers
Whether you’ve just hired an agency or in a long-term agency relationship, thinking of agencies as “suppliers” or thinking of your relationships with them as purely transactional, just won’t cut it anymore; more than ever, marketing organisations are being held accountable for propelling business growth. The best clients respect their agencies as partners who are empowered and therefore create stronger work. When agencies are enabled and supported by their clients, they do amazing work and both parties prosper.
Bruno Galpois from Agency Mania distilled the success of Apple and their 40 year long partnership with TBWA - worthwhile reading
- Being provoking and demanding. These qualities foster strong bonds and help deliver better work. When you expect more, you get more.
- Being adaptive, responsive, and culturally compatible. Both clients and agencies must be responsive to each other, invest the time required, collaborate well with all their internal and external partners and adapt rapidly as circumstances or needs change
- Building reciprocal passion and chemistry. Client and agency leadership needs to genuinely share a common passion for their respective mission and purpose
- Valuing trust and transparency, and making a commitment to feedback and an open dialogue. No relationship can be built and flourish without absolute trust. Trust comes from full transparency—about client priorities, agency finances, and more—and can only be earned over time
- Embracing nonconformist strategy and critical thinking. Advertisers need critical thinkers in their agencies who will challenge the status quo, never cease to ask “why?” and push them outside of their comfort zone
- Prioritising expertise and executional excellence. When it’s time to produce, the work must be impeccable and demonstrate the expertise of the agency in any functional discipline (creative, media, PR, social, etc.) or industry category.
Globalisation and digital transformation have seen the context for the client-agency relationship change markedly over the years even if the goal of creative effectiveness remains the same. Despite this, old adages still stand true, namely successful agency performance depends on successful client partnership, and relationships with agencies require clarity of direction, transparency, and constant nurturing by both parties.