Last week, I wrote about choosing an advertising agency so it follows that we should now look at how to keep the symbiotic relationship alive and creative.
Here are some points you may wish to consider.
a. Make absolutely sure that you and the rest of your management team fully understand the functions of the agency, within the marketing communication process, between you and your consumer.
b. Be sure that the agency's client service team understands you and your position within the communication process.
c. Put your marketing objectives in writing, together with a clear marketing plan for each individual product. Then, the agency should commit its own goals and plans for your products. It's axiomatic that these documents (written independently of each other) should fit like Yin and Yang.
d. Be sure that you both understand each other's business. A great deal has been written about agency staff working for short educational periods in the factories and showrooms of clients, but very little is ever said about clients working in the agency for a brief period in order to develop similar insights. Understanding is a two-way street.
e. Ensure, right from the beginning, that you have agreed on a firmly structured financial arrangement. Be sure to understand each other's finances. Make sure you know how much profit the agency hopes to make from your business - an honest agency will never be shy to explain this and a good client will never, ever, begrudge the money an agency makes. You both have to make a profit, after all - and don't get jealous if you discover that the agency account executive is earning a higher salary than you.
f. Involve your agency in your confidential finances. They'll respect the confidentiality of the information and their understanding of your cash-flows etc., will be of great help to them.
g. Don't ever make the agency wait for payment - or, even worse, make them have to ask you for it. Apart from being incredibly rude, it will put a strain on their finances and, even worse, sour your relationship.
h. Insist on meeting everyone in the agency who is working on your business - not just the client service guys. Spend time with the media planners and strategists, chat to the creatives in the studio. Even get to know the person who brings you tea whenever you visit. The more the staff know you, the better service you'll get from the entire agency.
But, on no account, become too familiar or (worse) start having sex with someone there. Agencies are invariably under pressure and, if they think they can get away with it, they'll put your job at the bottom of the pile every time.
i. At major meetings and get-togethers, demand that everyone working on your account be invited to attend.
j. Be generous with your praise. Advertising people have big and insatiable egos. They are also very sensitive and thrive on recognition.
On the other hand, don't avoid being critical for fear of hurting someone's feelings. Advertising is big business - it's also a hard business and agencies can accept criticism provided it's constructive.
k. Evaluate your mutual performances (yes, you too) on a regular basis. But never, ever, ever, initiate or agree to a 'critique' or 'critical review' or 'performance audit'. I have never come across one that doesn't fail to be destructive. If your advertising is achieving all its objectives, then be happy about it - don't look for the invisible negatives.
If the expression 'critique' is new to you, then allow me to explain. It's an insidious concept (dreamed up by accountants, no doubt) where everybody attending has to say something negative about the campaign and you collectively pick it to pieces - in the hope that some way to improve it still further can be found. The moment someone says "...just a little minor, constructive criticism..." you can bet that it will not be the least bit constructive and far from minor. It's at this point your relationship begins to crumble.
Strong management teams don't need them. Good agencies won't allow them. Brilliant advertising people won't attend them.
And the worst, most unqualified critic of advertising is your wife or husband.
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