8 Steps to Client-Agency Heaven
Posted By: Alethia, 11 October 2011
In the spirit of hindsight here are ‘8 steps to client-agency heaven’ I would adopt now if I was on the client side again…
1) True collaborations: Identify your problem, choose your partner, co-create the solution together.
2) Pitch perfect: For the biggest and most creative projects, learn from advertising and design. Invest in your best agencies at the pitch and see what they can do. Insight and ideas at the pitch gives you a better idea of who is most suited and you are already several steps ahead.
3) Time together: You come to us, we come to you. More often.
4) Your business, our business: Share with us your ongoing brand and market performance. Business context should shape everything we do together. Briefs tell the story but only ad hoc. Continuous insight brings continuous proactivity and the building of partnerships.
5) Less and more. Less research, more judgment, expertise and action. Back us to make a difference and believe us when we say it’s time that makes that happen, not necessarily more consumers…
6) Culture connection: the reality of making a difference is knowing how to influence: what works, what does not, and why. The best agencies make the greatest difference when they not only know the business but they ‘get’ the culture. It’s about immersion and observation, just as it is in our research. We ‘get’ people and we ‘get’ culture and this is why we can help you make a difference too.
7) Age is just a number: the best work often comes from the most junior people. FACT. Don’t be scared of having brilliant young people presenting their work and sharing their passion for your business. The world is changing and keeping it fresh, keeps us all fresh. Don’t be the client who insists on the Senior because his stakeholder is over the hill…
8) Always tell the truth: honest and detailed feedback is critical both good and bad. Tell it how it is or don’t bother. I never chose an agency based on cost and neither do you. I never told an agency they did a ‘fantastic job’ and never used them again. The truth can hurt but it makes you stronger.
About Aletheia
Aletheia is Truth's commentator on the things we find interesting. She was the Greek goddess of truth. But her meaning is more subtle than just "facts". In philosophy, Aletheia represents how the world is disclosed, or opened up; how human beings understand things, as part of a background of meaning gained from culture, society, and our perceptions of the world around us; and how this changes as the world changes. This is what Truth is all about.