Marketing agencies can transform the performance of your brand, your business and yourself. They will be the bane and boon of your life. However, whether you are selecting a new agency, or have a good agency on-board, the process is similar. It all starts with a clear brief. Yet there are a number of other things you can do to create great work and drive business results.
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Be frank about your marketing and brand objectives and challenges
When briefing marketing agencies be as open as you can. The more an agency understands your needs and issues the more they should be able to help you. Start by preparing a written marketing agency brief; the process of doing so will help you clarify issues and opportunities and engage and gain agreement and support from your colleagues. A common problem is to write fuzzy objectives. So pay attention to both your marketing and brand objectives. Consider, for example, whether you wish to attract more customers, increase sales per customer. Consider also whether you wish to raise awareness, change perceptions, or …. It often helps to reflect on your current situation, weaknesses or problems that you wish to address, and then redefine these as future goals.
Understand the agency landscape
The agency landscape is constantly changing. At one end of the spectrum, there are the agency groups owned by the likes of WPP and Omnicom. At the other, there is an ever-changing mix of independent and up and coming agencies. Some firms or firm groups comprise a mix of disciplines, or technology skills, some don’t. Keep abreast of the changes. And ask around.
Monitor the people moves especially if it is happening in one of your agencies. Check out the odd new agency that catches your eye. The nature of the profession means that there are good people to be found in many places and those that are most vigilant stand to benefit the most.
In terms of cost, understand how remuneration works. The more intellectual or consulting agencies work on a mainly time cost basis. Database marketing and campaign communication agencies tend to be time and/or cost-plus. Marketing implementation services are more price list driven, for example, pay-per-click plus fixed fee. Overall, expect to pay more for those with London offices and less in the suburbs or rural areas. Expect to pay more for a heavy duty management team, those with an overseas management structure and those that belong to a quoted group. Fewer layers and complexity means less cost.
Selecting marketing agencies
Selecting marketing agencies starts with your brief. So as well as your marketing aims and needs, include your selection criteria in the brief. This helps agencies put their best resources on your case both to meet your needs and also demonstrate they can meet your needs. Then seek multiple and diverse responses to your brief, and make sure you meet the team. When you do meet the team, ask who does the work, and be wary of agencies who just use front-men for the pitch and who you may never see again. Finally give clear, comprehensive and timely feedback to all. To do otherwise is disrespectful and lessens your good name.
Great campaigns are underpinned by a great strategy
Campaigns fail for either strategic or executional reasons, and sometimes a lack understanding between the relationship between both, or a failure to manage the relationship between them both. Great communications stem from a clear and compelling brand strategy underpinned by robust insights. So you need to provide a strong foundation of insights to inspire good work. You’ll also need to be clear, firm and vigilant to manage the process and give sensible feedback. A consequence of the creative process is that it can be an accidental or deliberate attempt to reinvent your strategy. Which may be fine if your strategy is ‘built on sand’, but not if it is built on hard-won facts!
Further, while all agencies say they have planners to create the strategy – creating great brands requires specialist positioning skills which are uncommon in creative agencies. And this is not something to be considered lightly or dealt with in a ‘black-box’. So seek specialist brand strategy help if and when needed. Further, if you are working across multiple media, use your management skills to set the tone and define, manage demarcation lines, and get the most from your team.
Build good agency relationships
However, having seen the world from both sides of the fence, if you are paying an agency to help you, never be in doubt that they are on your side. But also remember that people are human – they’ll work harder for you if they like you. So build good relationships; let your agency know that you are on their side – and if the work is deserving, say proper ‘thank-yous’. Building good relationships will benefit you in many ways: for example, in terms of a more enjoyable and less stressful life, and potentially profile, and career advancement!
Briefing marketing agencies
So net whether you have a good agency on board or need a new agency, it all starts with a clear brief. So use our handy one-page marketing brief for both selecting marketing agencies, or your in-house team. and managing them. Then make yourself available to answer questions verbally, help them understand, and stay on-strategy. If you’d like advice on selecting folk to help you, just give us a call.
