My Agencies Drive Me Crazy and I Can’t Help Myself
What is it about the relationships we need most that are sometimes the most difficult? Your agency partners are critical to driving your business, so why is it so hard to work together?
As a 30-year client-side marketing veteran responsible for directing the voice and personality of one of the most respected and loved brands in the airline industry, I've come to realize that sometimes, the problem isn't the agency. Sometimes, the problem is us.
Let's face it: It can be easier to blame our agencies and let them take the hit when the work doesn't achieve the expected results. As such, we end up "breaking up" rather than addressing the issues.
I get it. We're all busy. It's much easier to walk past the short-term frustrations in your agency relationships day after day versus developing the long-term relationship gains that could be achieved together.
As we step into a new year, it is often a time of reflection and intention-setting. As a marketer, are you considering how you show up every day?
Here are some areas to consider for the changes you want to achieve in the year ahead:
Communication
Your work typically starts off well. You have a business need that requires a creative campaign to drive a specific result. The energy and excitement is typically high as you and your marketing team create a brief that communicates the goals and objectives. You share it with your agencies, eagerly anticipating the next step in seeing their creative ideas.
Unfortunately, this phase is often where the communication suffers its first failure point.
From a client perspective, we think we developed a brief that clearly outlines the business need, and the agency will be able to work their "magic" in delivering what you need. But did you really? You as the client are responsible for that clarity of communication so that you and your agencies understand the desired outcomes.
And your agencies are unlikely to push for clarity at this point and don't ask the questions necessary to understand the brief – a business brief — one that articulates what will drive your business. The agency thinks they understand but they are often so caught up in their creative thoughts and skip the most important step. Do they truly understand your business strategy so that they can do their best work in developing the creative strategy?
Conflict
When conflict occurs, how good are you at addressing it in the moment? You own this responsibility. The client agency relationship lacks a balance of power. You're clearly in the driver's seat and your agencies are not in a position to challenge you.
It's a case of biting the hand that feeds them. If they challenge you, you might view them as difficult to work with. You hired the best to work on your account, yet we are often not open to hearing their point of view. But let's agree that they need to deeply understand your business so that you can take their opinions seriously.
There can also be an amount of "diva-ness" happening on both sides. The client thinks they know the best path forward and so does the agency. Only it's not the same path and no one is willing to address the differences of opinion that could bring about your best work, together.
There is something inherent in the client-agency relationship that needs to change to achieve great work. You as the client need to create an environment where open and honest communication is appreciated and valued and that you address any conflicts in the moment.
Commitment
This repetitive cycle of lack of communication and avoiding conflict needs to change. We as an industry have been talking about this issue for far too long, without any real solutions. There is a better way — and with proper training, you and your agencies can achieve a working relationship that drives your mutual success.
The change starts with you. Are you willing to make the commitment that this year you will create the environment where the best work can be achieved?
The stakes are too high, and the resources wasted if we don't.
Let's stop talking about the client agency relationship and do something about it.
The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ANA or imply endorsement from the ANA.
Anne Murray is a 30-year Marketing veteran at Southwest Airlines directing the voice and personality of one of the most respected and loved brands in the highly competitive airline industry. She was a champion of aligning the client and agency experience as a key driver to team performance and success.
Anne is currently a facilitator for the Client-Agency Optimization Enterprise Curriculum, recently launched by the ANA's Marketing Training and Development Center to help brands maximize agency relationships, improve outputs, and reduce costly turnover.