The seed thought for this blog originated from my last blog (No, the client is not the king https://vikasmehta19.blogspot.in). Nowadays brands keep on changing communication agency relationships almost every season. Agency folks while looking at future horizons keep looking over their shoulders more often, scared that another agency may get into the picture. And the reasons are myriad. Lower fees, personnel changes at the client or at the agency, lack of relationship, failure to understand the issues at hand.....
Yet, amongst all this chaos there are agencies and clients who have had long term relationships. Agencies like JWT, Lowe, O&M, Mudra.... and clients like Unilever, Asian Paints, Idea, GSK, Pidilite, Rasna.... have been faithful to each other for decades.
Client agency relationship is no different than a successful or unsuccessful marriages. And funnily enough the reasons for long term or short term client agency relationships are also very similar. So let me try and list down a few factors which contribute to long term relationships or the lack of it.
1) Equal partnership: A relationship is strong when there is a mutual respect and understanding. Understanding that each brings something worthwhile to the table. Understanding that it is not a master slave relationship. The agency must understand the brand and the products as well if not better than the brand manager. The agency team must be knowledgeable enough to stand in for the marketing team if required. The client must be a fair remunerator. He must realise that even the agency is running a business. And if the agency cannot make money, what right it has to advise the client on how to make money? In short behave like ideal pati and patni.
2) Command respect, do not demand it: Applies to both. Client should not think because it's their money, because they have the freedom to hire and fire, the agency must listen to whatever they say. They must command that respect by being clear, transparent and focussed in their problem assessment, briefs and creative judgement. The agency should expect a client to listen to them and buy into their ideas by the sheer weight of its ideas, creative solutions and consistency in the work and not because they are supposed to be creative or because they have a creative reputation. Don't think that the pati has a right to boss or the patni a right to nag.
3) Inspire: A client should be always looking to inspire the agency and the agency inspiring the client to inspire. Are the clients thorough with their briefs? Do the briefs excite or are they just a diarrhoea of words? Can the brands be experienced by the agency? I remember on a motorcycle brand once the client got the agency to test drive the bike and ended with the words "Feel the power between your legs?" And the campaign that came out of it was mind blowing. Hmm pati and patni sweetly coochie cooing into each others ears.
4) Stimulate: This is very important in a relationship and the onus for this usually falls with the agency. Does the agency have sessions with clients to share the bigger picture of what's happening beyond his category and geography? Does the agency share and discuss different art forms with client. Movies, sculptures, exhibitions....? Have you met to discuss Cannes winners? Have you been to the film festival together? It is very easy to get jaded in a relationship. The same old meetings with the same people and the same discussions about the same brands. Stimulation replaces the monotony. Remember when the children are packed off to the parent's house for a candlelight dinner!?
5) Distract from temptation: In a relationship both sides have enough temptations to stray. The client will always be wooed by your competitors. Different agency will always be around trying to pitch or present exciting ideas. He will get impressed with a new team with new thinking and even lower remuneration cost. It is therefore important that the agency stimulates and has its own version of the same. Bring a new perspective, get sessions organised where you get a different team to share its thought with the client and even the agency team. Otherwise there are enough wohs waiting around to pounce on the spouse.
6) Be proactive: Remember how you surprised your better half with a surprise birthday party or an unexpected gift. Why not do the same with your client? No, I don't mean throwing parties and giving gifts. Be proactive. Present new work when not asked for. Write your own brief and share with client. Go and meet the consumers and present insights. Meet up with his sales force and understand any distribution or pricing or sales promotion issues. Have a solution for the same? Don't wait for the client to ask you to do something.
7) Tolerance: You may not like the fact that your husband can never be on time for any social occasion or you may loathe your wife's gossipy friends. But hey, there are enough positives in your spouse to overlook some such negatives. Isn't that tolerance? You give them leeway. The same is between the client and the agency. Sometimes the client briefs are pathetic. So you step up and rework his brief. You don't just whine or go into a negative tailspin. Sometimes the agency delays jobs. But don't they make up with work which is absolutely smashing? Don't wait or look to find faults. Forgive some.
8) Me time: Both pati and patni do need some time on their own. The pati wants to go out for a drink with his friends or sleep late on Sundays without being disturbed, The wife revels in kitty party with her friends or going for a mushy movie. So don't be upset if the agency wants some more time as its people want to attend an awards show in Goa. Or if the client is spending more time in solving an industry issue with his competitors and for all you know meeting with a who. Maybe he will realise how valuable you are when he meets a woh!
9) Celebrate milestones together: So after giving each other some me time also remember to share some good moments together. A particular campaign increased market share. Go out celebrate with the whole team. A piece of work was honoured by the industry feel good for your agency and show it. Don't you do the same when your spouse achieves success?
10) Build your own rules along the way: There is never a fixed way to do everything. Treat the above as a prototype but build your own model for a long term agency client relationship. And please do remember to share that model.
Finally, go watch Pati, Patni aur woh if you haven't watched it till now.
Yet, amongst all this chaos there are agencies and clients who have had long term relationships. Agencies like JWT, Lowe, O&M, Mudra.... and clients like Unilever, Asian Paints, Idea, GSK, Pidilite, Rasna.... have been faithful to each other for decades.
Client agency relationship is no different than a successful or unsuccessful marriages. And funnily enough the reasons for long term or short term client agency relationships are also very similar. So let me try and list down a few factors which contribute to long term relationships or the lack of it.
1) Equal partnership: A relationship is strong when there is a mutual respect and understanding. Understanding that each brings something worthwhile to the table. Understanding that it is not a master slave relationship. The agency must understand the brand and the products as well if not better than the brand manager. The agency team must be knowledgeable enough to stand in for the marketing team if required. The client must be a fair remunerator. He must realise that even the agency is running a business. And if the agency cannot make money, what right it has to advise the client on how to make money? In short behave like ideal pati and patni.
2) Command respect, do not demand it: Applies to both. Client should not think because it's their money, because they have the freedom to hire and fire, the agency must listen to whatever they say. They must command that respect by being clear, transparent and focussed in their problem assessment, briefs and creative judgement. The agency should expect a client to listen to them and buy into their ideas by the sheer weight of its ideas, creative solutions and consistency in the work and not because they are supposed to be creative or because they have a creative reputation. Don't think that the pati has a right to boss or the patni a right to nag.
3) Inspire: A client should be always looking to inspire the agency and the agency inspiring the client to inspire. Are the clients thorough with their briefs? Do the briefs excite or are they just a diarrhoea of words? Can the brands be experienced by the agency? I remember on a motorcycle brand once the client got the agency to test drive the bike and ended with the words "Feel the power between your legs?" And the campaign that came out of it was mind blowing. Hmm pati and patni sweetly coochie cooing into each others ears.
4) Stimulate: This is very important in a relationship and the onus for this usually falls with the agency. Does the agency have sessions with clients to share the bigger picture of what's happening beyond his category and geography? Does the agency share and discuss different art forms with client. Movies, sculptures, exhibitions....? Have you met to discuss Cannes winners? Have you been to the film festival together? It is very easy to get jaded in a relationship. The same old meetings with the same people and the same discussions about the same brands. Stimulation replaces the monotony. Remember when the children are packed off to the parent's house for a candlelight dinner!?
5) Distract from temptation: In a relationship both sides have enough temptations to stray. The client will always be wooed by your competitors. Different agency will always be around trying to pitch or present exciting ideas. He will get impressed with a new team with new thinking and even lower remuneration cost. It is therefore important that the agency stimulates and has its own version of the same. Bring a new perspective, get sessions organised where you get a different team to share its thought with the client and even the agency team. Otherwise there are enough wohs waiting around to pounce on the spouse.
6) Be proactive: Remember how you surprised your better half with a surprise birthday party or an unexpected gift. Why not do the same with your client? No, I don't mean throwing parties and giving gifts. Be proactive. Present new work when not asked for. Write your own brief and share with client. Go and meet the consumers and present insights. Meet up with his sales force and understand any distribution or pricing or sales promotion issues. Have a solution for the same? Don't wait for the client to ask you to do something.
7) Tolerance: You may not like the fact that your husband can never be on time for any social occasion or you may loathe your wife's gossipy friends. But hey, there are enough positives in your spouse to overlook some such negatives. Isn't that tolerance? You give them leeway. The same is between the client and the agency. Sometimes the client briefs are pathetic. So you step up and rework his brief. You don't just whine or go into a negative tailspin. Sometimes the agency delays jobs. But don't they make up with work which is absolutely smashing? Don't wait or look to find faults. Forgive some.
8) Me time: Both pati and patni do need some time on their own. The pati wants to go out for a drink with his friends or sleep late on Sundays without being disturbed, The wife revels in kitty party with her friends or going for a mushy movie. So don't be upset if the agency wants some more time as its people want to attend an awards show in Goa. Or if the client is spending more time in solving an industry issue with his competitors and for all you know meeting with a who. Maybe he will realise how valuable you are when he meets a woh!
9) Celebrate milestones together: So after giving each other some me time also remember to share some good moments together. A particular campaign increased market share. Go out celebrate with the whole team. A piece of work was honoured by the industry feel good for your agency and show it. Don't you do the same when your spouse achieves success?
10) Build your own rules along the way: There is never a fixed way to do everything. Treat the above as a prototype but build your own model for a long term agency client relationship. And please do remember to share that model.
Finally, go watch Pati, Patni aur woh if you haven't watched it till now.
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