If you're on the agency side, whether it be design, digital, or ad agency, you will undoubtedly have had a nightmare client or two and (hopefully) a few dream clients along the way as well - now what is it that makes that dream client quite so dreamy and what are they doing which makes the relationship such a fruitful one?
5. Research is not the answer.
Don't let research give you the 'answer' (or your wife, husband, or partner for that matter, unless they're the target audience for the campaign their opinion isn't really valid is it?).
I'm sure you went in to marketing because you feel you have some ability for judging creative work, well there comes a point when you have to carry the can and make a decision and not try to let research do it for you.
Don't get me wrong, research is an invaluable tool. It will give you insight in to your audience and help you understand the way they think about the product or service you're selling and it also may give you some clues as to the direction the creative work should take but that's it....it won't make decisions for you and it's misguided to use it that way.
I had a client at a large pharmaceutical company who loathed making a decision and therefore every piece of creative work we did went in to research to make the decision for him, or to tell him which bits 'worked' and which didn't. The result: bland, mediocre, pig's ear advertising but at least he had a document which allowed him to say to the board, "Well we did research it."
In the end a great client uses all the research they can to get under the skin of their consumer but ultimately the creative buck stops with them.
1. Choose the right agency.
Imagine you're seeking a new romantic partner in life and you go about it the same way most clients look for an ad agency:
You've superficially met five people you like the look of and you ask them all to come to your home to receive a written brief on what you are looking for. You allow them to ask a few questions and ask them to come back in three weeks and each make an hour long presentation. The big day arrives and one of them really stands out; they have some great ideas about how your relationship will progress and they also seem ridiculously keen on you, so you decide to go with them. But a few months later things start to niggle. Their ideas don't seem to be working out the way you thought they would, they also have no control over their personal finances and you never actually get to see the person you fell for but someone else they keep sending along (who squeezes the toothpaste in the middle!). It's all gone pear shaped and you know it's over but it's hard to tell them and it's all beginning to fester.
You've superficially met five people you like the look of and you ask them all to come to your home to receive a written brief on what you are looking for. You allow them to ask a few questions and ask them to come back in three weeks and each make an hour long presentation. The big day arrives and one of them really stands out; they have some great ideas about how your relationship will progress and they also seem ridiculously keen on you, so you decide to go with them. But a few months later things start to niggle. Their ideas don't seem to be working out the way you thought they would, they also have no control over their personal finances and you never actually get to see the person you fell for but someone else they keep sending along (who squeezes the toothpaste in the middle!). It's all gone pear shaped and you know it's over but it's hard to tell them and it's all beginning to fester.
How many times do we read about clients breaking up with agencies only a short time after they've pitched and been appointed. Why? Because the pitch process is quite simply an awful way to find the right agency for you.
You've already seen the creative work the agency has done for other clients, so you know they've got talent - after all, that's why they're on your shortlist. So have some faith they will get that bit right - what you really need to discover is whether you can work with them, are you on the same wavelength, will you stick together through the trials and tribulations business throws at you and can you have a frank, open and honest relationship?
You've already seen the creative work the agency has done for other clients, so you know they've got talent - after all, that's why they're on your shortlist. So have some faith they will get that bit right - what you really need to discover is whether you can work with them, are you on the same wavelength, will you stick together through the trials and tribulations business throws at you and can you have a frank, open and honest relationship?
It's very rarely that you're going to find this out through a conventional pitch process. So dear Client have the courage to break with convention and do whatever it takes to really get to know the people behind an agency before you make the decision. Now there are many ways of doing this and I will do a separate blog about it but you're a dream client, so I'm sure you can devise ways that will allow you to all work together, spend time together, be under a little pressure together. And ultimately make sure you're right for each other and will stick together.
2. Learn to listen.
Last time you were at your lawyers (and no doubt paying them a few hundred pounds an hour for their expertise), did you ignore them, interrupt them and start giving them your legal interpretation of the issue, or did you listen to their wise counsel, weigh up their advice and mutually agree a course of action?
I've had one or two nightmare clients over the years who paid the agency lots of money for their expertise and not listen to a word of it. They would much rather pontificate and spout on about their own point of view, which according to them was the definitive one. Often as I sat there in the boardroom being bombarded by their rhetoric, I would wonder why they were paying us all those fees to listen to themselves.
There are some people who when you are around them just make you feel a brighter, more intelligent and insightful person. One of those people is Martin Riley, a client I worked with for over twenty five years; he is CMO of Pernod Ricard Group and Martin has the great ability to listen and be genuinely engaged in what the agency has to say, it doesn't mean he always agrees with it but you know he is taking on board your point of view. As a result the agency always worked that bit harder for him and made sure he got outstanding results.
3. Try not to meddle
Last time you were at your lawyers (and no doubt paying them a few hundred pounds an hour for their expertise), did you ignore them, interrupt them and start giving them your legal interpretation of the issue, or did you listen to their wise counsel, weigh up their advice and mutually agree a course of action?
I've had one or two nightmare clients over the years who paid the agency lots of money for their expertise and not listen to a word of it. They would much rather pontificate and spout on about their own point of view, which according to them was the definitive one. Often as I sat there in the boardroom being bombarded by their rhetoric, I would wonder why they were paying us all those fees to listen to themselves.
There are some people who when you are around them just make you feel a brighter, more intelligent and insightful person. One of those people is Martin Riley, a client I worked with for over twenty five years; he is CMO of Pernod Ricard Group and Martin has the great ability to listen and be genuinely engaged in what the agency has to say, it doesn't mean he always agrees with it but you know he is taking on board your point of view. As a result the agency always worked that bit harder for him and made sure he got outstanding results.
3. Try not to meddle
Last night I watched a newly released documentary about the life of Woody Allen. Many of the great actors he has worked with over the years were interviewed (often they had won Oscars in his movies) and they all said he was quite simply the greatest director they'd ever acted for. Why?
The explanation they gave was this: because he let them get on with it. Woody Allen puts all of his efforts in to two things, his script and making sure he casts the right actor for the right role; he then steps back and lets them bring their talents to the movie. He doesn't constantly meddle, or tell them how to do it, he has confidence in them and gives them the room to express themselves. Yes he gives a little touch on the tiller now and then but that's it.
Great clients are like Woody Allen: they resist meddling and they put all of their efforts in to finding (casting) the right agency and then making sure the brief (script) is as good as it can be, which neatly brings us on to Step 4.
The explanation they gave was this: because he let them get on with it. Woody Allen puts all of his efforts in to two things, his script and making sure he casts the right actor for the right role; he then steps back and lets them bring their talents to the movie. He doesn't constantly meddle, or tell them how to do it, he has confidence in them and gives them the room to express themselves. Yes he gives a little touch on the tiller now and then but that's it.
Great clients are like Woody Allen: they resist meddling and they put all of their efforts in to finding (casting) the right agency and then making sure the brief (script) is as good as it can be, which neatly brings us on to Step 4.
4. Write it down
I had one client who always used to say to me, "You know what I'm after Philip, there's no need for me to do a creative brief is there?".
Well yes there is actually.
Every day I have many brilliant ideas but when I write them down they turn out to be rubbish because writing them down forces me to think about them in a way the whimsical musings of my brain don't.
And so it is with a creative brief - some clients think everyone knows what they want, so they don't write a brief, or they simply dump a load of research, product specs and background information on you - this a brief does not make.
Remember the words of French philosopher Blaise Pascal, “I’m sorry I’ve written you a long letter, I didn’t have time to make it shorter”. And nothing could be truer said of a creative brief. The distillation of one's thinking in to a brief takes some serious effort but a great Client, like you, knows it's worth it.
And don't be upset if the agency challenges you on aspects of that brief - if they're worth their salt it's their job to rigorously interrogate it, not just lap it up.
Rubbish in to the creative department, rubbish out.
I had one client who always used to say to me, "You know what I'm after Philip, there's no need for me to do a creative brief is there?".
Well yes there is actually.
Every day I have many brilliant ideas but when I write them down they turn out to be rubbish because writing them down forces me to think about them in a way the whimsical musings of my brain don't.
And so it is with a creative brief - some clients think everyone knows what they want, so they don't write a brief, or they simply dump a load of research, product specs and background information on you - this a brief does not make.
Remember the words of French philosopher Blaise Pascal, “I’m sorry I’ve written you a long letter, I didn’t have time to make it shorter”. And nothing could be truer said of a creative brief. The distillation of one's thinking in to a brief takes some serious effort but a great Client, like you, knows it's worth it.
And don't be upset if the agency challenges you on aspects of that brief - if they're worth their salt it's their job to rigorously interrogate it, not just lap it up.
Rubbish in to the creative department, rubbish out.
5. Research is not the answer.
Don't let research give you the 'answer' (or your wife, husband, or partner for that matter, unless they're the target audience for the campaign their opinion isn't really valid is it?).
I'm sure you went in to marketing because you feel you have some ability for judging creative work, well there comes a point when you have to carry the can and make a decision and not try to let research do it for you.
Don't get me wrong, research is an invaluable tool. It will give you insight in to your audience and help you understand the way they think about the product or service you're selling and it also may give you some clues as to the direction the creative work should take but that's it....it won't make decisions for you and it's misguided to use it that way.
I had a client at a large pharmaceutical company who loathed making a decision and therefore every piece of creative work we did went in to research to make the decision for him, or to tell him which bits 'worked' and which didn't. The result: bland, mediocre, pig's ear advertising but at least he had a document which allowed him to say to the board, "Well we did research it."
In the end a great client uses all the research they can to get under the skin of their consumer but ultimately the creative buck stops with them.
6. Don't make the budget a secret
A quick word on greenbacks, spondoolies, filthy lucre, milk and honey – yes, that’s right, money. It’s an essential part of the brief that so often gets left out and so often leads to confusion – nightmare Clients often don’t want to tell you what the budget is, or try to tell you it’s not important and they don't want to restrict your creative thinking but I’m afraid this is all nonsense.
There is nothing worse than presenting a fully integrated, multi-media campaign in to which you’ve put a huge amount of effort to discover that the client only has the budget for a half page, black & white press ad.
Money can often be an awkward topic but a great client knows that it's an essential part of the brief and the challenge for the agency is to be creative within whatever budget they are given, big or small.
7. Be courageous!
Look around you, the world is full of a sea of mediocre marketing, advertising and design.
The few beacons of light which do shine through, shine all that much brighter because of the dullness of what's around them. Now I know as a great Client you want to leave your mark on the world, I know your passion and enthusiasm is contagious and you know it takes courage to stand out from the crowd and do something genuinely innovative which makes your customers' lives a better place.
What the hell, go for it, you're only here once!
A quick word on greenbacks, spondoolies, filthy lucre, milk and honey – yes, that’s right, money. It’s an essential part of the brief that so often gets left out and so often leads to confusion – nightmare Clients often don’t want to tell you what the budget is, or try to tell you it’s not important and they don't want to restrict your creative thinking but I’m afraid this is all nonsense.
There is nothing worse than presenting a fully integrated, multi-media campaign in to which you’ve put a huge amount of effort to discover that the client only has the budget for a half page, black & white press ad.
Money can often be an awkward topic but a great client knows that it's an essential part of the brief and the challenge for the agency is to be creative within whatever budget they are given, big or small.
7. Be courageous!
Look around you, the world is full of a sea of mediocre marketing, advertising and design.
The few beacons of light which do shine through, shine all that much brighter because of the dullness of what's around them. Now I know as a great Client you want to leave your mark on the world, I know your passion and enthusiasm is contagious and you know it takes courage to stand out from the crowd and do something genuinely innovative which makes your customers' lives a better place.
What the hell, go for it, you're only here once!
Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteYour '7 steps to...' pieces have been tremendous Philip. Honest, analytical, anecdotal and amusing. Looking forward to reading '7 steps to becoming a great Creative' to complete the picture.
ReplyDelete