There is nothing wrong with clients who like to be involved in the process of creative executions. Most agencies welcome input from their clients and indeed find that the more involved and earlier involved the client is, the more smoothly and efficiently the whole process works. However, an inefficient and, frankly, dispiriting tendency is where the client makes all the creative decisions and leaves the agency to compile the communication piece simply as an artwork shop. We hear from ABBA members that this tendency is on the increase amongst their B2B clients. This is surely the equivalent of buying a dog and barking yourself.
Clearly, clients have an important role to play in whatever gets produced, and should establish a partnership with their agency throughout the marketing communications process. From strategic planning, right through to tactical execution, the client/agency relationship works best where there is a proper interchange of ideas.
As agencies, we cannot make the claim that we know the markets and the products of our clients better than they do. But similarly, clients ought to respect the skills, training, experience and customer insights that the agency can bring to the table.
It’s not unknown to hear from some junior member of a marketing department something along the lines of: We want an ad. Feel free to be as creative as you like, but we want to show this image of a globe, because we are a global company, along with this headline and we want the image to be top right and the headline to be underneath the picture of the globe and here is the copy which I have written and we want the words ‘solutions provider’ to be in bold because we think that is a great new way of expressing what our company does. And sometimes they have even redesigned the logo because they didn’t like the old one.
While you may think this is an exaggeration, ABBA member agencies come across several instances where this is uncomfortably close to the truth.
Why is this tendency on the increase and why does it seem to be more prevalent in a B2B context?
In the world of B2B, the products and the markets are usually more complex. This means the client tends to have a much bigger role in the creation of their marketing communications than they otherwise would. They need to educate the agency in the nuances of what they are offering and to whom. But marketing departments often confuse expertise in this with expertise in creating marketing communications that work. Because they know their markets and products better, they believe they understand how to reach their target audience better than their agency will. They ignore the fact that a good B2B agency is used to grasping complex products and offerings and has done the same for other clients, in many different markets, many times before.
There is a legacy from the days when B2B marketing was really sales support, when each piece of communications was deemed a means-to-an-end rather than a component in the ongoing task of establishing a brand in the minds of the target audience a brand that has a clearly identified, defined and differentiated positioning and promise.
Unfortunately it’s also down to the people managing the agency relationship. Too often in B2B markets it is left to inexperienced marketing executives who have not been properly trained, who have not had the process properly explained to them and who fail to appreciate that it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that counts.
Ultimately this problem is due to an unstructured relationship one devoid of trust, respect and clearly defined responsibilities. It can, however, be easily and quickly resolved.
To receive value from your agency you need to be clear in your mind why you’re using them and what you need from them. Use that to detail what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. Based on that, agree a process that provides them with all the information they need to be able to be creative and the criteria against which their work will be assessed. Once that has been agreed, ensure that everyone involved in the process understands it and sticks to it.
If you needed your solicitor to draw up a contract, would you provide the words to put in it, tell him how to arrange all the clauses or which jurisdiction the contract should be governed by? I didn’t think so, you would probably explain why you wanted a contract and you would leave it to him to advise what it should cover and how it should be worded.
So, why not trust your agency in the same way? Conceiving, designing and putting together creative work are all part of what they do for a living. It is their job. If they are good enough to work with you, they are good enough to produce your work.
