You might think your agency knows how to get the best out of themselves, but they’re not working in a vacuum.
Are you thinking about a bunch of creatives working in a Dyson right now? Work life is hard enough without the distractions of being constantly sucked.
That sounds pretty inappropriate.
Let’s kick this list off. We’ve all got somewhere to be.
We’re assuming you’ve chosen the right agency for you. That’s probably the first thing you should do if not. It helps if you like them and they like you. All the other things we mention won’t really work if you don’t start with a good relationship. If you see them as a separate entity, something other, you won’t feel comfortable talking honestly about ideas. We’re not saying they’ve got to be close enough to date your agency, but you do need to create an environment that feels inclusive and open to adult conversations.
If you’re not at ease sharing ideas, you won’t get the best results from your agency. Some of your ideas might be rubbish but if your agency relationship is good, they’ll explain why and help you with less rubbish ideas.
They probably won’t say your ideas are rubbish. Hopefully they have more tact.
Our mum always said: wear clean underwear just in case you get run over.
Clean underwear will be the least of your worries if that does happen.
This probably should have been point number one. It’s too late now so we’ll have to run with it. Before you hire an agency, figure out what you want to achieve. If you go into a strategy meeting with no plan, you’ll be wasting time and money. At this point, you should know your markets
. You’ve hopefully researched, tested, brainstormed, and visualised your goals. Be there with some clear thoughts on your expectations and prepare for those to be managed by your agency.
We’ve all heard someone say “you’ve changed” and they don’t usually mean for the better.
Change can happen when we’ve not planned for it. How we deal with change determines how successful the outcome will be. Marketing strategies shift as do our priorities. Just like that Dyson, life can suck. You might be experiencing staff shortages, or a new employee in the Head of Marketing role. Change is monkeying around with your budgets too, leaving you wondering what the hell is happening. You really only have one option and that’s to embrace being flexible. Your agency isn’t an idiot, they know things don’t stay the same. Don’t be reluctant to tell them, and yes, things may fail, so turn that failure into a lesson learned.
This might sting a bit but an agency is only as good as the information you give it. We all need some tough love. It makes us stronger.
You know things about your brand but it’s unhelpful if you keep all that stuff to yourself. If you’ve created your own writing style guide or if you have a brand playbook, your agency will want to hear about it. This is going to be major when keeping things consistent. Your brand voice is a big deal for your marketing. Give them everything you have. All the research you did on your target audience, they’ll want to know. And if you get stuck, ask them. They have an entire organisation of industry professionals who can fill any gaps you might have.
Communication is the seam that runs through all of this. If you’re not talking, you’re not solving.
That sounds pretty lame.
OK, when you have so many people involved, you’ll need to be really good at communicating. Imagine stakeholders getting twitchy if they’re not kept in the loop. Avoid any red faces, the kind you get when your agency makes a suggestion and the money people didn’t get the memo. No one wants that.
If you’re working with more than one agency, make sure everyone knows each other. Invite them both to a wine and cheese mixer, add some ambient music, hire a cabaret act. Or you could create a group chat and start regular virtual meetings. You know what’s out there, platforms like Zoom, Teams, Trello, Slack – they can make things easier for people to keep up to date.
Don’t think of both agencies as competing. You should be working towards one goal. Obstruction will just make the process difficult and joyless. Create a friendly and constructive space for everyone.
Are you a marketing agency?
We didn’t think so. You’ve hired one because you don’t have a clue. OK, you might have some clue but let them get on with what you’re paying them to do. If you’re a bit of a control freak, delegation can be tough but let’s try and keep in our own lane.
They will always need your input and they’ll ask how you feel about the direction a campaign or strategy, but don’t micromanage. All that says is you don’t trust them to do the job. Respect the creative process. Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s not working how it should.
Some of the best ideas come from unlikely places.
Sitting on the toilet can really help but we’re thinking more unlikely people.
Include everyone when you’re bouncing ideas. This might work better in the early stages because Judith from accounts probably won’t appreciate getting cc’d in every marketing-related email. Actually, we’re talking about including every discipline within the agency. Don’t get bogged down with specialities early on. Bring all the team together, they’ll likely have some broad experience and give you a perspective you didn’t think about before.
Process is a really unsexy word. It’s not something you associate with creatives but even we have our methods.
You need a system. There is no rule that says you can’t deviate from it or change it, but you need a formalised way of working. There will be many people involved in your project and not having a process will cause chaos. Things will also get missed. Before it’s a done deal with your agency, find out how they do things. Be clear with them on your approach and you’ll both come up with the best way to attack a situation.
The sad truth is: things go wrong.
Like when you finally pluck up the courage to talk to your crush but your mouth won’t work and you mix two phrases together, making you sound mental.
We live in an imperfect world. Things mess up for lots of different reasons so before you get on the phone and give your agency both barrels, cool your heels and apply some objectivity. Could you have done things differently? Did you communicate effectively? Did you provide all the stuff they needed to do the job well?
Things are unlikely to have gone south because your agency is shit. If they are shit, that’s really your lookout for hiring them. Try to remove emotion when things go belly up. Be kind but be constructive. Deal in facts and not opinions.
If we sound like the kind of agency you’d like to work with, get in touch!
