I had expected a big outcry to my posting called "At what point do you tell your agency what to do" (http://www.garybembridge.com/2008/08/at-what-point-do-you-tell-your-agency.html) as it was quite provocative,...... though based on experience. and occasional frustration.....
I was pleased to get the point of view from Joe (who is ex client and now heads up a major agency in the States) who wrote the following to the post on Facebook:
Comment # 1:
"If you know exactly what to do, fire them, save the money you're paying them and do it yourself."
Comment # 2:
"My honest answer is never....the execution is where the magic happens and if you dictate that you are becoming the creative director and the best folks at the agency will focus their magic and vision elsewhere....maybe not right away but it will happen and your reputation as a client will be cast."
So you tell at your peril.
The secret is probably HOW you feedback to the agency.
One of my most vivid learning was when I had my own very small consultancy and had a young but very talented creative chap working with me. I saw how he would work like a demon for clients that feedback about what they were trying to achieve, what they hoped would "pop".... and how when clients asked for "blue and capital letters" ended up getting "blue and capital letters"... and ended up hating us as they did not like what they got....
Your thoughts... email me or leave a comment on the blog posting
1 comment:
I completely agree. Having worked both client and creative/media agency sides, I became well aware that the best work came out of my agencies, both off and online, if I gave a tight brief, a good set of clear objectives and creative freedom to the studio. This was when the most innovative, thought provoking and most influential campaigns.
Once I was agency side, I saw this even more clearly with the studio, who, if the client's feedback to a creative idea was "no- please do it this way", did just that, and other clients got the best of their creative juices.
I think the only time an agency should need telling what to do is when being briefed. If the brief, target market and objectives for the campaign are well thought out, then the results should deliver everything that a client wants from the process.
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