9. First, we talked to the agencies First, we talked to the agencies….
10. Recognise these? Sources of Client Frustration Henry Ford-style sales techniques in a solutions market Creative talk where ROI language is needed Media intransparency A ‘pleasing’ attitude vs. ‘doing what is right’ An addiction to saturation bombing vs. engagement Lot’s of digital talk, but no integrated action Insufficient understanding of retail/sales reality Insufficient C-suite air cover Lack of international integration Orthodoxy where fresh thinking is needed FUTURELAB
14. FUTURELAB 10 THINGS YOU CAN DO AS A CLIENT Don’t ask for integrated solutions from those that can’t give them Give hard ROI & business targets to your agencies Call in media auditors to validate effectiveness and the efficiency Encouraging your agency to challenge your beliefs Insist on engagement and relevance in stead of saturation bombing Validate an agency’s digital capabilities and then forget about technology. Ensure every initiative connects to the retail (or B2B sales) floor Clarify your expectation for analytical/strategic C-Suite support Make sure your people speak to your agencies with one voice Break industry orthodoxies (also on compensation), and hire more people Also see appendix!
40. I understand that cheap, fast and top quality do not normally come in one package.
41. I will say thank you, if you have done a good job
42. This presentation (soon, extended version): http://www.futurelab.net/presentations Reports: http://www.futurelab.net/publications/papers/publications Recondisering the Advertising Industry (also in Russian) Bridging the Brand Agency Divide (also in Russian) Manifesto soon to come Read and Contribute
48. FUTURELAB #2 Return on Investment We Are Very Creative … and Big … Most agencies don’t talk ROI. Instead, they emphasise the budgets they manage and the awards they have won. Show me the ROI CMO’s are under increasing pressure to prove that if a million is spent, more than a million is made. And agencies need to help in this analysis. Agency Response: Client need: Disregard the traditional agency rethoric and focus your agency on results, not awards. Give them hard targets where possible. Encourage their creativity, but ask for the business rationale behind each initiative. Request impact scenarios for the various media-message combinations that were considered. Client-side Suggestion:
52. Review the compensation models you force upon your vendors. A key reason for them to make under the table deals may be that they simply aren’t able to make a straight living.Client-side Suggestion:
53. FUTURELAB #4 Creative and Operational Integrity We know many admirable agency executives. But sadly, they are matched in numbers by those who have less regard for their client’s best interest. Whether this is driven by cynicism, questionable motivations or competitive pressures is hard to assess. Clients want their agency to be a trusted advisor. A mental sparring partner. An asset manager for their marketing investments. Someone with the flexibility of a great vendor, yet the resolve of a doctor who is not prepared to give bad medicine. Agency Response: Client need: Trust your agency, but test. See how it reacts when presented with the occasional red herring and opportunity for abuse. Say something silly. Propose a non-sensical modification to a campaign. See whether people agree. If they challenge you back, praise and encourage discussion in the future. Client-side Suggestion:
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55. How the proposed media/message combination is relevant to the audience’s situation? How it will make their conversations and life more interesting?
56. How it will help the target customer progress on the customer journey? What is the next communication?Client-side Suggestion:
57. FUTURELAB #5 Engagement Instead of Noise Engage Our Audience Brands want and need to engage with their customers. They need to conduct conversations. Build communities. This means that they need to develop marketing messages which their customers WANT to hear rather than force-feeding them through intrusion. Saturation Bombing In spite of all the talk at conferences, many agencies are still in the business of “saturation bombing”. Brands still get recommendations to buy enough GRPs to break through the clutter and maintain their Share of Voice. Agency Response: Client need: Encourage your agencies to embrace a media-neutral, customer-centric approach to communication planning. Ensure that your budget, negotiations and actions do not re-enforce the existing agency silos (media, creative, …). Request various specialist agencies to cooperate on one “holistic” view of your audience’s communication landscape. Client-side Suggestion:
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59. Digital Agencies often miss depth in communication and strategyWalk Digital With consumers massively shifting online, marketing budgets are following. Brands need their agencies to handle digital media with the same facility as traditional media channels. Agency Response: Client need: Audit the digital skills of your agency, not in words, but in actions. If techno-buzzwords are used in pitches or proposals, question why. Consistently shift technology conversations to the topic of engagement. Client-side Suggestion:
60. FUTURELAB #7 Think of the Shopper Shopper Marketing There are those who consume, those who buy, and those who influence the two above. Recent research in word-of-mouth has only re-emphasised the importance of these influencers and consumers on the actual purchasing decision. This puts shoppers at the centre of the marketer’s agenda. Retail Ignorance Agencies struggle with the retail floor. Their people typically never worked in stores, never sold to real consumers. Don’t know how a cash-register works. Agency Response: Client need: As retail (B2B sales/showroom) situations are alien to most agencies, force the conversation. Always ask for the salesfloor implications of every iniative. Introduce retail metrics. Insist creatives talk to real shoppers. Have their account managers filling racks on the salesfloor, or assist in the warehouse. Make it clear the job isn’t done until the customer has bought. Client-side Suggestion:
61. FUTURELAB #8 C-Suite Credibility Look how cool and fun we are ... Rather than adopt a more conservative C-suite approach, communication agencies have always had an air of creativity and cool Support me in the C-suite It is an unfortunate reality that many marketers struggle to be taken seriously in the boardroom. Marketing is seen by other parts of the business as a frivolous and unaccountablemoney spendingdepartment. Agency Response: Client need: Brief your agencies to present their ideas so it is easy for you to let them travel throughout the business. Have them talk strategy and numbers. Include an internal alignment and information processes for various stakeholders. Avoid marketing-speak. Client-side Suggestion:
62. FUTURELAB #9 Agency Co-ordination (360°) A nice storefront Agency teams typically don’t “mix well” when they have to look outside their functional or geographic borders. As a result, agency cultures clash, commercial priorities differ, local agenda’s conflict. Integrated international action When more than one agency comes to the table, they need to act in a co-ordinated manner. Not just when it comes to creative execution, media buying and production, but especially in getting the business result. Agency Response: Client need: Your agency network can only speak with one voice, if your people do the same. Work with your lead agency or appoint a project manager to develop an alignment programme that ensures your own marketing teams, as well as the agency’s have the same objectives, priorities and goals. This needs to cover every step of the customer journey, every touchpoint and every agency or vendor you work with. Client-side Suggestion:
