The Complexity, Commitment and Alchemy of Client-Agency Relationships

Great work comes out of great relationships. The reality of this is rare because client/agency relationships are complex and require commitment, a shared ambition and a bit of alchemy to thrive.

The recent release of this year’s LIONS State of Creativity report revealed there’s an imbalance when it comes to perceptions of the agency-client relationship. When asked about the partnership, brands responded positively, while the creative partners did not.

Clearly, something has gone amiss.

Setting up strong foundations is vital. There needs to be an open discussion around creative ambitions, business problems to solve, the balance between brand and activation, management up and down, and the rigour to support the relationship.

The rigour is essential. Suncorp, a client I’ve worked with for three years, has built this into the fundamentals of our relationship and has proven integral to our evolution and success.

Next is building rapport. Celebrate success when you can and make the time to recognise the journey and the work; this is the best part of what we do. But building a successful relationship also needs positive tension. There must be room for open and honest debate around the key moments of briefs, strategy, creative and execution. This conversation should be intelligent, challenging and insightful, and everyone must be open to looking at different approaches that may well be disruptive.

There are times when the brief is just the brief, and we need to do what it says on the page. And that’s okay. As an agency, we have to know when to push and not to. This is also something the client needs to understand and be open to. The LIONS report found that this can often be hindered by more risk-averse board members struggling to embrace creativity.

Similarly, in a report published by Spark Foundry Australia, Finding the Holy Grail: The Quest for the Ultimate Client Agency Model, it revealed that 46% of marketers believe the greatest pressure they receive from non-marketing internal stakeholders is substantiating why agency investment is required. So, there’s clearly room for us to better support our client partners in proving the value of creativity to everyone who has a seat at the table.

Don’t forget the banter. Get to know each other as people first. There should be energy around what we do; make it your mission to try and ensure the client team’s meeting with the agency is the best meeting of the day.

Empathy is so important. The number of internal and external stakeholders that clients need to manage is staggering, so we need to understand their needs and temper our expectations of time and availability.

When it gets tough, lean in, don’t avoid it; move quickly to solve it. Have that difficult conversation early, even if you don’t yet have a solution.

Bring the agency into your business. In the same Spark Foundry report, marketers identified business understanding and responsiveness as the most important drivers of successful relationships. The more we know, the more we can help. Share your business results, research, insights and your problems. If the agency knows this, they will always have your voice with them when creating work and tackling challenging briefs.

Be resilient, coach for resilience in your teams, and hire for resilience. We need to bounce back quickly from the disappointments, the rejections and the frustrations and get back into the game.

And make it fun. Leo Burnett once said, “Creative ideas flourish best in a shop which preserves some spirit of fun. Nobody is in business for fun, but that does not mean there cannot be fun in business.”