A client will get the best out of their Agency if they treat them as equals. Not the hired help who takes instructions in a one way flow of power and information. If you think your agency has no brains, fire them. And find one with some. If you (the client) is the only one with an opinion and everyone else lives in fear of saying something you might not agree with, then you’rein big trouble not the agency. Because ultimately your brand will suffer unless you are Philip Kotler.
Clients don’t like to write briefs. I never did when I was a client. And some written briefs are so broad they hinder rather than help. If you can’t write it then say it. What’s the “one thing” that people need to take away from the ad. Whom are you trying to attract with the ad expressed conceptually rather than using dry demographics. (Holiday Inn Express targets salesmen who live on the road so their target = Road Warriors) What are the values of the brand: friendly, risqué, snobby, old fashioned?……what media do you want material developed for? Also, any mandatories? Budget? Timing?
And while we are on the topic of timing. Make your agency an extension of your marketing team. When you know they should know. Not five minutes before you launch. The goods sit on a ship and on the docks for months. Yet the agency hears about it long after the Hilo Purchasing people.
Your agency has brains and skills. Your agency has energy and passion. Use them in generous portions and collect your bonus.
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