Better marketer-agency relationships start with these four insights  

What marketers look for in an ad agency is something I think about quite a bit as head of new business development for McGuffin Creative Group. How do we best showcase our expertise without providing too many case studies? How do we have an honest conversation about budget? How do we fill gaps for the client team to make their lives easier? These are just a few of the many questions I run through when an RFP lands on my desk. 

That’s why I was excited to attend AMA Chicago’s recent Signature Speaker Series event Perfect Match: Building Better Brand-Agency Partnerships to get the inside scoop from in-house marketer Julia Fitzgerald and agency search consultants Deb Giampoli and Tom Browning. 

Here are my takeaways from the panel that I think marketing and agency leaders alike should keep in mind to build better agency-brand relationships:  

1. Honesty is the best policy.

Whether kicking off a new project with your existing partner or launching a search for a new agency of record, being honest in early conversations is the best path forward for success. 

For CMOs and in-house marketing leaders, if you need specific expertise or only want to work with agencies that meet certain requirements, bring that information to the table. Be very clear on your needs; Stone Soup’s Deb Giampoli said that any company looking to start an agency search must start with a brief that all stakeholders approve before moving forward. That groundwork helps agencies know what type of work to showcase and also when to bow out if they’re not a good fit. 

For agencies, be authentically you. If you don’t have the expertise the client is looking for, be upfront about it. Don’t stretch yourself to be the “perfect” fit, because if you’re not then it’s a misuse of everyone’s time and resources. Being honest about what you’re great at will help you land the right clients for you. Walking away from a pitch isn’t always a bad thing. 

2. Budget transparency will help the process go a lot more smoothly.

I get it — you are protective of your budget. You should be since you fought for those dollars and want to spend them wisely. But if you’re looking to work with a new agency on a large initiative, sharing the budget is in the best interest of everyone involved. Good agencies (like us) will work within your budget constraints and provide multiple solutions to fit your needs. 

Our hourly rates don’t change based on the client’s budget. What does change is how we may allocate time in different areas of the project, the composition of the team, the number of stakeholder interviews we may do, or how many ads we create. My goal in the RFP process is always to walk away with both sides feeling good about how the money is being spent with lots of check-ins along the way. 

3. Finding a new agency is a big decision; don’t designate it solely to junior staff.

Managing an agency search process is a huge undertaking which, understandably, the CMO might not always have time to be in charge of. However, for the process to work, leaders need to be involved. While junior members can manage submissions, set up meetings or brief leadership, they cannot be expected to fully manage the process. It isn’t fair to them or the agency. Conversations with leadership need to happen early and often to ensure the agency selected ticks the right boxes for everyone on the team. 

4. Push each other out of your comfort zones to create great work.

Julia Fitzgerald provided an excellent tip for agencies: pitch your spicy concepts! Great partnerships come from pushing creative boundaries. In fact, Julia said you should feel a little bit uncomfortable as the brand leader when your agency pitches those out-of-the-box concepts. Otherwise, the work gets stale. That’s not good for the bottom line nor the brand reputation. Creativity is highly personal, so having respectful conversations on both ends about what the agency thinks is/isn’t working for the brand and what the brand team thinks is/isn’t working about the agency’s concepts brings everyone closer to the best possible finished product.