Discover the Seven Secrets Behind the World’s Most Successful Client/Agency Relationships and What They Share in Common
Download a print-friendly version here Here’s to the crazy ones. The round pegs in the square holes. Transcript: “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status […]
Common Mistakes Advertisers Make With Their Agencies and What to do About It
20 Proven Ways to Drive Your Agency Crazy In “Love Is Dead,” I highlighted proven best practices that set apart highly successful relationships from failed ones, based on the hundreds of relationship and performance evaluations we conducted. Similarly, a number of client behaviors guarantee you will fail your agency every time. Those who believe that […]
What Will You Get Your Agency for the Holidays? The Gift of Stronger Partnerships
Download a print-friendly version here Thinking outside the gift box… The holidays, a time of both deep reflection and high festivities, are right around the corner. We pause near the end of each year to celebrate those around us, those we love and depend on, and to acknowledge their importance in our lives. In business, […]
How to Improve Client/Agency Evaluations and Achieve Greater Accountability
The 8 Critical Obstacles: Traditional ways of conducting agency evaluations are no longer working. Old-fashioned evaluations are no longer providing clients and agencies the insight needed to manage their partnership effectively. To move towards 100% mutual accountability, these partnerships demand better data, greater insight and more actionable information that can enhance their work relationship. Here’s […]
What Great Clients do to Turn Their Agencies Into Powerful Growth Engines
What Will Make You a Kick-Ass Client Are you the kind of client that agencies desperately want to acquire and retain? Do you know what it takes to be a great client? In “Think Different,” I emphasized the unique qualities industry leaders like Apple exhibit with their agencies to get outstanding work. In “How Clients […]
The Uneasy Truth About Being a Client and What It Means to Building Lasting Partnerships in Today’s Cut-Throat Environment
Confessions of an Ex-Client I’d like to confess. Actually, I have multiple confessions to make. Four to be precise. No worries. This is not a remake of “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (2002), so they won’t keep you up at night. But if you’ve ever been a client, you too would have much to say. […]
Top 5 Client Qualities That Contribute to Better Work and Long-Lasting, Productive Partnerships in the Era of Client/Agency Speed Dating and One-Night Stands
Download a print-friendly version here “L’amour est-il mort?” (“Is Love Dead?”) French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator Antoine de St-Exupéry once said: “Aimer, ce n’est pas se regarder l’un l’autre, c’est regarder ensemble dans la mêm direction.” (Translation: “Love doesn’t mean gazing at each other, but looking, together, in the same direction.”) Applied […]
4 Common Myths That Keep Even the Best Advertisers From Turning the Mania of Client/Agency Relationships Into Screaming Brilliance
Download a print-friendly version here Admit it: We are all Maniacs! Most of us are maniacs. If you read this, it probably means you are too. If you are in a leadership role in a Fortune 500 organization, or support one, chances are you are challenged to keep up with the rapid transformation of the […]
Top 5 Ways Brand Advertisers Can Foster Real, Sustained Collaboration Between Their Roster Agencies and Create Better, Faster, Stronger Work…Together
Download a print-friendly version here How Marketers Can Get Their Agencies to Collaborate The first part of “Ménage à trois” comes from the Latin mansionem, “dwelling,” and old French word that meant “management of a household.” The concept of managing and orchestrating a carefully assembled roster of agencies has been particularly popular among brand advertisers […]
How Brand Advertisers Can Produce More Strategic Client/Agency Performance Evaluations by Making Them Truly Actionable
Download a print-friendly version here Sixty percent of the time, it works every time. “They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the ti me, it works every time.” This is the famous line by Brian Fantana, the anchorman with a dark mustache and coworker of Ron Burgundy. In the 2004 film “Anchorman: The […]
What We Learned From This Year’s State of Client/Agency Relationships and Five Easy Steps Towards Highly Productive Partnerships that Yield Greater Performance
Download a print-friendly version here The Day I Met Elvis the Pig I met Elvis the pig at the HQ offices of Tyson Foods/Hillshire Brands Company in Chicago. A sign next to the 500-pound bronze statue of a pig explained that it was named by Jimmy Dean, the legendary country singer and founder of the […]
Five Lifelong Lessons From Legendary Catalonia’s Human Tower Traditions That Clients and Agencies Can Apply to Ensure Highly Effective Engagements
Download a print-friendly version here Lessons in Collaboration from the Human Tower It’s the most amazing sight: a human tower of Castellers wearing white trousers, a black sash, a bandana and a colored shirt bearing the team’s emblem coming together into a multi-tiered structure of up to 10 people high from the ground up. You […]
