1. Client-Agency Relationships Value Creation or Value Destruction? Professor Tim Hughes Dr Mario Vafeas Applied Marketing Group

2. Research Method n 25 one-to-one interviews with clients, agency management, and agency creatives (nine case studies) in 2013-14 n Additional qualitative data from three workshops in 2014 n Survey questionnaire (64 responses from agencies) in 2014

3. Frequently mentioned words ‘Battle’ 8 mentions ‘Conflict’ 8 mentions ‘Fight’ 7 mentions

4. Client resources Agency resources Interaction process and Resource integration Creative output Co-creation

5. The Brief Agencies say…  Lack of focus  Lack of information  Lack of senior manager sign-off  Lack of time (and money) Clients say…  Lack of interrogation by agency  Lack of alignment  Agency cost estimates unrealistic

6. The Brief Agencies Say…Clients say… It’s very rare we get a clear brief. (Creative, case 1) We’ve improved our processes so things are better now than they were. (Marketing Manager, case 1) The junior managers give you changes they want made before it goes up the ranks. You make a whole set of changes. Then you show it to the senior stakeholders and you find out it was off brief in the first place. (Account Director, case 3) The junior managers give you changes they want made before it goes up the ranks. You make a whole set of changes. Then you show it to the senior stakeholders and you find out it was off brief in the first place. (Account Director, case 3) We need to put the energy at the beginning to make sure the brief is absolutely right and that we’re clear about what ‘good’ looks like. (Marketing Director, case 3)

7. Agency Perceptions of Client Brief 5=strongly agree, 1=strongly disagree N=64

8. Knowledge and Skills Agencies say about (some) clients… Clients say about (some) agencies…  Lack of understanding of client world  Narrow creative horizons

9. Knowledge and Skills Agencies Say…Clients say… No, I don’t always feel confident if I’m perfectly honest and that’s why I try to make it a conversation with the agency so I can get their opinions. (Head of Marketing, case 6) No, I don’t always feel confident if I’m perfectly honest and that’s why I try to make it a conversation with the agency so I can get their opinions. (Head of Marketing, case 6) There’s a lot of people out there who think they know what they’re talking about but don’t. Some can be open to learning from their agencies, but others are defensive and purport to know when they don’t. This can compromise the quality of work. (Managing Director, case 9) There’s a lot of people out there who think they know what they’re talking about but don’t. Some can be open to learning from their agencies, but others are defensive and purport to know when they don’t. This can compromise the quality of work. (Managing Director, case 9)

10. Agency Perceptions of Client Skills 5=strongly agree, 1=strongly disagree N=64

11. Have you ever had training in judging creative work? 1. Yes a very full training 2. I have had some training 3. I have not had any training

12. Has any of your agencies offered you training in judging creative work? 1. Yes 2. No

13. Goals and Value Judgements Agencies say about clients… Clients say about agencies…  Too safe OR  Radical just for the sake of it  Enhancing their creative reputation

14. Goals and Value judgements Agencies Say…Clients say… They’re going to research the hell out of this and we’ll be left with a generic piece of work (Creative Director, case 2) We’re trying to sell a product; they’re trying to promote their artistic work (Marketing Director, case 3) You need more than one option but I think the ‘safe, middle of the road, and radical’ approach is the agency covering all the options (Head of Marketing, case 6)

15. Interaction Agencies say about clients… Clients say about agencies…  Inflexible and stubborn  Account managers can impede communication

16. Interaction Agencies Say…Clients say… They are stubborn and I have to say to them ‘unless you shift your position, we can’t go forward’ And yet, despite this happening year after year, they continue to insist on doing things their way and it delays the process. (Brand Manager, case 9) They are stubborn and I have to say to them ‘unless you shift your position, we can’t go forward’ And yet, despite this happening year after year, they continue to insist on doing things their way and it delays the process. (Brand Manager, case 9) They end up restricting themselves and don’t get any value out of using us. You end up as the person moving the mouse for them. (Creative, case 5) Clients can sometimes say ‘I don’t really like it, it’s not really doing what I want it to do’ but what they really want is help to fine-tune their thinking rather than us saying ‘OK you don’t like that, we’ll change it’. (Managing Director, case 9) Clients can sometimes say ‘I don’t really like it, it’s not really doing what I want it to do’ but what they really want is help to fine-tune their thinking rather than us saying ‘OK you don’t like that, we’ll change it’. (Managing Director, case 9)

17. Relationship Agencies say …Clients say …  Threat of opportunism  Lack of transparency  Good relationship helps the work  Poor management of staff turnover

18. Relationship Agencies Say…Clients say… If it doesn’t work out, you fire them and get another one (Brand Manager, client workshop) You get used to working with clients and give them what you think they’re going to buy, but you stop inspiring them. Then they wake up one day and realise they’re not getting the creativity they want. (Creative Director, case 7) You get used to working with clients and give them what you think they’re going to buy, but you stop inspiring them. Then they wake up one day and realise they’re not getting the creativity they want. (Creative Director, case 7) I’d like to think the relationship helps the work. I’d like to think they like working with me. We’ve got to know each other and it helps us get the best out of a project. (Brand Manager, case 8) I’d like to think the relationship helps the work. I’d like to think they like working with me. We’ve got to know each other and it helps us get the best out of a project. (Brand Manager, case 8)

19. n Do not share the same vision of creativity 61% of clients 70% of agency execs n Clients too afraid to take risks – 75% of agency execs n Agencies more interested in selling work rather than solving problems – 65% of clients n 88% of clients claim to speak freely n 36% of agency execs claim to speak freely Source: RPA & USA Today survey 2014

20. Workshops with individual agencies n 6 agencies so far n Two hour sessions n 4-22 people in each session n Presentation plus discussion

21. Workshops with individual agencies 1. What are your key issues in dealing with clients? 2. What actions could you take to improve/deal with these key issues? 3. How could you implement these actions over the next six months? 4. What policies and processes could be put in place to maintain improvements?

22. Example Area for improvement Issues identified in research & workshopsActions to address issues Meeting client expectations Importance of good communication and continually managing client’s expectations Importance of client induction and of client having knowledge of agency processes Is the client aware of timing required for different types of jobs? Is the client aware of the costing process? At what stage does the client need to sign off costs? Would additional training help the client in dealing with the agency (for example in judging creative work)?

23. Areas for improvement identified in workshops n Customising process according to client size/potential n Importance of kick off meeting/contact n Areas to cover in first meeting n How to get better feedback from the client n Tailoring client communications to their needs n Getting the most out of progress meetings n Getting sufficient feedback from clients

24. Particular challenges for digital agencies n Clients‘ lack of understanding of statistics in reports n Inexperienced clients n Lack of understanding of digital by clients n Fast-moving ‘landscape’ of social media n Availability of clients n Bad clients demotivate agency staff (good digital staff difficult to recruit) n Demonstrating agency added value n Need to ‘educate’ the digital community

25. Future workshops n Workshops with client companies, agencies or both together! n Demonstrate impact from our research n Engagement with the marketing and creative community n Opportunity to develop the research further (using anonymous examples) n Good use of allocated research time (but not unlimited!)