The client-agency relationship begins when a client instructs an advertising agency to direct an advertising campaign. This relationship continues and develops until the advertising agency provides a satisfactory delivery of the advertising campaign as agreed on by both parties.
Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
It isn’t always as easy as it might seem.
All partnerships in business, including advertising, hinge on a sense of mutual trust, understanding, and the understanding of a common goal or outcome. The biggest setback in these relationships is a misunderstanding of the expectations of an advertising campaign.
The key is to keep expectations and goals clear from the start.
Get things clear from the start.
This is difficult in an industry that has a certain degree of luck in the outcome. Yet luck is normally the result of a carefully thought-out campaign that is agreed upon by both parties. The agency client relationship is one of loyalty, trust, and respect. It works when both parties respect and trust one another.
How do you make sure these relationships are set up for success from the start?
From the start – the agent needs to listen to the client’s situation and decide if they can really help the client and be clear about it from the very start.
Agency-client relationships are just like any other relationship, they have their up and downs.
Both parties have to put in an effort to keep the relationship functional and healthy.
Both parties also need shared goals in a campaign.
Many brands are now starting to bring their digital marketing expertise in-house, meaning that companies are exploring their own marketing strategies, especially when it comes to digital marketing campaigns. This does not mean that there the marketing agency industry is not as strong as it as ever been. It means that nowadays there are far many more strategies to marketing than a simple poster, billboard, or television campaign. The agency and client relationship should become stronger through shared industry knowledge. With many online retail business models performing well in the marketplace, these companies already have a strong understanding of digital marketing, but might not be as well versed in some other areas of marketing and exploring new markets.
What does this recent trend in in-house marketing mean to an advertising agency?
It means they’re going to have to work increasingly harder to keep clients happy and offer solutions and strategies that are both old proven techniques like OHH (out-of-home media) like posters, stickers, and billboards, and digital models such as SEO and social media marketing campaigns.
A client agency relationship should share resources and knowledge and target audiences that are both existing and new. Business expansion always involves collaboration.
For a client agency relationship to work, communication is probably the number one priority for both parties. The client should clearly explain their expectations and the agency should honestly describe how and if those expectations can be met.
