[by Todd] If you work for an agency, with agency, or hope to do either in the near future, you need to read this. Advergirl delivers a powerful lesson on what it means to be in marketing/advertising. Stripped of pontifications about changing the world or laments about the torrid pace of change, she spells out 11 immutable rules for account people.
She starts and ends with rules that are so painfully obvious, yet so obviously lost on an untold number of our kind.
1) No order takers: If you never say no to your client, you are wasting their money.
Your client hired your agency because they believed that you are the right partner for smart, responsive advertising. They want you to push back – tastefully – and make sure they deliver the absolute best product to the market place.11) Remember: This is the fun part of their day. If you only remember one thing, let it be this: Most of our clients work in political, corporate environments. They sit in meetings. They have enormous binders of documentation. The are forced to deeply understand the personal implications of Sarbanes Oxley. Working with us? It’s the fun part of their day. It’s creative and exciting and engaging. Keep it that way. Invite the client over to the agency. Bring creative people to the table. Have drinks or unexpected appetizers. Bring all the best parts of your job to the meeting. Give you client a well-deserved break…
A couple years back I had the misfortune of watching my agency lose a Fortune 100 account because of its account service. A key client repeatedly lamented over lunch that she believed the account team worked for the creative department, not for her. A short time later millions of dollars went out the door, followed in short order by several dozen jobs.
So here’s your homework:
Account people — learn ’em, live ’em.
Creatives and strategy types– understand ’em, respect ’em.
HR types — teach ’em.
Clients — don’t accept anything less.
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