Part 2 of a four-part series
You’ve selected the ad agency you want to work with. Now, let’s talk about what you can expect from them. No doubt they want to do amazing work for you. In order for them to be successful, you need to trust them to do their job. And in order to trust them, you need to understand how they operate. In this post, we’ll talk about how to actually work with an advertising agency and what you should expect.
Project work vs. retainer services
The first question you need to decide — do you want to work with your agency on a project basis or put them on retainer? There are pros and cons to both.
You may choose to work with your agency on retainer — an agreement between a client and agency to work together longer than just one project. The agency agrees to set aside a certain amount of time for a specified rate every month. Some of the benefits of working with an agency on retainer include getting priority treatment and that the agency will get to know your company and products with more in-depth knowledge.
If you work with your agency on a project basis, you might feel like you don’t get the full value of their expertise. At the same time, however, your costs won’t be as high, but you’ll still have access to top creative talent.
Whichever route you choose, your agency will become a strategic partner that will help you to the best of their ability when you need assistance.
Follow the agency process
Your agency is going to have a process for moving jobs through their shop and gathering information. The better you can follow this process, the greater your chances of success. While you may not understand every request, there’s a reason for every parameter put in place. Even if those parameters don’t make sense, rest assured the agency has carefully considered the best path to success. You should dig in to better understand — it will help you learn more and respect and trust the process.
At the same time, make sure to keep your agency informed of changes in your industry or within your company that can affect the marketing strategy. There’s nothing like working hard on a campaign to be blindsided by information that would have completely altered the direction.
How to win friends and influence agencies
If you are loyal to your agency, they will bend over backward for you. There’s no better way to show your loyalty than by working collaboratively with the agency during the strategy process and then trusting the team to do great work. Collaborations generally lead to higher productivity and improved communication. The faster you can share strategy and ideas, the stronger the results will be.
There’s no better way to show your loyalty than by working collaboratively with the agency during the strategy process and then trusting the team to do great work. In the end, you’re both working to deliver the best results for your company. You have the same goal and you can get there if you work together.
When you treat your agency as an extension of your team, they will go above and beyond to deliver fantastic work. In our next post in this four-part series, we’ll talk more about the importance of trusting your agency and believing in their work.
If you want to read about how to choose the right agency, go back to Part 1.