STEVEN’S ADVICE

To agencies on working better with clients

• Take the time to learn the client’s business and their key challenges, opportunities and their strategy. These are the ‘why’ behind every brief and if you can deliver on these clients will always love you for it.

• Invest in training your people on explaining their thinking using the client’s language. Give them skills and tools to connect creative ideas with how these will lead to the desired business outcomes clients are paying for.

• Push clients to think beyond what they know. They’ve done things that have worked and often look for you to do the tried and tested. Show them why doing something different can deliver something better.

To clients on working better with agencies

• Brief in the problem or opportunity, not just the solution you think is needed. This allows the agency to think about all the best possible solutions to achieve the results.

• Invest in the relationship. Take time to ensure your agency knows your business, your audiences, your channels, what’s important to you and what you expect from them. Let them know about the strategies and bigger picture their works fits into.

• There’s no point having a dog and barking yourself. Trust the experts to do their job but always challenge them to come up with more creative and innovative ideas than you could have come up yourselves.