I went along to the IPA’s 44 Club talk at the London College of Fashion on Tuesday night. It was a talk from three of the marketing industry’s top clients: Peter Buchanan (COI), Alex Lloyd Davies (P&G), and Ian Armstrong (Honda).
They were brought together to explain to a room full of account handlers exactly what it is that clients want. Having worked for a period of time in both camps (ie. client and agency side), I was particularly interested to see whether my impressions of what makes a happy client, based on my personal experience, aligned with the opinions of these industry experts.
The presentations that ensued were varied and extremely insightful. Peter (COI) launched the event with a detailed look at how public sector advertising differs from the commercial sector. This was followed by Alex’s (P&G) top tips on how to create the perfect client-agency partnership, based on her experience of having worked with a host of different creative agencies. To complete the session Ian (Honda) approached the question from a more personal perspective, outlining the Honda company ethos, and illustrating how all his colleagues (both agency and internally) belive in the same fundamental set of values.
I’ve pasted by notes of the main points from each speaker below to share my newfound knowledge. In resonse to my personal quest – to discover whether there were similarities between what I felt clients were looking for, and what the clients who worked in vastly different industries had articulated – I found that the overwhelming desire was to be treated as partners – regardless of the industry.
Peter Buchanan (COI) – important factors to consider when working on a public sector account:
- You will often be dealing with unconventional audiences
- Insight into the attitudes and behaviour of the target audience is very important (and often difficult to get hold of)
- Bear in mind the different factors that might influence the message reception (ie. try and look at the ad through the eyes of a journalist, as the political context may mean that the ad has a political message that can be spun out of it…)
- UK offline can be as valuable as online marketing in the public sector (people still expect traditional response mechanisms) as well as a large proportion of the population still don’t have access to a computer
Alex Lloyd Davies (P&G) – top 11 tips
- Show how the creative/strategy work will make the client’s business grow
- Show why the work is clever – what is it that makes it quicker/cheaper
- Work with the client like they are a partner – use inclusive vocabulary when addressing them – talk about ‘our brand’ etc
- In a large business, ask up front who you should talk to if you have a particular idea or some interesting data you have received
- Ahead of a meeting, call the client up and give them a brief heads up on the idea and running order of the meeting
- Try and weave the idea in to an initiative/strategy that is already planned (as marketing budgets are so tight at the moment the only work that will run is one that is aligned with the core objective of the brand)
- Show how the work is measurable (and be honest if it isn’t) – do not be afraid that work will be rejected on this basis alone
- Proposals should be short and sweet
- Show the client what the consumer will actually see (ie. show the work in situ – whether banners on a website or POS material)
- Think whether you would spend the money if it were your own? Do you think you are giving your client good value?
- Value the small jobs as much as the large ones (as small jobs done well can instil confidence in your agencies competency which can lead to larger jobs)
Ian Armstrong (Honda) – top 10 tips
- Clients want good, creative work
- Show an understanding of the client’s strategy
- Demonstrate that you have the emotional intelligence to work with others (you need to be able to work well with people from all over the world from a diverse range of backgrounds)
- Honda works with people whose attitudes and values are aligned with theirs – their colleagues have strong behaviours (the visible manifestation of attitudes and values) that get the job done
- Their agency must be passionate and embrace challenge
- Agencies must be consistent in their delivery
- People must be open minded and receptive to new ideas
- Operate in a state of ‘mild agitation’ – have a sense of urgency to the work to get the job done
- “We can all be doers” encapsulates the attitude of Honda
