Your relationship with your advertising agency should not be one fraught with anxiety, or in some cases, ill will. In most cases, the problem stems from the wrong mindset, with companies thinking of their agencies merely as vendors rather than partners that can help them achieve their goals.
More often than not, making that relationship work entails not just choosing the right partner, but more importantly, becoming a good partner. But how do you achieve that?
Like any other type of relationship, working with an ad agency requires that you give your trust. And one good way to do that is to make sure that your agency gets to know everything it needs to about your business, including your strategies and short- and long-term plans.
And speaking of trust, you also need to put faith in your agency and its employees, that they can help you achieve the goals you have set out. Certainly, you have chosen your agency due to the calibre of work it has done.
Like most relationships, working with an ad agency takes time for it to work to a suitable level. This means making sure that you do everything that you can to make sure that your agency can do what it is truly capable of.
One of the key reasons why the relationship between businesses and their ad agencies turns sour is that there are misaligned views. Sometimes, you may feel that your agency is doing something risky that can backfire and hurt your business. However, do remember that success in practically almost any endeavour entails a good measure of risk-taking. And if you want to get results beyond the norm, you have to venture a little farther from what is easy and normal.
You also need to give your ad agency ample room to bring their vision into fruition. What may seem risky is not necessarily reckless. Cut your ad agency's idea a little slack and respect the ability and experience of their people. If something looks off to you, reserve your judgment until the results come in. Revolutionary concepts are often shocking and not fully embraced upon introduction.
If your agency makes mistakes, it pays to look at the bigger picture. It is natural for some campaigns to fail to gain traction. However, if your agency is doing a lot of things right, especially in propelling your brand, you need to see these mistakes as minor setbacks.
How should you make criticisms? The rule of thumb to follow is to immediately say something about the things that you like, but carefully weigh your thoughts and words when you see something that you do not like. Sometimes, ideas take time before they get accepted. Also, do mind that creative work is difficult and the agency's people put a lot of time and effort toward their completed output. If you do not agree with something, say it in a nice way.