Below the Line

Agency/Client Relationships: an interview with Carl Smith, nGen Works

For the last in this Friday series of agency/client relationships, I've interviewed Carl Smith, owner of nGen Works in Florida. nGen has created a guide for clients to explain how they work. What a great idea!

Q1 Name: Carl Smith

Q2 Location: Florida

Q3 Website: nGen Works

Q4 Bio:

Carl Smith is a founding member of nGen Works, a design and interface development team that has been building some of the world’s finest hand-crafted websites since 2003. Carl has made a name for himself in the web world by always defending the needs and wants of the end user. He has led teams that have been awarded the New York Art Directors Award For Interactive Development, The Hospitality Industry's Best of Show Award, two National C.A.S.E. awards for Educational Web Development and has also been featured in Kelly Goto's best-selling book Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works. Carl spends most of his free time complaining about sites that say “click here,” chasing his daughters, and praying they never make Spiderman 4.

Q5 Do you work on the agency side or client side?

Agency

Q6 What makes a good agency/client relationship?

Complete openness and honesty when the relationship begins. The good, bad and ugly. Like any relationship what you tell someone from the beginning is what they expect from you. That's why it's critical to explain everything about your process and procedures. We actually created a guide for clients so there would be no questions about how we work. It's been brilliant. Also, when things get tense, keep it light and let the client know you are in control of the situation.

Q7 What’s your best tip for building a good agency/client relationship?

Collaborate at every opportunity and realize that while the client may not understand things you do, they know things you don't. Make no assumptions and over communicate. Most importantly communicate in the client's language. Ultimately if clients think you are driving the process and things are progressing they will feel comfortable and things will be smooth.

Q8 Have you ever been in a difficult agency/client relationship? If so, were you able to improve the situation? How?

Absolutely. Ultimately we decided to have a meeting with the client and list all of the issues we saw. A big one was lack of trust. We basically spelled it out that if we couldn't trust each other we couldn't create great work. We offered to package up the work and help transition it to a new team if they thought it was in the best interest of the project. After a few tough hours of reliving some of the moments that led to the distrust we started laughing and realizing there was a series of misunderstandings that had built up to a point that both sides avoided communicating.

Q9 What do you wish clients understood about agencies?

That the agency is as concerned with creating great effective communication as they are. Money is important to the agency, but the opportunity to create great work is generally what led most of us to the profession.

Q10 How can agencies add value for clients?

By continuing to communicate clearly and explain the rationale behind the choices being presented. If the client understands why decisions are being made they can explain it to their stakeholders. That type of empowerment creates a strong bond between the client and agency.

Q11 How can clients get the best out of their agencies?

By understanding their business and communicating it clearly to the agency. If the agency understands the audience they are trying to reach and the triggers to their behaviors then they can make good decisions the first time and save hours and money.

Q12 Have you noticed any recent trends in agency/client relationships?

With interactive agencies there is a big push for more and more transparency. We are very open with how we run our business and when we make mistakes. We're also very up front when we think a client request is going to work against the goals of the project. I think it lets everyone we work with understand we're human and it shows we care about the end result.

Q13 Which past agency or client was the best to work with? (Past relationships only, please.)

Now you're going to get me in trouble. I would say the best past client was actually an agency. We partnered with GSD&M in Austin, Texas on a project for Students of the World called "See Change". We had similar processes and an appreciation for each others approach. Because of the mutual respect, we accomplished more in a shorter time period than any other project I've ever been associated with.

Agency/Client Relationships: an interview with Lee Roberson, CKR Interactive

With tools like Skype, web cams, web conferencing, IM and e-mail, how important are face-to-face client meetings? Lee Roberson thinks nothing can replace an in-person meeting. Due you agree? Read my agency/client relationship interview with Lee and let me know your thoughts.

Q1 Name:Lee Roberson

Q2 Location: Headquarters are in Cupertino, CA with several other offices. 

Q3 Website: CKR Interactive

Q4 Bio

Lee Roberson is the Co-founder and Vice President of CKR Interactive since 2001. Lee has over 15 years' sales, marketing and business development experience in Silicon Valley. Immediately prior to CKR Interactive, he was Director of Sales and Business Development with CareerWorkStation. Lee has a BS in Business Administration/Marketing from California State University, Sacramento.

Q5 Do you work on the agency side or client side?

Agency side

Q6 What makes a good agency/client relationship?

Several things come to mind: mutual trust, treating the agency as a partner and a virtual extension of the recruiting department, including the agency on all recruitment media discussions and negotiations; and then on the agency side, there is honesty and ethics, providing excellent customer service, being a consultative organization to the client, thinking strategically, having outstanding creative abilities, the list can go on and on. 

Q7 What’s your best tip for building a good agency/client relationship?

There are so many, but to boil it down to just one thing that agencies can do to build and maintain a good relationship, I would say visit your client on a regular basis. Phone calls, emails and web presentations are not enough. Regularly scheduled, in person meetings will cement a good working relationship with the client, as well as uncover ongoing recruiting needs and challenges where we can respond.  

If I can cheat and add a second tip, I would say to push for an annual strategic review of the account, which will lead to a thorough recruitment marketing plan. A strategic plan is essential for the agency to be proactive and not reactive, and to enable the most efficient use of the recruiting budget.

Q8 Have you ever been in a difficult agency/client relationship? If so, were you able to improve the situation? How?

There was a situation with a large client who had worked with us for a few years then had a new person come in to the decision maker role. That individual decided to make a switch and work with another agency, really just for the sake of change. I truly believe we had been doing an excellent job with this client. After working with the other agency for only two or three months, everyone in the client’s large recruiting team missed working with us and the level of service we provided. So things worked out well in the end, as we got this client back and they now have a better understanding of the quality of work we provide.  

Q9 Agency-side: What do you wish clients understood about agencies?

I would like clients to understand the amount of time involved in what we do. A client may see one concept mounted on a board and presented to them, but behind that one concept there are two to three weeks of work, involving competitive research, brainstorming, demographic research, doing research on the client and their website, refining ideas, copywriting, and so forth. Also, we provide a great deal of value added services for which we do not charge our clients; I think they are not always aware of that. Media research, reviewing best practices, attending industry conferences, analyzing recruiting opportunities and new technologies, providing layoff information, these are just a handful of examples of areas of expertise we provide to our clients.

Q10 How can agencies add value for clients?

A good agency adds tremendous value in many areas. We eat, drink and breathe recruitment advertising and employment communications, so we can be an outstanding consultative partner for our clients. We can help an organization with all aspects of internal or external employment communications – creative development, technology, strategy, metrics, you name it. If anything, I feel clients sometimes under-utilize us, as we have expertise in so many areas that they may overlook working with us on a given project.  

Q11 How can clients get the best out of their agencies?

In addition to the points I’ve mentioned previously, I would say let us know what works and what doesn’t. Providing good information to the agency will allow them to refine the tactics used to achieve the client’s goals. 

Q12 Have you noticed any recent trends in agency/client relationships?

More clients are utilizing, or at least exploring, a retainer based financial model.

Related Posts:
Adversarial Agency/Client Relationships
Partnership Agency/Client Relationships
Confused Agency/Client Relationships
Integrated Agency/Client Relationships
Imbalanced Agency/Client Relationships

Plasticine dreams

Brands are getting playful! The Feel Good Drinks Company is the latest brand to use plasticine figurines in their campaign. The smiling plasticine gnomes are presumably their brand ambassadors, bringing a message of, well, feeling good.

American Express UK used plasticine in a campaign to promote their Platinum Cash Back Card to illustrate to customers that they'd have more money to play with.

Green Thing used plasticine for it's launch a couple of years ago (full disclosure - I worked on the launch). Green Thing is a not-for-profit public service that inspires people to lead a greener life using creativity (and a bit of fun).

Finally, this March a "flashmob" of nearly 200 plasticine figures gathered outside of the Tate Modern gallery in London as a tribute to British TV artist Tony Hart.

 

 

Perhaps some feel-good fun is another recession-marketing trend?

Agency/Client Relationships: an interview with Lisa Cooper, Elisa Tucci Contemporary Art Gallery

Lisa Cooper is the next interviewee for the Friday series on agency/client relationships. She thinks agencies and clients are still looking for an integrated marketing model which works. Have you found one? 

Q1 Name

Lisa Cooper

Q2 Location

New York

Q3 Website
 
LinkedIn

Q4 Bio

Lisa has spent the last 20 years growing, evolving and innovating in the areas of online, direct and integrated marketing for some of the world’s leading consumer brands, including Mercedes-Benz, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, MCI and Rite Aid.

In her management roles, Lisa has leveraged all communications and media channels, from PR to Relationship Marketing to interactive and new media, to create innovative and award-winning campaigns that have generated greater awareness, interest and sales.  

Q5 Do you work on the agency side or client side?

I have worked on both the Agency and Client side.

Q6 What makes a good agency/client relationship?

Understanding each other's needs and bringing forth the best, most creative, strategically sound ideas to meet those needs. As a Client, you want to make sure the Agency makes you look good with great creative and strategic ideas. And especially, in today's world, you want to make sure that you're able to be accountable and see tangible results for the work. 

I also believe a great Agency relationship gives the Client ideas beyond just what they asked for. I think it's also important for an agency to take a client beyond the "comfort" zone - creatively and strategically.

Q7 What’s your best tip for building a good agency/client relationship?

Like any relationship, listening, responding and slowly step by step, building trust. There must be mutual trust and respect to make the relationship work at its highest level.

Q8 How can agencies add value for clients?

By continuing to stay attuned to new trends, insights and technologies and ensuring that these are brought forth on an ongoing basis to the Client. I think it's critical for the Agency to keep educating the Client.

Q9 How can clients get the best out of their agencies?

- By making sure they have strong, well-thought out input briefs at the beginning of any project.
- By listening to creative ideas and concepts that push the envelope.
- By thanking and acknowledging the Agency team for a project well-done.

Q10 Have you noticed any recent trends in agency/client relationships?

I believe both sides are still looking for an integrated marketing model which works. I think it is still challenging for traditional advertising (TV) to let digital or direct agencies take the creative lead. The bottom line is often impacted so it's challenging when multiple agencies are asked to work together in an integrated fashion.

Q11 Which past agency or client was the best to work with? (Past relationships only, please.)

I've experienced great Agency relationships with both Critical Mass (interactive) and Rapp Collins Worldwide (direct).

Related Posts:
Adversarial Agency/Client Relationships
Partnership Agency/Client Relationships
Confused Agency/Client Relationships
Integrated Agency/Client Relationships
Imbalanced Agency/Client Relationships

Analysis of free press release distribution sites

Over the past several months, we've tested out various free online press release distribution sites on behalf of some of our clients. Here's what we've found:

PR.com
We've had a good experience with this site; our releases have been approved and indexed on Google. Be sure to set up one account for each of your clients.

Free-Press-Release.com
We've also had success with this site; the releases post immediately and are indexed on Google. In addition, the site allows for certain formatting tags such as bold and italics (most sites don't offer this).

PRCompass.com
This site has a strict policy about what it will distribute, which is actually great if your release is accepted - it means more attention for your client. We sent a release for one client who won an industry award which was accepted, but another client who was announcing a new product line had their release rejected as too promotional. You can also include three pictures with your release at no charge.

24-7PressRelease.com
The site requires up to two days for approval and we had no trouble getting releases approved initially, but were told after submitting a recent release that they were "too busy" to review and approve it for free, but that they could make time if we paid $49. Another thing to note is that they require a physical mailing address which is publicly displayed; this can be awkward if you are an e-commerce entrepreneur working out of your home. Although they offer regional targeting, this is available for the U.S. only - they did not have any UK targeting.

General notes on free press release sites

The free sites generally don't let you include a live link to your site unless you pay an added fee. You are also limited in terms of formatting (even simple bolding etc.).My clients have reported an increase in traffic, they've had stories picked up by other sites/blogs and they've had sales as a direct result. However, if you have the budget to pay for a premium service such as PRWeb, I would recommend it over the free sites. (It's currently $140 per release at the "social media visibility" level.)

You can find a list of additional free online press release sites on Mashable. I have a few notes on some of the sites they've listed which may save you time:

• PRBuzz.com is no longer free (they charge $99).
• PRUrgent.com doesn't guarantee free distribution due to a large volume of submissions.
• PressMethod.com had terrible spelling and grammar on their site confirmation page.(In case that's important to you.)
• PRLeap.com is no longer free.
• PRLog.org - this site was full of bad links, including the "submit" link!