PM360 February 2010

THINK TANK: Agency-Client Partnership Success

WHAT MAKES A GREAT RELATIONSHIP?
Chemistry. Fun. Trust. The ingredients for a hot partnership apply to the working relationships of agencies and clients, too. We asked both sides to give us their formula for success.

The opinions expressed by the authors in the Think Tank section are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of their affiliated companies or organizations.

Susan Willig
Senior Brand Manager
Critical Care and Vascular
Edwards Lifesciences
Susan_Willig@edwards.com

I have been on both the agency and client side of the business and know that like any relationship, the agency-client relationship requires honest and consistent communication, mutual respect, and chemistry. It is on these foundational elements that great strategy, powerful
campaigns, and market-moving ideas are built. Ultimately, as cliché as it sounds, the agency becomes an extension of the company with which they are working—providing vital and valuable creative perspective.

Honest and Consistent Communication
It is the responsibility of the client to adequately inform the agency—regarding the market, the customer, the products. In turn, it is integral that the agency know and understand the business in order to provide informed, relevant, and appropriate campaigns and not present ideas without substance or purpose. I never like to hear the rationale that “it is different” and therefore good; ultimately it’s most important to hear “it is meaningful to the customer for these reasons…”

Further, when something misses the objective or doesn’t meet expectations, it is the responsibility of the client to communicate why. Conversely, if the client has not provided adequate input or guidance, the agency should keep asking questions
until they get what they need.

Mutual Respect and Chemistry
Ultimately (and ideally) there will be times when the agency and client are debating a strategy, message, or value proposition. It is integral that each believe in the other’s capabilities as well as commitment to the business. Further, there will be many long hours spent together; chemistry helps make this productive, bearable, and even fun.

I should also state the obvious, and that is the agency should have sound and disciplined processes for strategy and campaign development—all of which center around what is best and most meaningful to the customer.

Bruce Nicoll
Chief Creative Strategist
Friday Morning
brucen@fridaymorning.com

Judging by work one sees in the journals and at award shows, there’s a strange paradox to many client-agency relationships. Has being too service-oriented lessened our ability to truly be of service? How many agencies can honestly say they care enough about an account to risk losing it? I believe that much of our industry’s best work never sees the light of day and we need to reformulate our relationships.
First, despite the high level of quality control (and, often, creativity) evident in promotional material, much of it does little to give physicians the information they need
to achieve better patient outcomes. These promotional elements are doubtless produced by hardworking, conscientious agencies and marketing personnel.
Tremendous effort was expended in the process, but it’s not evident on the page. So where did it go?

Second, while the quality thinking and deep insight that marketers urgently require is still available, clients have undermined their mechanism for procuring it. They’re
unwilling to invest in what it costs. Agencies learned that staying in budget is easier to do by just saying yes. When push-back, nuance, and time spent thinking is unwelcome
and expensive, it happens less, despite being so vital today because physicians actively distrust what pharma says. Most agencies are predominantly focused on overcoming the external barriers to brand success, i.e., the competition. But sometimes a client’s internal processes are more detrimental to articulation and expansion of their brand values than anything the competition is saying. The enemy is within. Can agencies facilitate getting everyone on the same page? We have a process designed to enhance the effectiveness and cohesion of clients’ internal team dynamics.
By aligning conflicting agendas around patient outcomes, we help the marketing department be more successful at getting powerful work approved in a risk-averse climate.

Katherine Maynard
Chief Operating Officer
Spectrum
Kmaynard@spectrumscience.com
Twitter @kmaynard_ssc

As someone who has been on the client and agency sides, I have learned that a productive collaborative partnership needs a foundation of mutual trust, openness, and ongoing communications. It’s easier said than done, but there are three principles both parties can follow for success. First, agency immersion. It’s imperative that the agency does a deep dive into the client’s business. This includes listening effectively, understanding their internal and external needs, challenges, and goals. Keeping up
with the client’s competition and market issues is also crucial. With thorough immersion, the agency can respond thoughtfully and counsel the client with evidence-based insights.

For the immersion to work, the client has to provide access to internal and external company resources, including other agencies in different disciplines. The agency should have access to people who can fully cooperate in giving appropriate information regarding policies, changes, or other areas that impact marketing success.

Second, aligned partnership. I emphasize aligned because if there’s no agreement between the agency and client on strategic and creative directions, success can be
elusive. To reach such a partnership, both parties should consistently communicate and engage in clear, thorough, and unbiased dialogue. Everyone involved should focus on
achieving agreed-upon goals, critical success factors, and measurement to deliver desired marketing results.

Third, mutual trust. This means that the client sees the agency as a trusted counselor, and expects it to play an integral role in the decision-making process. As a trusted counselor, the agency is unequivocally valued as a partner, not as a technical expert implementing programs.

As we continue to face a communications environment that is seemingly evolving on a daily basis, these fundamentals are critical—so that your agencies provide you not only compelling and relevant strategy but, even more important, ensure flawless execution regardless of the platform. At the end of the day, the power of a successful communications effort lies in connecting with and influencing the audiences you seek to reach—regardless of where they might reside.

Mike Myers
President
Palio an inVentiv Health Company
MMyers@palio.com
Twitter @mmyerspalio

What are the key elements of a successful partnership?
Here’s a list of my top 10; it’s my platform message on agency-client relationships.

• Trust If you don't trust your agency or client, your partnership will not work in the long run. Trust is critical.
• Sharing Without it, you'll collectively miss opportunities, overlook valuable insights, and never be able to help your brand get to the highest levels.
• Disagreement As George Patton said, “If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking.”
• Expertise Agencies and clients both need to recognize the strengths that each party brings. At times, we all need to defer to expertise that is not our own.
• Expectations Both parties need a mutual understanding. Take the time. Sit down with each other. Define mutual expectations. Define mutual desires. A little planning and time spent is all it takes to lay the groundwork for future success.
• Mistakes and Risks It’s OK to make mistakes and take risks. No one is perfect, and we shouldn't pretend to be.
• Research Use, don’t misuse research. And never do what David Ogilvy alludes to: “Most people use research in the same way a drunk uses a lamppost: for support rather than illumination.”
• Fun Have fun with each other. Advertising should be fun. Take time to make it enjoyable.
• Discomfort Be willing to scare yourself a little with ideas. Author Peter McWilliams said it well: “Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort.”
• Apply the Golden Rule Treat each other like you want to be treated. If you can’t or won’t, start planning for a new partner.

How can you produce market-moving ideas?
A little bit of luck and a lot of insight and effort built on a foundation of teamwork. It’s often said on the agency side, “Great work requires great clients.” Great clients enable us to work with them, not just for them.

The most important factor for a successful collaboration? A tough one. If I had to pick one, I’d say trust.

Frank X. Powers
President
Dudnyk
fpowers@dudnyk.com

Putting the Client First
Many of the most critical elements for a successful relationship in business are the same as they are in personal life. Mutual respect. Open communication. Shared risk. The best relationships we’ve experienced have been those in which the client trusts the agency to be a real partner: when the agency delivers what the client needs, bringing additional value beyond executing materials. It’s also important that the agency see itself as both the extension of the client’s marketing team, but also as an independent entity with enough backbone to provide media-neutral, objective recommendations and rationale. Dudnyk has been fortunate to have a number of these “great” relationships. Some, like Merck and AstraZeneca, have lasted well over a decade, and some, like AMAG Pharmaceuticals are more recent. Part of the secret is having shared expectations on each side; but just as important is that we don’t believe we’ve fulfilled
our part of the relationship unless we’re exceeding those expectations, overdelivering on our promises.

The Most Important Factor in a Successful Partnership?
Mutual understanding. And what is that, exactly? Sharing expectations up front before situations arise that test the relationship. Agreeing what success looks like—achieving a
common vocabulary—goes a long way toward aligning expectations and creating a relationship where the client and the agency have a mutual understanding of each other’s strengths and value.

6 Factors for Producing Market-Moving Ideas
Once an open empowering relationship is in place, the agency can explore potentially market-moving ideas in an atmosphere that encourages thinking beyond the usual without fear of failure.

Six factors in an agency-client relationship where market-moving ideas can emerge:

1. A mutual desire for the relationship to succeed
2. Clarity on roles and goals
3. Matching of experience and competencies
4. Commitment to honesty and transparency
5. Willingness to listen
6. A desire to truly understand each other’s ideas

Phil Deschamps
President and CEO
GSW Worldwide
pdeschamps@gsw-w.com

Successful agency-client partnerships can be achieved only when the partners contribute complementary rather than duplicating expertise. The traditional agency-client relationship often produces a 1+1= 1⁄2 result. The basis for my conclusion is because when both the client and the agency staff have accountability for a given project, they duplicate their efforts, roles, and leadership in completing the project, thus greatly reducing their efficiency. This leads to repeated and predictable comments such as “I want the logo bigger” or “could you change the website color to chart reuse.” Compare this process to giving greater accountability to the agency to produce a project because, as the client partner, you trust they have the expertise to produce it. Once the client briefs the agency, performance metrics are set and the agency begins to execute the strategy. Ten days later the client has a project completed on time and on budget which likely communicates the strategy better than if the project was micromanaged. In the meantime, product managers now have time to spend with their
customers, discover new insights, and read up on the latest marketing trends. That kind of complementary and synergistic partnership yields to an outcome of 1+1= at least 3.

This is a cut above 90% of the agency-client relationships that exist today. Through creating deeper agency-client partnerships, pharma marketers can more effectively do their jobs rather than waste time being project managers. It also allows them to create new ideas that spur the growth of the brand. Becoming more connected empowers the agency through accountability and motivates the agency team to feel they contribute significantly to the overall commercialization of the product or service. The result is one team (part fixed cost, part variable cost) assembled to manage the brand. Each agency team is customized based on the needs and skills of the product management team and the product's marketing needs. Imagine the possibilities when the agency account
director feels indispensable or the brand manager feels like they actually have time to market their products. What a novel concept.

Sander A. Flaum
CEO, Managing Partner
Flaum Partners
sflaum@flaumpartners.com

On the agency-client partnership issues—having been a client for 18 years and a service person as CEO of EuroRSCG Becker for 15 years—I can, with confidence, suggest that a strong and lasting partnership is built out of a passion to drive the client’s product beyond her or his expectations.

It’s not about winning another creative award or having MM&M name your company the most creative, no, no… it’s about finding the strategies and tactics to move that product forward and keep the momentum going to keep your client happy.

To do this, you need great, not just good, strategic thinkers who study and understand the landscape around the brand and its competitors. Can they do a war games exercise to outdo their opposition? What’s their payer plan? Is there a HECON plan, and what are the social networking strategy and tactics?

Partnerships move forward and build based on performance. Partnerships break up because the provider forgets the infamous WIIFM (what’s in it for me?). Make the client look good and stay focused.

Ken Ribotsky
Chief Executive Officer
The Core Nation
Ken.r@thecorenation.com

Successful Agency-Client Collaboration
I can’t stress enough how important open communication between the two teams is. Not only must agencies ensure their clients know what state their projects are in, clients
must ensure their agency contacts have all the information they need, to be as helpful as possible. Agencies need to truly understand the environment that their clients work within, so they can help them navigate the corporate waters and deliver what clients need to grow their brands. Managing expectations is also key in a successful relationship. Occasionally, things do not go as planned. Keeping all team members in the loop helps everyone manage their respective stakeholders and alter plans as needed. Truly being all on the same team, sharing the good news as well as the bad, is best practice.

Producing Market-Moving Ideas
Market-moving ideas result from both parties making a commitment to planning. Too often, the planning process becomes a chore that no one wants to do. It becomes more
about the process than about discovery and innovation. We believe in having a clear plan to work from, but also in continually investigating what is possible for the brand,
making adjustments along the way, as needed. To do this properly requires an open mind. Market-moving ideas involve breaking new ground, but new ground is hard to break within organizations that don’t allow for experimentation or that punish failure. You need to take risks in order to have a really great win.

The Critical Factor for a Successful Partnership
We believe it is directly linked to the culture of the agency. The team needs to be completely engaged in their client’s brand, to treat it as their own. It requires an obsessive-compulsive streak, but that’s what pushes us to be creative and solve problems in a different way. It’s also what fuels our constant pursuit of greatness.

Bruce Lehman
President and CEO
LehmanMillet
bruce_lehman@millet.com

I did a very informal poll of agency people to see what we would find as the critical element for successful agency-client partnerships. Trust was the No. 1 response. This
should not be a surprise to any of us in the agency business. Our clients entrust us with their brands, their business, in many cases, with the opportunity to dramatically impact
their professional careers, and, in all cases, with their personal reputations. If they find themselves questioning the wisdom or appropriateness of their choice, they have
sleepless nights ahead.

On the agency side, psychologists tell us that sharing one’s vulnerability is both a risk and a cornerstone in any healthy, productive relationship. When agency people put
work on the table, they are putting themselves out there, opening themselves up to criticism, comments, compliments. The profession is not for the faint of heart. Trust
keeps the interaction professional and not personal: It keeps the focus on the work, and what is best for the brand.

After running an agency for over 30 years, I would answer Trust, too. Great relationships produce great work. That comes from honest, intense collaboration, collaboration which champions risk-taking and a steely-eyed focus on what’s best for the brand. You will never collaborate effectively without trust.

How do you get to market-moving ideas? With apologies to Ernest Shackleton: You have to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. It is when you are uncomfortable that true learning begins. And with apologies to my favorite creative director: You have to know the rules so that you can break them.

So start with your client’s customer: Understand her needs and wants and work back to your brand. The messaging will emerge, the delivery mechanisms unfold.

Robin Jolliffe
Director and Head of Global Marketing
Cell Therapy and Regenerative
Medicine
Genzyme Biosurgery
robin.jolliffe@genzyme.com

Critical for successful agency-client collaboration is establishing a clear strategic vision early on with all agency personnel dedicated to your brand. Establishing the brand’s strategy, history, and key priorities early on with all agency members that will touch the brand lays the important foundational knowledge, aligns projects to the critical success
factors for the brand, and helps spark motivation across the entire team. Doing so gives everyone from the account team, creative, copy, and production not only a clear understanding of what the client wants to achieve but also allows the team to feel connected and informed at a critical time in the partnership.

The best agency-client partnerships that produce market-moving ideas are ones with an appropriate and productive level of creative tension. The goal of a good agency should be to push the envelope and generate ideas that are truly innovative, regardless of whether they make the client feel a bit uncomfortable. While always grounded in the strategic vision of the brand, in order to change, true innovation must occur.

There’s no single factor that makes an agency-client partnership successful except to take the approach that this relationship is really no different than any other relationship for a successful team. Communication, collaboration, and recognition are all critical components of developing a long-lasting, successful partnership. Open and honest communication is vital to ensure alignment. Open communication and addressing bumps in the road is critical. Communication is vital to ensure that the brand vision is clearly translated by the client to client services and from client services to creative. A
collaborative approach builds successful teamwork and acts as a motivator. The best relationships are where both the client and the agency feel accountable to the brand’s successes and failures and are recognized for their efforts.

Louisa Holland
Co-CEO, the Americas
Sudler & Hennessey
Louisa.Holland@sudler.com

Let’s be honest: As cliché as it sounds, building a successful agency-client partnership requires the same elements as a good personal relationship. Trust, honesty, and open communication are the critical cornerstones of a solid friendship, and it should be no surprise that they are also the foundation of a good agency-client partnership. This may
seem counterintuitive to those who see agencies in the purely service role of “vendor.” What clients need to understand is that agencies share the same goals as their clients: Agencies do well when their clients flourish. So helping our clients’ brands to grow is the ultimate goal of everything we do. In short, we’re on your side!

When clients and agencies work together in a truly open and inclusive relationship—with real emphasis on collaboration and sharing of ideas and information—then agencies can provide their clients with the biggest ideas and the best work. Work that moves brands and builds markets.

When the relationship is not strong, communication tends to suffer as well. When clients critique an agency, they often rely on the generalization that the team is “not
strategic enough.” I find this is usually code for poor communication. It might mean there’s a weak team member or an uncomfortable fit. Yet the relationship isn’t strong enough to be more specific about the problem. It would be much more productive to have a candid discussion about the problem, and allow the agency an opportunity to make any necessary changes. Again, like any relationship, this can be uncomfortable, but more likely to lead to long-term success.

The best partnerships produce market-moving ideas because they foster the broadest thinking. When an agency is welcomed as a partner on the client team, information is shared, and there is a safe space to think and experiment without fear of failure or boundaries, then a good agency will be able to deliver its best work. Like any relationship, it takes time, effort, and a real commitment to build this kind of productive and strong partnership. But the results can be so rewarding!

Jay H. Bolling
President and CEO
Roska Healthcare Advertising
jbolling@roskahealthcare.com

Same Team + Trust = Success
The answer to the perennial question of how to achieve great agency-client relationships is simple: TRUST. Without it, the blame game takes over. Information is hoarded instead of shared. Excuses crowd out excellence, and each side views the
other with a dose of suspicion. Instead of allies, agencies and clients are friendly (most of the time) antagonists.

So what does it take to develop trust and achieve successful agency-client relationships?

Mutual respect of opinions in all aspects of the business
Operational and financial transparency
Pride of ownership for the end result
Shared passion for success
Unlimited dedication toward getting it “right”
A sense of urgency toward achieving goals

It also requires full engagement on both sides. The agency needs to care about the clients’ business as much as the client does. And clients must treat their account team as partners—equally dedicated to building the brand. That requires free flow of information and complete abandonment of the pervasive “CYA” mindset that sabotages the seeds of trust.

When clients and their agencies truly recognize that they are on the same team and are much stronger when working together than when they are apart, trust grows. Instead of players wasting their energy guarding their flanks and looking behind them, all eyes stay focused on moving forward and achieving the client’s goals for their brand. The likelihood of successfully generating and executing market-moving ideas is increased exponentially when all the players are operating with a “same team” mentality. They are empowered to forge ahead together with trust, confidence, respect, and a passion for excellence. The path to victory is far more engaging and rewarding for all when working together bound by trust and fueled by a common desire to succeed.

Eric R. Sjogren, MS, MBA, RPh
Associate Director
Global Marketing Communications
Merck & Co.
eric_sjogren@merck.com

Having worked over the years on both sides of the business, I've witnessed the client-agency relationship evolve from a creative partnership driven by strategy to a strategic partnership that delivers creatively. It is no longer enough for an agency to deliver brilliant breakthrough creative or for a client to have a monolithic blockbuster that overshadows an entire class. Like the pharma business environment, the client-agency partnership is changing—quickly, constantly, unpredictably, and globally. To move markets, the best client-agency partnerships have to do one thing and do it well—execute strategy creatively and at the speed of business. Today, clients and agencies must do more than produce a killer ad or an award-winning campaign; they must also understand increasingly complex disease states, unique mechanisms of actions, new communication technologies, increased regulatory and reimbursement requirements, globalization, and emerging markets (although one could argue that all markets are constantly emerging). Agencies also have increased and shared accountability for the client's business results. Therefore, clients and agencies that embrace, plan, and anticipate these challenges can achieve success. By developing effective ideas and strategies together, they not only can move markets, they can shape them as well.

As both clients and agencies navigate an increasingly Byzantine labyrinth of policies, process, and politics, communication—which we have striven through the years to
perfect—remains critical to our partnership. Now, more than ever, our communication must be more open, honest, timely, respectful, and accurate than ever before. Sure, clients still have to provide business-critical strategy that is based on in-depth global market understanding. Of course, agencies still must provide great tactics (creatively and uniquely executed) that cut through the market noise. But we need to remember that, inevitably, everything we do impacts patient care. Good client-agency communication, then, eventually leads to better patient and provider communication—perhaps even between you and your doctor.