We’ve been introducing brands and marketers to agencies for more than a decade, which means we know all about the challenges of finding the right team, building a relationship and making great work together.
AUFI Guides is a series of creative manuals, designed to help with whatever stage of the process you’re at – whether you’re working out the business challenge, preparing your brief, assessing an agency shortlist, or in the middle of a project.
Here, we share step-by-step advice from the AUFI network on how to build a rock-solid relationship with your agency – from setting goals and establishing communication to delivering difficult feedback.
Why is it important?
It’s easy to get caught up on the workaday details of a new agency relationship – do they fit the budget? Can they meet the deadline? Have they got the required skill set? None of those address an arguably more important point: is there great chemistry?
“A shared mindset is by far the most important thing; it’s how we work, how we talk about the work with people, how they respond to it, and whether we’re going to be able to do great work with them. It’s more important than the brief, more important than what category the client’s in or what scale they’re at. All of those things matter to a degree, but the most important thing is that both parties are on the same page in terms of values, ambition and what we’re trying to do together.” – Max Ottignon, founder, Ragged Edge
“You can’t do anything bold if you don’t trust the partner and you don’t have that great relationship. For us, it’s fundamental. What’s your shared vision for what this brand can meaningfully achieve in the world? Do you like each other enough to have a beer at an airport, or look each other in the eye and talk about decisions not being brave enough? With our clients we like to be a partner, and not a vendor.” – Kelli Robertson, co-founder, Hyphenated
“When a relationship is shaky, the ultimate impact on creative work is that, at some level, everyone will be dissatisfied with it. The client will feel that you’re not engaged with what they’re asking you to do, and the agency will be like, ‘They’re asking me this thing again’. Great relationships mean the agency isn’t just executing – they’re thinking and engaging, and their heart is in it. Every time I’ve had a client relationship that wasn’t amazing, it was ultimately because I was just an executor.” – Nikita Walia, founder, Blank
Don’t start with a free pitch
Founders and marketers are, understandably, worried about making the right decision. However asking an agency to deliver fully formed ideas, for free, can be misleading, and start a potential relationship off on the wrong foot.
“We personally don’t pitch for free. We’ll do written proposals, but there’s no big ideas or strategy being shared – I think if you’ve done all this work for someone, and they haven’t compensated you for it, it starts a relationship on an uneven keel. It’s essentially saying to an agency that you don’t value them enough to pay for work. And obviously in other businesses you might have a 15-minute consult or conversation, but you’d never go through a whole personal training session or haircut and not pay for it. Think about it in the context of any other industry, and you’ll realise how weird it is to ask an agency to work for free.” – Nikita Walia, founder, Blank
“It’s about getting the right format and starting off on the right foot. When you start with free pitching, you’re asking an agency to make something a client will like without knowing much about them. They’re working in the dark, with a blindfold. But it also sets the relationship and that’s not the start of a successful relationship in any context. We’re trying to build something together, and giving away free creative work is not that.” – Max Ottignon, founder, Ragged Edge
“When we get approached by clients that have already decided the rules, the boundaries and the fast stops, we’re limited in what we’re capable of doing.”
Alex Tan – co-founder, Mouthwash
Embrace the possibilities
Clients are usually working towards a specific brief, but getting the best out of an agency means remaining open to what can be achieved together. Partnerships thrive when brands are prepared to be a little less prescriptive and a little more open-minded.
“What we’re looking for is people who care less about what is, and more about what could be. They’re ‘yes, and?’ people who can build on ideas, rather than people who will tell you why something won’t work. One creates possibility and one closes down possibility. The type of work we set ourselves up to do is bold and different, and we can’t do that work if we’ve got someone that’s trying to shut down options the whole time.” – Max Ottignon, founder, Ragged Edge
“Instead of saying something like, ‘For us to get the best work done we need x, y and z’, really talk about the result you’re trying to produce. Clients and agencies are all trying to do great work, go home and be proud of what they’re making. Ladder up that set of questions to get both sides charged up about being on the same team, and enjoying the time they spend working together. I think that really sets the stage for a great creative relationship.” – Nikita Walia, founder, Blank
“When we get approached by clients that have already decided the rules, the boundaries and the fast stops, we’re limited in what we’re capable of doing. If there’s a big problem we have to solve together, we need to be open to considering all options to get there.” – Alex Tan, co-founder, Mouthwash
“Being able to have those conversations – whether it’s a one-weekly status update, or some sort of quarterly debrief about what went well and what didn’t – and creating time for conversation is what sets the stage for great relationships.”
Nikita Walia – founder, Blank
Foster honesty and transparency
Great work requires great communication. Clients need to be clear about their own expectations and ambitions, and create a situation where both sides can chat about those goals openly and honestly.
“Make sure all the information is exchanged, processes are set, expectations and deliverables are clear – that’s the basics. There’s also transparency about what has and hasn’t worked and what the client’s looking for. It goes back to having conversations about what you want to achieve when you get up every day, and understanding each other as humans and how that translates. It’s an exchange and an openness, as well as level-setting early on about what you’re going to achieve and how you’re going to work together.” – Kelli Robertson, partner, Hyphenated
“My advice, for both sides, is to be as honest and transparent with each other as possible. I’d rather tell somebody something isn’t a great decision, than keep the business and keep my mouth shut. Over time, that really builds respect on both sides and people can see you care about doing right by them and their brand. Being able to have those conversations – whether it’s a one-weekly status update, or some sort of quarterly debrief about what went well and what didn’t – and creating time for conversation is what sets the stage for great relationships.” – Nikita Walia, founder, Blank
“If you’re going to hire someone for the quality of their work, you need to let them do the thing that gets them to that work.”
Max Ottignon – founder, Ragged Edge
Focus on collaboration, not control
Once expectations are set, and trust has been established, agencies need space and time to do what they do best. The best clients take a step back and allow the creative team to take the lead.
“We want someone who wants to be involved in the process, but not control it. Micromanaging is a really bad way to engage an agency – you need to let them do things the way that they do things. If you’re going to hire someone for the quality of their work, you need to let them do the thing that gets them to that work.” – Max Ottignon, founder, Ragged Edge
“Great creative work does take time; you have to trust us. In the same way that you go to a lawyer to ask for legal advice, or a doctor for medical advice, if you come to a creative agency you’re asking for creative advice from experts and professionals in this industry. And we really do deserve and require the same level of respect in our craft as any other professional.” – Madison Utendahl, founder, Utendahl
Frame your feedback
Differences of opinion are a normal part of the creative process, and understanding how to link constructive criticism back to the brand’s ambitions - rather than personal opinion - can result in more productive feedback sessions.
“It’s difficult for a client to say to an agency, ‘OK, I’m not sure I’m really agreeing with what you’ve brought to me’ or ‘Something’s not quite fitting’. It’s about handling those conversations in a way that’s productive and doesn't make the agency or client feel bad. I think it should be a conversation that’s had in real life or through Zoom, verbally. It’s about having a conversation to discuss how both sides can get the results they want, and really underscoring that they’re both there in pursuit of the same goal to make sure conversations go well and are respectful.” - Nikita Walia, founder, Blank
“Take the subjectivity out of it. Find the business, brand or organisational reason that something doesn’t work, so it’s about the work rather than a personal issue. If you keep it about the work and the impact of the work, you can be pretty blunt and straightforward, because it’s not personal. If the relationship is set and you have that trust built, it’s an honest conversation about the brand and business, and the work that will achieve results.” - Alex Tan, co-founder, Mouthwash
“What works best is getting people to focus on things they like. If you find the stuff you love and build on that, it works wonders. And it changes the character of the conversation. In an hour-long presentation you can always find something you like, and concentrating on that builds momentum and conviction. You get to shared trust and understanding, and that means the relationship can withstand tricky conversations.” – Max Ottignon, founder, Ragged Edge
“Typically it’s about having really honest conversations that are rooted in solving the problem. Set up the critique so there’s an understanding of what’s useful and what’s not, and provide guidelines around that. And if a critique doesn’t make sense, or an agency doesn’t fully understand it, they’ll keep on enquiring until they get to what the real root of the issue is.” – Tori Baisden, partner and Creative Director, Utendahl
