Working together: design and media get more mileage.
By The Team 13 Feb 2009.
0 comments
Working together we turbocharged the whole process.
In an economic downturn, marketing campaigns must work smarter and harder, within tighter budgets. Clients are looking to go a long, long way with less in the tank.
Just last week I was planning media options for the upcoming launch of the new Gas Safe Register – my brief is to achieve maximum public impact for minimum spend. I relocated within the office to sit with the creative team to freely workshop, evaluate and rapidly progress ideas. We brought our experience and insight, from our particular areas, and working together we turbocharged the whole process.
We planned it that way
It’s not down to luck that the Team has created an environment that allows us to challenge, create and respond to marketing briefs in this way. We planned it. Looking back, it is clear to me we could not have achieved as much, as quickly (and cost-effectively!) has we not worked under the same roof.
It amazes me that so many agencies choose not to operate this way. Clients’ focus is overall campaign effectiveness. That’s how we’re judged. So why separate the media planning out from the creative process? It’s like taking the engine out of a car – it still looks like a car, but it’s unlikely to take you where you want to go.
Clients’ interests drive the process
Clients miss out when they use separate agencies, or agencies that actively split creative and media. Distractions such as the desire to ring-fence budgets and protect campaign ownership means they may fail to identify (or neglect to pass on) the best opportunity for their client. However, bringing the two together aligns interests and creates a synergy of ideas.
Some media agencies are separating online from offline. Again why? It doesn’t help anyone when the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing. I heard from one client about their experience with a media agency whose offline account managers remove the slides from their presentations relating to their online business. The reason – their reputation was affecting other parts of the business. Hardly joined-up media thinking, let alone creative involvement.
It’s always a challenge to persuade, impress and deliver for clients and their customers. The long-term success of our client relationships relies on us putting their interests ahead of all else, and reliably delivering effective solutions. It’s a long road, and a particularly bumpy one just at the moment, but you’ll get much better mileage from creative and media consultants who work together.
If you'd like to know more, please contact alistairgammell@theteam.co.uk
