11 Ways Agencies Can (and Should!) Partner
In today’s digital-first, always-on era, many brands hire multiple, specialized agencies, as well as cultivate and grow their own creatives in-house. These teams are responsible for everything from daily social media posts to offline experiences.
With almost all of our clients, we act as key members of this larger agency network, and as an extension of the client’s in-house team. We agencies bring multi-industry best practices and fresh thinking, while our client internal teams help us learn the brand language so we can make magic happen together.
So — how do you navigate? Here are 11 ways for agencies to successfully work with one another and with in-house creatives.
Build partnership into your proposal. If you know your prospective client has enthusiastic creatives and agency partners, assure them that you’ll happily act as an extension of their teams. Mention specific team members or roles in your proposal and get specific about your intentions as partners instead of making generalizations.
Get to know your new peeps. You’re much less threatening when you aren’t just an email address. Establishing a more personal connection means you’ll have better results when asking for something. The moment your MSA is signed, get busy figuring out who does what. You’ll want to get your hands on a spreadsheet with names, titles, roles and contact info (and if this doesn’t exist, be a leader and create it with their blessing). Then, call your contacts and introduce yourself. This is an investment, and it will pay off in the long term.
Kick-off with an energetic workshop. A face-to-face confab is a great opportunity to find talent, get alignment, and win project champions. In this workshop, you can confirm goals, develop a RACI, excavate client knowledge and documents, brainstorm audience needs, map out sample user journeys, etc. Don’t be afraid to lean into each other’s strengths in this moment.
Create cloud-based project plans and updates. Find a method that is easily accessed by ALL client and agency stakeholders so you can surface opportunities for client teams to weigh in and contribute ongoing. Our faves are simple but tried and true: Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Slack.
Tap into their expertise. Every engagement starts with a plan, and this usually includes discovery. Any agency who has been there longer than you, however small the window, knows something about the client that you don’t. Be curious. Ask your client creatives and fellow agencies for insight into what they’re doing, study all the decks that you can, absorb information about personalities in a way that doesn’t encourage gossip. Start by asking, “What is ______’s work style? How do you work best with them? Is there anything for me to consider?”
Coordinate like crazy. As you develop your strategy and implementation plan, determine how you can connect the agency dots. As warranted, set up or attend existing daily standups, weekly check-ins, monthly stepbacks and quarterly reviews. Be friendly on calls and contribute to the conversation with emotional intelligence. Your client will see and appreciate how ideas blossom, along with the economies that occur, when everyone collaborates.
Create (or dive into) a transparent process. Most clients want visibility. Who is talking to whom? Where does your content stand in the overall workflow? Why are you making the content decisions you’re making? Send out a vetted agenda before each meeting (complete with everyone’s input), take notes during calls in a shared Google doc and develop takeaways with a clear division of labor once decisions are made.
Co-create co-create co-create. Whenever possible, work directly with the other agencies and in-house creatives to weigh in, add to, or help evolve the work. We’ve found, consistently, that our clients love to participate in works-in-progress. Plus, insider perspectives can add immeasurably to the work’s impact.
Collaborate on reporting. Know what reports are being generated and where they’re being distributed. Are there a gazillion reports? What format are they in? Can you work with the various agencies and internal stakeholders to corral them? Work together, wherever possible, to build a dashboard that gathers and interprets data in a way that’s visual, useful and clean. Do all of this, and do it consistently.
Celebrate with acknowledgment. If a member of another team participates in the work, ensure they get credit for their contributions. This helps everyone feel a sense of ownership and pride in the work, driving all to a successful long-term partnership.
Focus on the good. When others don’t play nice, focus on those who do. Your work, as well as your collaborative spirit, will propel you forward, and your collective work will be all the better for it
By blending resources with intention, we find efficiencies, help eliminate redundancies, and make everyone’s job more purposeful and delightful. And best yet, we build longstanding trust and relationships with our clients — and their entire teams.
