The two biggest complaints I have heard most often over the years from clients are that "all agencies are pretty much the same" and "agencies don't understand what we really need". They don't see much differentiation because (a) there isn't much, and (b) our points of difference aren't relevant to client needs. The March, 2010 issue of Fast Company profiles two agencies that have taken very different avenues to build relevant differences in their agencies that are paying off with big-time success.
Grey New York won 17 of 19 new business pitches in 2009, and operating profits were up 44%. Those are astounding numbers at a time when ad spending was down 11%, and industry insiders and media observers were chanting a collective "woe is me" mantra for our industry.
So how did they do it? Well, certainly their creative output was no slouch, with highly touted campaigns for E-Trade, BMW, DirecTV, Ketel One vodka and the NFL, among others. But two moves strike me as much more significant from a positioning point of view in new business.
First, the new chief creative officer, Tor Myhren, moved his entire creative team from elaborate, posh offices into a plain brown cubicles, signaling a dramatic change in how Grey would approach business both internally and externally. Second, Grey expanded their in-house production department, allowing it to produce TV and Web spots quickly and cheaply, rather than outsourcing.
These two changes in business philosophy aren't earth-shattering from an innovation standpoint (almost any agency could make similar changes tomorrow), but they are significant from a client's perspective. They demonstrate to clients that Grey understands their need for less fluff and more meat. Not to mention that clients want things faster and cheaper than ever, and if their current agency isn't listening to that cry for help, someone else will.
Partners & Napier, a mid-size shop headquartered in Rochester, NY, with offices in Atlanta and San Francisco has seen billings grow by 300% in the past five years. Several factors have contributed to this impressive growth pattern, but their most innovative move was to adapt their business model to their client's needs for cost control and demonstrated ROI rather than fighting it.
While the rest of the industry was bemoaning the rising influence of procurement departments at clients, and predicting the death of creativity in a business driven by costs, Partners & Napier responded to a client request by applying for and earning ISO 9000 certification. Through an intensive six-month study and documentation of all steps in the creative development process, they have adopted a Six Sigma-type approach to reduce inefficiencies in the creative development process.
The result has been a reduction in wasted time in all steps of the creative development process. A job that might have taken eight weeks can now be completed in three weeks, while saving the client approximately 40% and increasing productivity for the agency.
Chief creative officer Jeff Gabel says he likes the new system because it has given his team more time to create big ideas by reducing the important but "ancillary grunt work" leading to ideation. And CEO Sharon Napier likes it because they now have an innovative point of difference that is being used in win more new business.
Two approaches - one relatively simple to execute, the other more difficult but still doable with the right commitment and funding. Importantly, both demonstrate an understanding and willingness to respond to changing client demands.
And from a new business perspective, two new ways to create a point of difference for your agency that is relevant to current and potential clients! After all, we are in a service business, aren't we?
