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Hilary Meacham

Good marriages succeed because both parties want it to work and they nurture the partnership to keep it fresh and rewarding. Parallels with client/agency relationships are legion but sometimes it can seem as though clients are from Mars and PR consultancies are from Venus.

Each enters into the relationship with good intentions but, unless both parties fully understand upfront what those intentions are, the chances of a long-term healthy, successful relationship are slim. Lack of clarity is not intended, but can cause irreparable damage.

AAR’s business director Alex Young says that her organisation identified three key characteristics of positive client/agency partnerships: “When clear expectations have been set, when roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and, possibly the most important, when both sides listen to one another.”

Another well-known ‘marriage broker’, Steve Antoniewicz, managing director of Recommended Agency Register, spells out the importance of communication clearly: “If both parties are completely honest and open from the outset then a partnership will have a far greater chance of success. If not then tensions start to appear very quickly. Clients, you need to be honest and realistic with agencies (and with yourselves) about your expectations, your objectives and your budgets. Agencies, you need to be straight about your experience, resources, what you can deliver and, of course, the price!”

Traci Dunne, consultancy manager at advertiser representative body ISBA, advocates “truly open lines of communication with regular 360° relationship evaluation.  This requires bravery on both sides to be honest about the direction a campaign is going and the behaviour within the relationship, or to push back on bad habits.  It’s all about working as a partnership, rather than taking a parent and child approach.”

This need for genuine collaboration comes through clearly from the client fraternity too. Eileen Livingston, marketing controller, Courvoisier and Imported Whiskeys at Maxxium UK says, “I believe that mutual respect, brand understanding and passion are fundamental, as well as a desire to be seen less as client and agency and more as genuinely one team working together to drive brand success.”

Nicky Wheeler, fair director for The Affordable Art Fair agrees that “it’s all about working together as a team where everyone has a genuine interest in the space and a strong understanding of the business goals,  with ideas, problems and – most importantly – successes shared”.

The true test of any relationship is the ability to talk about even the most difficult of subjects.  Where PR is concerned, one of the most commonly-encountered elephants in the room is a lack of understanding about public relations among many marketing professionals.  This is compounded by a tendency for agencies to use jargon or make assumptions to avoid embarrassing the client or themselves.

As Traci Dunne observes, it’s essential to acknowledge the issue and address knowledge gaps if a campaign is to be effective and measureable. “I have found  with PR that clients can sometimes only have a basic understanding of how it works and what it can do.  Agencies should take the time to evaluate the level of their clients’ PR understanding and try to enhance their knowledge so appropriate targets and objectives can be set.  This will provide a platform for measurement and evaluation.”

There is much that agencies and clients can learn from one another and all parties seem to agree that honesty and open dialogue from the very first contact are essential for success.  In conjunction with our clients and team, we’ve put together ten golden ingredients for a happy, productive collaboration between consultancy and client:

1. Form a partnership as business equals
2. Respect each other’s expertise
3. Have both sides listening
4. Include the consultancy within the client team
5. Ensure both parties share information, facts and expectations from day one (product immersion sessions, agreement on liaison, copy and budget authorisation, reporting and evaluation etc)
6. Be brave, or be safe, but be clear which
7. Be honest about every component, especially budget
8. If the client is less experienced in PR, no problem, as long as they are open to learning
9. A written brief with defined KPIs and budget is essential for a professional, worthwhile dialogue
10. Be fair to each other (ultimately you’re on the same team)

Over half of Focus PR’s total fee income comes from clients with whom we have worked in happy, rewarding and mutually profitable relationships for five years or more.  Tells you something.

Hilary Meacham, managing director, Focus PR

First published in Marketing magazine, 12 October 2011