When you leave conversation out of the process, nobody wins.
Over the years we've explored, tried, then tested countless processes and systems to get to creative strategic nirvana. Today we're comfortable with the one process that works for us. And, although we'll always keep challenging the system, time has made us wiser owls, aware that it's only through engaging our clients in deep meaningful discussions do we find ourselves in the position to craft the right solutions that make sense for the brand.
It's dead simple really: we're experts in our industry and the client is an expert in theirs. Keep either project partner out of the collaboration and you risk landing well-presented ideas that don’t actually solve the strategic issue at hand.
As creative experts, agencies on the receiving end of a request for proposal (RFP) can make any idea look and sound good, even more if we believe it is the right idea. But that doesn’t necessarily make our idea, the right idea.
And that doesn’t make it easy for a client to choose the right brand solution. To elaborate further: most pitches fall short from asking the right strategic questions, and most creative agencies are not in a position to challenge back without risking losing the pitch altogether on the basis of submitting a proposal that might be out of scope.
Pitching is an expensive habit and somebody needs to pay that price. In the long run, that is always the customer. So, does that mean we won’t submit any more RFPs? That we won’t enter into any further design competitions? The answer is bigger than the questions being asked. But we will avoid most.
Nowadays, most clients know how expensive bad ideas can be. And most of the smart brand owners know that, in order to get the best out of their agency, they need to invest in building meaningful relationships. At BRND WGN we are chasing those same meaningful relationships, for the love of brands.
