Over the last decade or two, there have been massive changes to the agency-client relationship. Remuneration models have changed, profiles of individuals who occupy roles in client-side marketing teams have evolved, and we’ve seen the influx of in-housing etc.
It can be argued that over the recent past, agencies haven’t moved at the same speed as our counterparts client-side have. At Talented, we want to be as fast as our clients. We want to attract clients that are into the type of work that we do. They will be brands with brave marketing teams that are ready to get in the dirt with us. When a client chooses Talented we want them to know that we are committed to putting the smartest & most creative people in the room to get their money's worth. Simply put, at Talented, we want to give our clients the best agency experience they’ve ever had.
In our line of work, every day, these marketing teams are choosing to be our client or not. Do not let a client relationship feel like a subscription you renew every year. A relationship by itself doesn’t secure a client anymore. Consistently delivering great work does. And the more we focus on the creative, the stronger our relationships will be.
At the same time, we want to be picky about the brands and clients we’re working with too. We’re currently in the privileged position to choose from 1 out of every 10 new client opportunities that come our way.
We will view every client as their own special snowflake with immense potential for our work to impact their organisation. There will be no one-size-fits-all team structures, cost proposals, or SOPs. While starting out with any new client, we will leave behind the baggage we may have courtesy of our experience with another client. In return, we will expect clients to not punish us courtesy of a bad experience they might have had with a previous agency. We promise to never think that ‘all clients are the same’ and expect our clients to believe ‘all agencies aren’t the same’.
We’re happy to be trusted blindly for creative quality, but we believe it’s important for every client to judge the aptitude of those working on their brand, first-hand. To this end, we encourage clients to request and view portfolios of our talent that we’re proposing for their mandate. We encourage passionate debate between core members of the team & the client during cases of disagreement (say, when we believe a particular talent is the right fit for a brand despite the client sensing an inadequacy in their portfolio).
We encourage clients to be vulnerable & to over-share. More news is always good news. We value good writing, so written briefs are loved, but we never say no to an inspiring conversation as a substitute. Even within conversations- some clients’ style of briefing might be suggesting solutions. Some prefer deeply articulating the problem. Great marketers come from different schools of thought. You’re encouraged to debate passionately & settle on a briefing process that works for both teams.