During a crisis, create a "mission control" with key agency partners. This "cabinet mentality" reframes the problem as a unified political campaign with a common enemy, fostering collective ownership and generating cross-disciplinary solutions.
When a campaign underperforms, the client's response defines the relationship. Instead of assigning blame, publicly supporting the agency team builds immense loyalty, retains critical learnings, and reinforces that you win and lose together.
An agency's failure is often a symptom of the client's failure to provide necessary tools, context, or access. Before replacing a partner, audit the conditions you've created for their success, such as providing a basic marketing calendar or strategic context.
Operate in a "borderless condition" by inviting agency partners to internal events like town halls and holiday parties. This deep integration treats them as true team members, not service providers, giving them invaluable business context and fostering ownership.
Starting with smaller, emerging agencies and scaling with them creates a powerful win-win dynamic where 'my win is your win'. This shared journey of growth fosters deep loyalty and an integrated partnership that is difficult to achieve with large, established vendors.
Data covering a 10-year period shows that brands with consistent agency relationships produce better creative and achieve a higher ROI year-over-year. Frequently changing agencies forces a reset to 'base camp', causing performance to flatline.