BROADCASTS.com

b'
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t
\\n\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\t\\tEver wondered about what it would be like to be in an arranged marriage?\\xa0Negotiating to be chosen to receive your partner\\u2019s dowry?\\xa0Hoping that you may actually come to like each other?\\xa0Well, that\\u2019s pretty much what the new business process is like.\\xa0After flirting with one another throughout the pitch process, suddenly, there we are. No one quite sure how it\\u2019s all going to work out. Uncomfortably wondering what\\u2019s next.\\xa0Unlike an arranged marriage, however, we don\\u2019t get a lifetime to figure it out.We have work to do, immediately. It\\u2019s pretty much sink or swim.\\xa0Maybe we need to sign a pre-nup.\\xa0At least some sort of mutually agreed upon Rules of Engagement.\\xa0Welcome to Episode 47 of Navigating the Fustercluck\\u2014a podcast full of snackable insights to help you navigate the detour-laden world of creativity & marketing.\\xa0My name is Wegs, like eggs with a W, joining you from Deaf Mule Studios in Dallas, where we\\u2019re going to look at client/agency relationships, which all too often turn into relationshipwrecks. The question is why?\\xa0It starts when we get so wound up about winning over prospects and winning their business, that we just hope and wing it when it comes to how we\\u2019ll actually work together.\\xa0Neither party wants to overshare and reveal things that may become a deal breaker. We convince ourselves that we can work out whatever speed bumps come our way. But that\\u2019s not always the case. We\\u2019d all be better off if we were honest with one another right from the gitgo.\\xa0Which only begs the question, what should those Rules of Engagement look like?\\xa0The following are some possible examples.\\xa0Client Briefings\\xa0Some clients are taking back the briefing process. And they\\u2019re excellent at it.Some struggle to share a document that works. Yet we do nothing about it.Even when the work suffers.\\xa0What can we do about it? What if we talk beforehand. Agreeing on the main points before the client brief becomes the primary blueprint for the work. You can\\u2019t count on the agency brief to smooth over all the rough spots.\\xa0Can client and agency strategy people learn from writing groups? Trading versions back-and-forth until their thinking is polished?\\xa0Also, to make sure that ample time is given to the work, that client brief has to arrive asap.\\xa0Collaboration\\xa0Most agencies try to keep their clients\\u2019 eyes off the work as long as possible, even though according to an AMA conference I attended, it\\u2019s proven that more rounds of feedback add to the work more than extra time to create. Personally, I like an tissue session or two early in the process, then more unadulterated time afterwards to grow those directions. It\\u2019s when you hold off on feedback that you\\u2019re more likely to miss the boat.\\xa0Work upfront to determine a feedback process, write it down and uphold it.\\xa0Rules of Engagement are a joke if you don\\u2019t take them seriously.Creative Development\\xa0Due to an accumulation of unofficial \\u201crules\\u201d, the work often stagnates withdo\\u2019s & don\\u2019ts based more upon personal preference or isolated \\u201cconsumer feedback\\u201d.\\xa0These myths warp the reality of the situation and limit our creative exploration, and we don\\u2019t even know it.\\xa0Somehow, we become convinced that we have to show this or say that or people just won\\u2019t get it. But we don\\u2019t really know that.\\xa0I worked for a car client that insisted that every :30 commercial needed to do 7 separate things and in a particular order, then wondered why the work all looked the same.\\xa0What if every creative review the agency is asked to bring one direction that breaks free of these do\\u2019s & don\\u2019ts? Something that challenges our preconceived notions. Work that gets exposed in testing. Work that teaches us things even if doesn\\u2019t hit the bullseye.\\xa0That said, every option has to be given an honest effort. No sandbagging so that the agency\\u2019s wilder efforts and personal favorites get a better chance to win out.Together,'