To win new business or to retain existing clients is not a dark art.

It comes down to basic requirements that we all have and expect from those with whom we do business:

1. Likability – Agency-Client relationships are all about people – if a client doesn’t like you then they’ll go elsewhere.
2. Trust – If you do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it, (and do it well) then a client will trust you, and use you again.

That’s all there is to it really.

January - turning mild-mannered folk into Michael Douglas in Falling Down

Pantomimes after Christmas are great…..  Oh no they’re not!

You really know it’s Christmas when you’re off to the local Panto.  Except when it’s January that is.  Why do people go to the panto in January?  January’s not for gratuitous gags and merriment, it’s for misery, darkness and deep, deep depression.  Start the Pantos earlier if you want a longer run and keep Jan for a downbeat lockdown.

Too Much Month Left at the End of the Money

Ugghh this is when January goes on for years. Skint by the 7^th Jan and yet it’s still weeks and weeks until payday.  Quick look at the sales? Forget it, a mooch through the Council Tip would be the wiser move.  Christmas is for overspending and that’s all well and good, but the only people looking forward to mid-January are the Pay Day Loans

vultures.  And if you’re contemplating one of those, you might want to just say no and speak to a local Credit Union instead. They’re good guys in a sea of bastards.

Self-Assessment

The HMRC made January even worse by declaring it the month where you have to submit your tax return.  But they’re not daft.  They know that you’re going to leave it until the last minute.  Thus ensuring almost full four weeks of thinking “Oh shit, I still need to fill in my self-assessment”.  They did this solely to make you hate them more.  And you thought that this wasn’t possible.

It’s ages until anything good

Christmas couldn’t be any further away and summer holidays seem like a distant dream.  Some people cheer themselves up by booking their summer break at this time of year.  Come July this makes the less organised amongst us curse our lack of planning, as the bargain we secretly hoped for turns out to be an overpriced toilet.  Anyway, in January, anything good is an age away.

New Years’ Resolutions

I’m not going to talk about feelings of failure we get for breaking resolutions as that’s far too clichéd.  Especially as I’m drinking a Tiger Beer whilst writing this – after pledging to stay off alcohol until February.

New Year, New You (vom)

At this time of the year, it’s best not to look at magazine or newspaper covers in shops as many of them will be shouting the phrase “New Year, New You”.  You can imagine the kind of sanctimonious crap that will be in the article.  Don’t even think about reading it. Just complain to the newsagent and then write to your MP.

Chinese New Year

Unless you live in a major city with a large Chinese community that always puts on a genuinely good show for their new year (I.E. London), then this is not even worth talking about.  Supermarkets will push their takeaway Chinese meals, newspapers will do something suitably themed (prepared last summer) and that’s about it. This year will be the year of the meerkat apparently.

Weather

We’ve had the gales (half our roof tiles can testify to this), and there’s lots of flooding (which is always fascinating to watch on the news – unless of course you happen to be watching it from the community centre because your house is under three feet of brown water).  Weather in January is spectacularly crap. It’s the coldest month of the year with snow, sleet and a fair amount of rain.  It’s dark in the mornings and dark in the evenings.

My God, what redeeming factors does January have?

Apologies if you were expecting an ending with a silver lining. Perhaps a list of counter-reasons why January is actually great.  We did wrack our brains but we’re really struggling.  Please can you tell us what is good about January below?

In the meantime, have a wonderful 2012 one and all – and remember, New Year, New You!

P.S. Younger readers may not recognise the title of this post.  Let the late Uncle Jimmy Saville enlighten you here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8aZfqUnPqE&feature=related

Being an agency ‘suit’ can be very rewarding – you get to work on loads of different projects, across a variety of clients in plenty of industries.

You get to learn heaps about all things marketing – online, offline; through the line…you really get to walk the…erm…line (?)

It’s great when you get a smashing client, and you will be flavour of the month in your MD’s office if you show the ability to increase revenue from your clients.

After many years of falling in, out and then back in love with clients, here are seven things that we’ve learnt to please both your clients and your boss:

1. Always write a contact report – Very important this, and something to try and get into the habit of doing early in your career. A contact report (written and sent to the client after each meeting) is your main opportunity to confirm your understanding of the client’s requirements – get this approved by the client and you’re well on your way to delivering work they will be over the moon with.  They’ll be bigging-you-up to the powers that be in no time!
2. Always look for opportunities to ‘do more’ (up-sell and look for opportunities to help your client) – Now, at first sight this may appear be a strange way to ‘help a client’ but think about it – if your agency can deliver great design and can also manage the print and production for the job, oh, and take care of briefing and buying the data – and the fulfilment and the postage, then your client will have a much easier life.  Show them how you can save them from having to deal with five or six separate suppliers and you’ll be making more spondoolies than if you just did the design. The client is happy that they’ve saved time and energy so everyone’s a winner.
3. Always do what you say you’re going to do – This should go without saying, but surprisingly it’s not always the case. If you tell a client they will see a proposal or initial brochure visuals or the website will be ready for testing by 3pm on Thursday, then it’s your job to bust a gut to make sure it happens – and make sure everyone else is fully aware of and sweating cobbles to meet the deadline also.
4. Learn to delegate – A lot of account managers are control freaks. Nothing wrong with this but it is essential for your client relationships that you learn to delegate tasks. As an account handler it is your job to coordinate and manage a project, which you can’t do if you are too busy doing everything involved with a project. You’re probably not the best copywriter in the agency and you are 100% not the best designer there, nor are you the best ideas person in the room – so let the experts do their bit and you coordinate everything and take the plaudits when you deliver a thing of real beauty to your client.
5. Always be honest – even when it’s difficult to do so – Everyone messes up once in a while. And yes, things do go wrong at all agencies. But the best thing to do when a job goes Pete Tong is to be totally honest with your client (and your boss). Don’t bury your head in the sand – clients are generally decent folk and will respect your honesty much more than being confronted by terrible excuses/lies about ‘a van getting stuck in the snow and not delivering the paper stock in time meaning we missed our print slot…blah blah” (yes, this was used at a previous agency of ours).
6. Learn which battles are worth fighting - Sometimes the client is right, and sometimes they’re not – the difference is that they are the client. It is your job to judge the situation correctly. It is important that you do what is right for the client but not have heated discussions regarding the correct positioning of a partner company’s logo on an internal sales document that will be seen by 1.23 people… Learn when it is important for you to lay down the brand rules and when it’s ok to let things slide and your opinion will become much more respected (and your blood pressure will be reduced too).
7. Be a good person – Successful, long-term client relationships are formed by…well relationships. It is so true that people buy from people they like and trust, and can probably imagine sitting down to a drink and chat with. If you’re good at your job, deliver on your promises and produce great work then you’re 75% of the way there – all you need to do is go that extra mile.

Be genuine, interested and an all-round good person – ask after your client’s family, learn their interests and remember to send   them a nice wee bottle on their birthday.

Of course there are many more elements to being a successful agency ‘suit’ – these are just a few things we’ve learnt over the years but please, please share your thoughts with us below.

(Bad Design)

Having worked in the world of agencies for a good few years now I’ve experienced the joy of delivering loads of projects that nail the requirements first time!

The client loves the campaign concept, the brochure is spot on, the website design is to die-for…yep, doesn’t it just feel great to get it bang on the nose, first time?!

I’ve also been around long enough to have missed the airfield all together… the proposed campaign is nowhere near the client’s requirements, the brochure is ‘too simple’ or ‘too busy’ and the website visuals are aimed at the wrong audience entirely…

The difference between delivering a tip, top spanking project first time and a job that misses the landing plain?

The brief.

Too many times we (and by ‘we’ I generally mean both clients and agency ‘suits’/account manager folk) are so desperate to get to the final deliverable that we fail to put the proper plans in place.

We all know what Proper Planning Prevents…don’t we?

(piss poor performance)

Yes, a wise-man instilled this into me at a former agency (no names) – the brief is mega, mega important to meeting the project requirements – get this right and you’re 80% there.

Below, if a guide to creating a great job brief, that will DEFINITELY save you a whole load of time, effort, pain and moolah and help you give the client what he/she wants first time/every time!

1. Write a job summary – keep it brief, but include background info and reasons to why the project/job/item is required and what the final deliverable needs to ‘be’ and ‘do’

2.       What are the objectives? Once completed what MUST the brochure/website/campaign/advert/job do, deliver, achieve or convey? A few bullet points will be fine here 

3.       It’s all in the detail – What are the specifics of the job? This is definitely the stage at which you need to inform the designer or the creative bod or the planner of any restrictions for the job – i.e. requested format, budget limitations, must work in wet weather (?) or the client doesn’t like orange… 

4.        Find some references – If possible, find some relevant examples of similar jobs or even references for graphical styles to be considered, or the type of writing style to be used or a competitor website that ‘looks and works great but we want to do it better’ …

5.       Supply the filling – Not always possible, but if it is, always try and provide content (and final if possible) up front – you’re asking a lot of a designer to design a brochure layout without an indication as to the amount of content – the same applies to all other projects really, it’s always best to sort content out before embarking on the project process…

6.       It’s good to talk – Always try and discuss your brief in person in addition to providing a written brief. The designer, creative, copywriter, illustrator etc will have the opportunity to ask questions and you’ll be able to convey some elements of the brief that you were unable to put down on paper

7.       Don’t look back in anger – Refer back to the project brief throughout the project process. This will ensure you’re always on the right path and means you have the opportunity to change course much earlier than getting to the end and realising you’ve been steering in the wrong direction.

The above is how I approach a job brief but I’m sure there are better ways of doing this so please share your approach or hints and tips in the comments below… 

“Honey, avoid that Bush at all costs”

In the words of the ever-intoxicated George Michael “I know you want to but you can’t say yes”

That’s right. In these days of integrated campaigns centred on engaging with folk online through soshal channels; it takes a brave agency to say to a client “Hey, let’s go outside”.

But, with a wee bit of creativity there’s no reason why the good old outdoor ad can’t prove to be a massive part of any integrated campaign.

Outdoor media is your chance to deliver a message with real impact to X thousand drivers, passengers and the general public on a daily basis and more often than not your communication will be seen more than once… it’s hard not to notice a well crafted ad on a 96 sheet when taking the bus to work in a morning.

It’s your chance to get one up on the competition, or to trump the competition as in this example of ‘outdoor car wars’

As with all communications, the execution is key – with outdoor advertising you have a very short timeframe to grab the attention of your audience. If they’re unable to grasp the ad concept, product or recognise the brand in 2 seconds then it aint going to cut the mustard – as we mentioned in this post your ad is strengthened by what you remove from it, not what you add.

It’s all about the idea, the concept – keep the message clear and simple.

Oh and definitely no QR codes or you’ll be responsible for a mass pile-up on the M62/M5/M1/A1…

Take yourself back, no further still…way back to those rainy days of your youth when you couldn’t ‘play out on bikes’  so you had to amuse yourself indoors …now think…What did you ‘do’?

You didn’t have 324 dedicated TV channels for young’uns – anyway you’d already missed the early morning edition of ‘Dogtanian’ and the only way to watch it again was to go down to the local blockbuster in person and rent the series on VHS/Betamax (dependant on your preference).

You didn’t have a super-console with the ability to play live online with friends and shoot the shite out of a load of aliens/pimps/prostitutes/army folk…

You could have done your homework, but the only way to learn all about whales, sharks or dinosaurs was a long walk to the local library…

Nope. You ‘played’… and here’s what you played with…

(Please add your favourite toys and games of your younger years in the comments below)

Lego

There are plenty more lego ‘bits’ available these days, but back in the day to create something remotely decent using lego was a real challenge, once you’d retrieved all the single yellow bits from the hoover bag (yes bag) that is.

Once you’d finally completed that white plane with lift-up roof it would take pride of place on your bedroom floor…until your brother/sister smashed it up of course.

StarWars/Transformers/ATeam Figures & Toys

“I prefer to go hand-solo”

It didn’t get much better than re-enacting your favourite moments from star wars, The A-team or transformers…a bit of imagination and human sound effects and this was as real as it could possibly be!

I distinctly recall saving 2p and 1p coins for bloody weeks on end to purchase the millennium falcon toy from ‘Jason’ who lived round the corner…no ebay back then you see.

Subbuteo

All time classic for football fans this, long before the PES v FIFA war or even the Kick-Off v Sensible Soccer battle this was the original (and by far the best) football game of all time. A good sized bedroom was a must for this game and plenty of time – matches lasted forever!

Equally as difficult to avoid accidently crushing your left back as it was to put any sort of passing move together Subbuteo was indeed the game for masters.

Chap I used to work with reckons he designed the subbuteo box btw…

Stuff for girls

Not too sure on this stuff but I’ve been assured that Sylvanian Family, My Little Pony and Tiny Tears dolls were indeed the toys of choice for girls back in the day…

I don’t have anything to add really having NEVER played with these in my life…honest.

Board Games

Ah yes, board games – they took flaming forever to set up (remember ‘MouseTrap’?) and if played properly could last well over 40 days and nights before the winner was established. Even parents got involved with the odd game of Hungry Hippos and Guess Who…indeed board games are now sorely missed.

I’m aware I’ve not covered everything here…please do add stories of your favourite toys and games in the comments section below…

Anyone for a game of Subbuteo?

His talent is now being recognised by international creative media types and he’s recently been interviewed for Proxart. Andy is based in Barcelona and he tells Proxart about how designing in one of the world’s coolest cities works for him.

One of Andy's designs (when he's not restricted to boring client briefs)

Anyway ‘In Over Your Head’ is a blog by a jolly clever bloke called Julien Smith, and we think it’s worth you having a peruse.  We’re all thinking of getting earrings like him too! “Everything has been done. Give up now”

Where can we get earrings like these?

Fox Comms was recently in the South of France sampling the delights of Nice, Cannes and Monaco.  As you will know, what stands out in these places (apart from the agreeable weather, lack of yob culture, beautiful scenery and wonderful cuisine) is the outstanding wealth.  The yacht I took a picture of below (that had its own helicopter) was one of the smaller ones.

Those yachts without helicopter landing pads are awfully common are they not?

In Monaco and even Cannes, every third car is a head-turning supercar costing more than the average UK house price.  In fact, if we turned all of the residents upside down to extract their small change, we could probably solve Africa in a fortnight.

Anyway, that’s after the revolution.  What’s striking here is the appearance of the super-rich. They all look exactly the same.

The ladies clearly had a competition to see who could wear the biggest and most expensive sunglasses, and all abided by a law that prohibits being out in public without having visited their hairdresser in the past two hours.  They’re coiffure crazy.  It must said however, that whilst they copied each other’s hair and accessories, their clothes were slightly more individual.

This could not be said for the men.  Despite being amongst the richest blokes on the planet, what do they wear for their everyday attire?  A uniform.  It comprises a Ralph Lauren polo shirt, tailored (and always ghastly) shorts or slacks and ubiquitous leather deck shoes.  Often carrying a dainty man bag and one of those small excuses for dogs.  Later in the day they will transform themselves remarkably by wearing………..a long sleeved Ralph Lauren shirt and (comfort before style) chino trousers or bland slacks.

So why is this? The world is their lobster. They can afford anything from anywhere. Why do they all want to look exactly the same?

Is it so they can identify each other and gain entry into the “right” places?  Maybe it’s like the Ben Elton tirade about nightclub bouncers, “Ooh yes, in you come Hitler, nice shiny Jack boots there – hey piss off Jesus – no sandals”.

So in the name of research I checked out a gentleman’s boutique.  It had no prices (I needed to know the prices, so obviously I couldn’t afford anything).  I instead entertained myself watching a few of the customers picking out hilariously awful clothes for evening occasions.  This place epitomised the old adage of ‘you can’t buy taste’.  Anyway at long last I suddenly  felt slightly superior.  Not for long though, as outside they jumped into Bentley Continentals and Ferraris, whilst I squatted into the hired Seat Altea.

Anyway what’s this got to do with marketing?  Well, it’s about standing out. Being different. Not doing something because it’s the norm.  An education in itself is looking through business to business trade magazines – in the duller sectors especially. The advertising is a hoot – I think there is a prize if your ad looks almost indistinguishable from the ad on the opposite page.

We remember things that stand out, that break the mould, that are a little bit out there.  We’re not saying stand out for the sake of it.  No hang on, we’re saying stand out for the sake of it.  I think we should all try it starting today.  Well, actually tomorrow – as today I am too busy shopping for one of these (they did look rather fetching).

Chris is a big cheese in social media circles. He’s from that America and speaks professionally with Fortune 100 and 500 companies like PepsiCo, General Motors & Microsoft on the future of business communications and social software technologies. He is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Trust Agents, and a featured monthly columnist at Entrepreneur Magazine.

So guess where we saw Chris talk?

Doncaster.

Please have a look at his stuff if you have a minute; it’s insightful, generous and wise.  The thing we like most about Chris is the fact that he’s visited the UK lots, has been to that mecca of civilisation, Doncaster, but has never once been to London.  Mr Brogan, our cap is doffed.