I have spent enough time in marketing to have sat on both sides of the table as an agency partner developing ideas, and as a client evaluating, defending and funding them. That experience has taught me that neither side has a monopoly on good ideas, or on bad decisions.
At a recent marketing forum convened by Cannes Lions jurors, an old argument resurfaced. Agencies say clients kill creativity by demanding endless revisions and denying ideas the time they need to mature. Clients counter that agencies too often misread the brief, arriving with exciting concepts that fail to solve the business problem.
Both sides have a point. But the problem usually begins earlier than either admits. Many briefs are overloaded; a single campaign expected to build awareness, generate leads, increase sales, improve reputation and trend online, all at once. Agencies then compound the problem by presenting three creative directions, even when only one has been properly interrogated.
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