What Agency Project Briefs Often Lack

Anyone familiar with our industry understands the critical nature of developing actionable consumer and business-driven insights and translating them into meaningful campaigns. Insights are judged on their untapped potential to stir a desired consumer response. In the past, the desired consumer response was often simply consuming a product. The best way to do that was with creative campaigns that commanded attention.

With social media having made its way into the advertising mainstream (and it’s safe to say it has, judging by Facebook’s value now perhaps exceeding CBS), a brief’s insight has to do more than lead to a breakthrough creative idea. A good brief now should include insight(s) that can translate into ideas worthy of influence in the user-generated arena. TV, print radio and others aren't going away, but if your campaign doesn't revolve around an online/social foundation, you've likely got it backwards.

A mistake agencies often make with this idea is that a quirky micro-site is often the answer. While it may be part of the answer, that attitude is more often than not a tactic in search of a strategy. A good insight should empower your agency team to come up with social ideas that offer consumers something more than a quirky concept that has a 10% chance (even amongst your target) of drawing a response. Provide unique, unexpected services related to your client’s product ala Nike+, Domino’s BFD and Target’s College Facebook Page. Branded apps on iPhone and Facebook are also a great example of how to provide services that can ultimately tie to increased sales. Remember, great service(s) generate more online buzz than any creative campaign.

The next time you’re writing a project brief and distilling the insight, look at the social media implications by asking yourself and your team a few questions…

•How does what I know about consumers translate to a service my client’s brand can provide/be associated with?
•How does the service tie to increased consumption of my client’s product?
•Would the service be something consumers value enough to tell others about?
•How does the way we plan to talk about our client’s brand tie to the type of service we might like to provide?

Once you can answer these questions, you’ll be able to give your agency team a much better chance of leveraging their creativity to come up not only with great concepts, but better, more customer-beneficial applications to apply those concepts against.

A manager's ultimate compliment

As a manager, changes in your team are inevitably going to come about, whether you cause them or someone working for you does. The most disheartening experience for a team leader is to hear an employee whom you value and admire tell you they are considering a new opportunity. I’ve seen too many instances where the manager reacts in a selfish “how could you” fashion, which, instead of inflicting the intended sense of guilt, do nothing but drive the employee away.

If you’ve done your job as a manager (mentored, pushed, developed and improved), your employee is going to be anxious talking to you. They are going to appreciate all that you’ve done for their career and you may be the one thing that makes their decision even remotely difficult. In my opinion, there can be no greater compliment to your performance than this scenario. This situation is also where a manager’s true colors show.

A manager’s primary obligation is to serve the interests of their company (as it is for any employee). Your agency’s interests are best served by dedicated people. Getting dedication from your team can only happen if they believe you have their best interests (i.e. growth & well being) at heart. Often times, when one of your employees is presented with an opportunity, it’s in their best interest to take the job - regardless of the temporary damage it might do to you.

The next time someone from your team approaches you with news that they’ve been recruited, try answering these questions (in order)…

1) Does this new opportunity present a step up for my employee?
2) Is there an equivalent opportunity within my agency I can offer?
3) Does the employee’s value to me merit taking steps (financial or otherwise) to keep him or her on staff?
4) Has the employee measured all of the pros, cons and realities of their new offer?
5) What could (or should) I have done to prevent this scenario? Nothing can sometimes be an acceptable answer, by the way.

Answering these questions will give you a clear picture of how this scenario came about and what your retention options are. You can then have a candid discussion about what’s best for them and then allow your employee to make an educated decision.

If you do it right, you’ll garner even more respect from your employee (regardless of their decision). Don’t be surprised if you also get calls from this employee down the line seeking your advice about new opportunities they have in the future. Not only will you feel honored by their reaching out, you’ll find your innate obligation as a manager never dies. That’s how lifelong professional friendships are built, and they are worth more than their weight in gold.