How to become a client of choice

You can still nominate your marketer of 2024 until September 15.

The very best marketing occurs when agency and advertiser work in a trusted harmony, open to challenge and ideas but also setting clear guard rails for their partners.

Ian Malcolm, President & CEO at Lumency, cites his experience as a consultancy leader, arguing that the best clients had a partnership and collaborative mindset and treated partners with trust and transparency.

“Marketers who treat their agency and consultancy partners as true business partners, rather than mere vendors, are more likely to achieve successful outcomes. The future will require even greater cross-functional collaboration, with marketers needing to integrate efforts across different agencies and internal teams to create cohesive campaigns,” he said.

Josephine Tan, Vice President, APAC Digital Hub at Diageo, was another bringing agency side experience to the question.

“Drawing on my experiences across both agency and client side through my career, I think that the ability to provide partners with the clarity of purpose, decisiveness, transparency and basic human courtesy are important, whether it is now or in the future. The keyword here is 'partner', which requires mutual respect and openness to move forward in an aligned direction to achieve results in an efficient and effective manner,” she said.

That sentiment was echoed by Valeria Abadi, Global Senior Vice President Brand at Globant.

“I believe the key to this relationship is trust, open communication, respect for their expertise, timely feedback and the ability to build together. Understanding that this is a partnership is key,” she said.

Traci Alford, Global CEO at Effie Worldwide, said as a former client that “marketers most likely to be the ‘client of choice’ for their agencies and other partners prioritize integrity, mutual understanding, and respect for different skill sets; they recognize that agencies bring unique skills not readily available in-house, along with different perspectives, data, and knowledge that set them apart.

“Effectiveness is inherently human and deeply rooted in collaboration. Cultures that succeed in delivering effectiveness nurture specific behaviours that enable teams to perform at their best,” she said.

Many put creative thinking at the top of the list including Rebecca Swift, Senior Vice President, Creative at Getty Images. “We are going into unchartered territory. Those marketers who will be most successful will be open to creatively problem solve and building brands with truly engaging creative.”

Sherilyn Shackell, Founder & Global CEO at The Marketing Academy, took a similar line. Key qualities were to be both “visionary AND strategic, collaborative, utterly trustworthy, curious, adaptable and above all the ability to constantly demonstrate an ‘in this together’ environment”.

“Creative courage is one of the most compelling qualities that a marketer can possess to make them a ‘client of choice’ for an ambitious agency, added Marcus Collins, Professor & Author, University of Michigan.

Adrian Terron, Head, Corporate Brand & Marketing Strategy at TATA, pointed out that the best marketers shared their strategic vision as the bedrock and springboard for creative ideas but were also able to listen and visualise.

“Listening is the ability to listen to new points of view and relook orthodoxies/axioms/maxims and visualization is the ability to make creative leaps and envision future states,” he said.

Others had a longer list of qualities, including collaboration, transparency, and mutual respect.

Balaji Sampath, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Infosys, said strategic vision was one key element. “Agencies seek clients who provide clear, strategic direction while remaining open to creative and innovative solutions. Demonstrating a deep understanding of market trends and consumer insights fosters trust and credibility, making collaborations more fruitful, he said, adding that adaptability and flexibility will be important in the face of rapid industry changes “as it gives agencies the creative freedom to explore cutting-edge approaches that can drive impactful results”.

Mikimasa Hamamatsu, Division General Manager, Global Brand Strategy & Marketing Engagement at Nissan, pointed out that any business relationship requires trust and respect but that the best marketers needed to do even more.

“As Marketers, we operate in the world of culture and creativity, where there are emotions and subjectivity, which require additional qualities that are more unique. They require us to be vulnerable – Ww don't have all the answers, and we need to be okay with that. Together we can solve it – embrace failure – the greater the reward, the greater the risk and collectively everyone should be comfortable that things can fail – and to be human – showing empathy and fostering deeper connections. Although this is a business, we are all still people.”

The ability to adapt was also identified by Sandra Grieden, Director Communications Strategy at IBM, as well as the need to keep learning.

“Being curious, a life-long learner, open to new impulses, input and having the ability to use the data available,” she said.

Finally, Stephan Loerke says that empathetic client leadership is what truly makes a difference in a multi-stakeholder environment such as marketing.

“Agencies value strong, but empathetic, client-side leadership as it helps provide clarity. This approach makes every client - and their partners – work more effectively and efficiently. Ultimately, agencies want a client who helps them to succeed and deliver great work. But let’s remember you can do this and have fun in the process as well,” he said.