After penning a piece last week about why the agency model is broken with time-sheets being the main culprit, Anne Miles looks at solutions to keep agencies relevant and for brands to retain value in their marketing executions:
· Work like the film industry does with the ‘Hollywood Model’ where outsourcing talent based on the skills required for the specific job is valued, and where expertise is essential
· Move to project based fees so that the efficiencies of a senior talent becomes valuable again
· Recognise performance of the work with incentives for success
· Brands do not usually get involved in the credentials of the individuals working on their brand and probably have no clue who everyone is in their meetings at any one time – time to get to know who is really doing the work on your business and make sure everyone is accountable
· Use junior talent for facilitation and getting things done, but leave the senior people for their thinking and tap into the benefit of their experience and speed
· Hire external talent who are more likely to work on flat project fees. Many senior talent in the industry are prepared to work this way when outside the big agency model and often at reduced head hourly rates too - both agencies and brands will benefit from this model
· Consider a rollover or royalty fee structure much like producers hire talent – ie. pay a fee for the physical exertion during filming, but pay for a usage fee or loadings based on success (by area, term, or if additional deliverables are created)
· Consider moving away from the ‘creative duo’ model which in many cases just doubles the head count on each project without adding double the value. Use multi-talented creatives instead
· Consider training account managers to get better at production in order to multi-task
· Consider training producers to be able to deliver on strategy to support the strategy and account management teams for better strategic outcomes, at the same time minimising head hours
· Change the way creative teams work with production suppliers by better briefing, having a focus on strategy, and let them get on with what they do without smothering with multiple team members every step of the way (eg. No longer sit in dark rooms all day watching every step of the edit process but set an outcome brief to the director, producer or editor, no longer sit over every frame of the colour grade and use pre-approved test grades, use remote systems to view content for approvals without having to be there the whole time)
· No double – dipping by creatives and producers who are in one session for one job but working on another
· Use external talent who can focus with improved productivity by working on fewer projects at the one time and do not need to re-immerse every time they touch it and increasing total head hours
· Schedule properly so that there are longer sessions for creative to get through tasks to completion without interruption, and to schedule for all key people to work closely together at the right times
· Match the agency process to the scale of the brand – the very large accounts need to split into specialised roles often because of volume. This then becomes the only way some agencies work with all their brands across the board, and the medium to smaller brands don’t get good value with this model (I was in a meeting recently where a medium brand had a head hour cost of close to $20,000 in just one meeting, but no outcomes and no discernable value)
· Ensure that the size of the brand matches the scale of the agency – you are better off choosing a smaller agency, with capacity to outsource and upscale, than to be forced into a larger agency process that has an inherent process with multiple roles as a standard practice
· Outsource with specialised talent who are the best match for your particular needs without being shoe-horned into having to use existing people who may not be the most effective or efficient
· Move to flat commissions on costs so there is no longer bias for any recommendations based on internal profit margins or with intentions to maximise under-utilised resources
· Let creative talent work from home where they are not disturbed and can think more freely and efficiently
Let's save the good agencies through awareness of some different ways of doing things, and take care of the entire creative industries in the process.
International Creative Services MD Anne Miles