What Should Your Agency Team Look Like?

In 1962, the CEO of Avis Rent A Car was in a pickle. He recently took over the company and it had not been profitable in more than 10 years. Seeking help outside of his advertising department, he sent short briefs to a handful of agencies and ad giant Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) responded – stating that they could help, but that Avis had to agree to run whatever DDB suggested. After commissioning a series of focus groups with disheartening results, the ad agency’s copywriter Paula Green transformed the insight that try as they might, Avis was still number two and turned it into a 50-year standing campaign: “Avis. We’re only No. 2. We try harder.” 

While people tend to love an inspiring underdog story, there were no guarantees that this unusual and honest campaign would work. There was, however, trust between the agency and the client that outweighed any skepticism. Known as the cornerstone of all effective relationships, trust in your marketing agency is built as you review agency work, discuss business objectives and barriers, collaborate on those goals and maintain effective communication.

In last month’s blog, we discussed four tips on how to maintain an effective client-agency relationship: sharing information, communicating through phone and video, keeping a pulse on performance and showcasing expertise. Today we will discuss what an agency team could look like using our framework as an example.   

An Extension of Your Team 

If you consider yourself, your brand or your company an expert in the field, then you shouldn’t expect anything less when searching for a marketing agency. An extension of your internal team, hiring an agency grants you convenient access to marketing experts and opens the door to collaboration. Ideally, this team will create the space to think bigger, leverage fresh perspectives and spark strategic conversations. 

There are a variety of ways agency teams can be set up to support and achieve your marketing goals. Agency skills can include services such as strategy, design, copywriting, content writing, research, data/analytics, digital/social and traditional media, and more. With almost 50 years in the industry, our agency has evolved and transformed over the years to remain relevant and deliver the results that the market demands. In 2020’s shifting marketplace, we’ve remained nimble to serve our client’s unique circumstances. Our foundation for the success of our clients starts with our team and relies on three pillars: Client Experience, Wow Creative and Results. 

Client Experience 

A successful client experience is about more than just client satisfaction. It’s about setting the stage to ensure clients can openly communicate with us. When clients feel comfortable to share their thoughts, ideas and company updates, it transforms the client-agency relationship into a strategic partnership. Ensuring client success, our Client Success Director, Client Success Manager and Social Media Manager facilitate communication between the agency and the client to provide expert guidance on marketing strategy and bring each client’s goals to life.

Wow Creative 

The difference between good and great work is an immense dedication to detail – from the tiniest spec to the big picture. That is what we strive to do in everything that we create, providing concepts, content and campaigns that wow our clients and produce results. Leading the creative direction, our Creative Strategy Director and Studio Manager collaborate with our design and content/copy experts to produce marketing that drives people to respond. 

Utilizing key takeaways that we discover in the Orange Exploration study of our client’s business/industry and View From the Field interviews with customers/prospects and external stakeholders, each brand strategy and project is tailor-made to the client. Bringing options to the table when it comes to our marketing, we love to push the envelope – where applicable – and create options that capture your brand’s essence in an unexpected and compelling way. 

Results

When reviewing our marketing pursuits both internally and with clients, we always ask three questions: 

What’s working? What could be better? And, what aren’t we talking about? This strategic approach helps us analyze our results and think critically about the next steps. In charge of translating key data into helpful insights are our Social Media Manager, Marketing Analytics Manager and Search Engine Marketing Specialist. Each month in our “Results and Momentum Meetings,” Orange Label reviews analytics with clients and provides recommendations and enhancements for media planning, buying and more to reach target audiences, boost engagement, increase sales and meet specific client goals. 

Bringing a combined 80+ years of marketing experience to the team, it’s not uncommon for Orange Label’s knowledgeable leadership team, including our CEO, President and COO, to play a key role in our client’s response marketing success. This means your key stakeholders are likely to work closely with at least one of ours over the course of the relationship on onboarding, overseeing new project initiatives or simply, guaranteeing client success. 

From developing strategies to preparing launches and reviewing analytics, the Orange Label team is carefully crafted to offer enhanced expertise, efficient operations, clear performance indicators and robust lead generation. Get to know our team and our work to learn more.