If there ever was a formula or rule book for corporate marketing success, COVID-19 has shredded that book, changed the rules and rewritten the formula. Much of what marketers and ad agencies thought we knew has been turned on its ear, and we find ourselves working in ways that we had not expected. But that’s not all bad. Life is different now. Workplaces and livelihoods have changed. People live and consume in new ways, and businesses have adapted to reflect these changes. The pandemic gave us an opportunity to evaluate life in ways we hadn’t before. Many have realigned their careers and lifestyles to pursue reevaluated priorities. Many talented marketers are working for themselves now, and for those who are not, side hustles are the norm, not the exception.
Companies are adapting, finding alternate resources for expertise and forging new partnerships and alliances. How do these new arrangements affect corporate marketing teams, and what does this mean for a modern advertising agency?
Communication, Above All
Communication is critically important to our industry. But that’s not new news. Ad agencies that weren’t communicating with clients, partners and vendors before the pandemic were already behind the eight ball. Any good advertising agency has excellent communication practices ingrained in its DNA from the beginning. At all levels, agency communication must be timely, respectful, transparent and concise. Without it, an agency, or any business, is doomed.
Collaboration Trumps Expertise
In-house marketing and advertising agencies are on the rise. The old model of agencies fighting to steal work is over. The old “agency of record” concept is not what it used to be, and project assignments are far more common. So, what can advertising agencies do to remain viable and continue to grow in this landscape?
The answer here is collaboration. Collaboration is the secret sauce that delivers greater benefits to clients, whether it be a partnership forged between agencies, between an agency and an internal department or between an agency and an independent service provider.
Clients no longer expect to obtain all their marketing services from one vendor. Savvy companies don’t bat an eyelash at ¬— and likely expect — collaborations between agencies, internal teams and external vendors in order to receive optimal results from their marketing, advertising, social media and public relations campaigns. Why would they, when this type of synergy, time and again, produces better results?
The marketing brain trust at 3Headed Monster knows this type of collaboration well. We embrace subject matter experts who our clients may already have on board and draw upon their skills to execute our ideas to their fullest potential. Some agencies might choose to use their own team or hire outsiders to do this. But if you could collaborate with a client’s team and produce an overall better result, why wouldn’t you choose to do so?
Client’s Internal Team Collaboration
When commercial law firm Ferguson Braswell Fraser Kubasta, PC (FBFK) needed a complete website redesign, they chose 3Headed Monster. Typically, a website redesign project includes both front end and back end development work. But FBFK preferred a collaborative approach between 3Headed Monster for design and branding and the firm’s internal IT team for development.
“With FBFK, a middle market full-service commercial law firm, we knew they already had a stellar IT team within their own walls, so rather than trying to bid that out within our website development estimate, we partnered with them,” said Crystal Anderson, Partner & Strategy Director at 3Headed Monster.
The client collaboration was a great decision. The internal IT team brought tremendous skill and the benefit of years of institutional knowledge to the project. They were involved from very early in the process, helping to evaluate problems in the existing website, bringing essential requirements forward and raising concerns on behalf of other departments.
The partnership between 3Headed Monster and FBFK’s internal IT team helped allow for a faster turnaround on the new website because the developers knew the ins and outs of the current platform and its capabilities.
Agency Collaboration for National Smoothie Day
Recently, 3Headed Monster partnered with Dallas PR Agency SPM Communications for the #HangLooseonTropicTime social media promotion for our client Tropical Smoothie Café 3Headed Monster took the lead on the overall idea, creative and social strategy, while SPM sourced the influencers and handled negotiations. SPM even used the internal communication team to get franchisees and employees to join in on the TikTok effort.
Partnering with another agency helped bring synergies to a creative process that we might not have otherwise had. All in all, this collaboration between agencies resulted in the perfect, fruitful blend to kick off the summer.
Collaborate with 3Headed Monster
When you need a collaborative agency partner, turn to 3Headed Monster. Companies all over the country turn to our new agency mutation for fresh, cutting-edge creative that combines story, design, and technology. We’re looking to make tomorrow better, one brand at a time. That’s why we’ve become known as the agency for Tomorrow Brands™. Contact us for a consultation to learn more about how we collaborate with clients to achieve success.
