Be More Swan and Help your Partnerships Flourish - Thoughts from Oystercatchers Club 13th March

The business environment is turning into an unforgiving jungle if economic doom and gloom forecasts and anecdotal evidence from marketers and agency heads are to be believed. Through our Oystercatchers' lens we see extraordinary things going on. And for sure, the new global market dynamics are putting stress on agency-client relationships.

Oystercatchers Club March film

But if the environment is turning a little feral then it’s time to take on some animal attributes – or “be more swan” advises Catrina Funk, VP, European Brand & Marketing Director at TJX Europe.

Catrina was a panellist at our recent Oystercatchers Club evening examining ‘powerful partnerships between agencies and marketers’. Her view being that people should bring their best game to the table when meeting, strategizing and executing marketing – whether client or agency- and show up “gorgeous, outrageous, calm. Being inspirational, bold and fresh. Something she learnt from the agency on-boarding session that we ran after our first pitch process with her team 6 years ago.

I love Cat’s second secret to successful partnership too: “let’s get the fish on the table” – frank and open confrontation with agency and client to thrash out problems and find solutions – fast.

At this challenging time I was intrigued to explore with the panel the pressure points in partnerships, how to nurture a positive working relationship and what clients need from their agencies. All leaders on the panel agreed on the value agencies contribute, with Cat describing how her company had grown from an in-house Creative Department to devising a supporting agency structure, ultimately to a European network that has driven growth for their customers and for TJX Europe.

Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald’s UK, said that the company’s agency partners and marketers must have room to fail, referencing the pulled the ‘Dead Dad’ ad . He firmly believes in not apportioning blame and becoming paralysed by self-reflective brooding when things go awry.

To create true partnership and collaboration, and align to the growth plan, all his suppliers are invited to the company’s AGM. “What got us here – won’t get us to the future”, he commented, as customer expectations change faster than ever. They promote a three legged stool culture - McDonald's, Franchisees and suppliers, each working together to create a perfectly balanced stool. Through this they put innovation at the heart of the business. Paul believes that test and learn, and, creating a culture where people feel comfortable in making mistakes is the path to success. His message to agencies: “keep raising the talent bar every year.”

In response to the call by Marc Pritchard P&G for fewer project managers Paul suggested, Creative Directors (or any other people) un-enthused by McDonald’s products and services should not be on board the business; agency teams must be the “right fit” culturally and creatively. Likewise, media agencies must choose channels appropriate for the customer’s audience. The account lead at each of our agencies is a key part of the partnership.

Louise Fowler, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer for the Post Office, commented that if there is a breakdown in communication it’s often down to a poor brief that may come from the client. Marketers need to know what a good brief looks like – they should be able to identify their priorities and how to judge good work. Louise's 60 second CV

Claire Molyneux, global chief transformation officer for Publicis, said that the group was working hard to break down internal siloes to focus on creating great customer experiences for brands. She added that it was increasingly important for both clients and agencies to bring “new and diverse skill sets” to the table when working together.

The need for agencies to support their marketer clients in overcoming negative stereotypes was noted by both Paul and Louise. Marketers need to be seen as commercial animals (back to the jungle metaphor) and earn the respect of FDs and the Board. There’s a strong risk that agencies who don’t understand this and focus on creativity without focus on effectiveness undermine their own client’s efforts to be taken seriously.

Ultimately, the key to success in the working relationship lies in trust, the ability to challenge each other openly, caring about each other’s business, being passionate and having mutual respect.

Just like Catrina’s swan, I believe that all of us are seen as sailing serenely along while paddling furiously below the surface. But the energy we expend can be used constructively if all stakeholders are swimming in the same direction with the same aim – to produce great work that’s effective in driving a businesses’ bottom line.

To read more about the Club discussion on powerful partnerships, please click here for news stories from Campaign, Marketing Week and The Drum

• Over 200 senior leaders who are members of The Oystercatchers Club, gathered at London’s May Fair Hotel, on Tuesday 13th March for this discussion. If you are interested in finding out about membership contact [email protected]
• Suki Thompson is the CEO Oystercatchers and EXCO Centaur Media. @sukithompson [email protected]
• Our next Oystercatchers Club is on Thursday May 30th , where we will discussing the important industry topic, how to attract and retain top industry talent.

For more information about Oystercatchers Club or find out how we can help with your agency/ media partnerships, please email [email protected]

• Oystercatchers is part of the Centaur Media Group: Advise: Inform: Connect