Bloom Thinks: On True Partnership

By Ed Hayes, CSO

I wouldn’t be the first to admit that agency positioning is one of the hardest tasks out there. Ours became easier when we agreed to simply find the thing we remember to do on our best days and forget to do on our worst. It had to be the reason for Bloom still being around after 23 years. And a destination to work towards.

Our answer was partnership.

I’ve been reading intimidating coverage of McCain’s IPA Advertising Effectiveness Grand Prix. Many say one of the reasons for adam&eve’s success is their long tenure on the account. It’s hard proof of the value of partnership. For advertising at least.

Brand design deserves equally long-term, high-quality client/agency partnership. Because to grow long-term brands need identities that last. And they need constant curation to stay in touch with shifting consumer culture.

So what’s the difference between brilliantly answering a brief, and being a brilliant partner?

Effective brands are hard workers. Only with deep partnership do agencies get a deep understanding of the jobs a brand needs to do. A true partner understands business objectives, customer demands, economic factors and internal politics. Knowing these can turn a reactive supplier into a proactive partner.

True partners share a vision. A brand agency that shares its client’s vision makes sure everything in its armoury – positioning, identity design, touchpoint creation, innovation – is deployed to achieve it. And it can help other agencies in the ecosystem, from comms to research, to play their parts.

A brand partner is a brand guardian, with a constant eye on how its design performs over time. Is the execution delivering the strategy? Is it helping people choose? Is it mirroring and shaping the right cultural shifts? And if not what needs to be done?

Finally, a partner is the custodian of a brand’s playbook. Too often it’s a guidelines doc gathering dust on a shelf. Instead, a playbook shouldn’t just lock down what a brand looks like, how it speaks and how it behaves. It should also be a living, breathing thing that gets updated as consumer, category and culture evolve.

Successful professional partnerships are no different from personal ones. The more you give, the more you get. There should be a spirit of mutual openness. You should be able to provoke or disagree without causing a damaging upset. You should collaborate, but also give each other space.

Partnerships make working relationships more enjoyable. But ultimately they’re a means to an end. It’s how agencies make the most difference. And deliver the most long-term value.