The power of over-communication

Nowadays I feel like I belong to the old school. The school which believed that the client and agency talk to each other everyday in active periods and at least once a week in the not so active periods. I believe that one should send minutes of a meeting or discussion so nothing falls from the cracks. I believe even if it takes a few days to get back with information or costs or a rework that a client has asked for, it's as important to also keep updating the client on status and progress. 

I hear teams specially from creative and client servicing complain about briefs changing on them or too many reworks or a brief losing priority. This to some extent can be avoided by communication. 

I physically feel uncomfortable when I see briefs being taken and no conversation with the client for the next week to ten days till the revert is ready. In an industry where we still to a large extent live project to project, I think it's important to tell the client, we want your business, we are working on your brief. 

I also believe  that it adds to story telling and eventually selling if we also keep the client updated on difficulties and barriers once faces while putting together the revert. It definitely helps in bonding. 

In this day and age where everything is getting commoditised thanks to the dreaded procurement teams, it's relationships which will help in value added engagements and hence work.  And relationships are built through over communication. Call me old fashioned. 

"How to lose an activation agency in 10 days"

Day 1: While briefing them, given them vague details of the brand you are working on and call them a vendor. Give them two days to respond with a presentation. Promise them more details will be sent later on an email. At the end of the meeting, also mention you have run out of your cards.

Day 2: Not pick up the agency's calls or respond to smses asking for your email ID and the information you had promised to send.

Day 3: Pick up the call and send the information and ask them to present the next day.

Day 4: You can choose. Either make them present after making them wait for forty minutes and then tell them the brief has changed. Or like a few ideas but then tell them they are way out of your budget. Either ways, ask them to rework and also come back with costs.

Day 7: Not respond to calls or smses for setting up a meeting.

Day 9: Call the agency and be inflexible about setting up a meeting time next day.

Day 10: After seeing the presentation, appreciate it loads. But tell them plans have changed for now and this will be executed next quarter. End the meeting requesting the presentation to be emailed. The .ppt version.

Amrita Kumar
@amrita_kumar