Helpful Tips for Working With & Giving Feedback to Marketing Agencies

Here at CBA we know that communicating with creative/marketing/ad agencies can be tricky.  We've compiled a list of a few key takeaways as well as helpful links on working with and giving effective feedback to your creative teams.  

The Process

Takeaways from How to Work with a Creative Agency (expandcreativegroup.com) below:

• Kickoff Meeting
  • Bringing Agency & Bank Teams Together
  • Discuss Goals, Expectations, & Deliverables
  • Ensuring External and Internal Alignment
    • Fill in gaps, clear up assumptions & ensure clarity
  • Create & Review Creative Brief (Writing An Effective Creative Brief)
  • Establishing expectations and roles
    • Key Milestones
    • Review Process
    • Roles of Each Person & Party
• Creative Process
  • Discover
    • User Research & Audience Goals Gathered
    • Brand Research
  • Ideation
    • Creative Team Maps Out Options
    • Rough Concepts
    • Bank Approves Direction 
  • Execution
    • Creative Team Refines Concept Based on Banks Feedback
    • This Stage Can Take The Most Time
  • Results
    • Results are Measured
      • Some agencies offer this service while others do not.  

Giving Your Agency Feedback:

Takeaways from How Good Feedback to your Creative Agency can Save You Money | Molina Visuals Blog  below:

• Respect the Brief
  • Before giving feedback go back to your brief and see if the work delivered matches what you agreed on
  • Print the brief and bring it to the meeting with you
• Collect Your Team's Feedback First
  
  • Make sure you check in with everyone involved in the bank for their feedback first, this will avoid multiple (sometimes costly) rounds of feedback. 
  • Consolidate and align your feedback so you're not giving the agency mixed messages.
• Positively Focus on the Work Rather Than the Person
  • Focus on the work such as: the photos, new logos, the marketing materials instead of whoever did the work.  Helpful tips giving positive feedback. 
• Start With What Works Well
  
  • Let them know what you do like or what works well so you can keep those features going forward.
  • Ask:
    • Do you like the concept behind the work?
    • Is there a color or element that you like?
    • Do you think anything can be used as it is now?
    • Can any part of the work be used with small adjustments?
    • When you ask these questions, you’ll begin to see possible solutions instead of existing problems.
• Seek Understanding About What Doesn't Work
  • Don't be afraid to ask questions
    • Can you explain how this idea is connected to X,Y,Z?
    • Can you tell us how you got this result?
  • Refer to the brief is something is measurably different from what you discussed
• Be As Specific As Possible
  • Be specific about what you expect changed and what you want the agency to do.
    • Would a different color work better?
    • Should they use different words?
    • Should an element from a previous campaign have been kept?
  • Try to avoid vague feedback 
    • Instead of "I don't like that color" try to determine is it the color altogether or is it the shade or brightness?  would that color work with another color along side it?   Or maybe that color would look better in a different area.  
• Be An Active Co-Creator, Not A Passive Receiver
  • Don't be afraid to respectfully disagree with the agency.
  • Your input is crucial to achieving the result that will best suit your audience and convey your message.
  • The sooner you speak up the sooner they can get to work, trust your agency.

Helpful Links

• How Good Feedback to your Creative Agency can Save You Money
• How to Work with a Creative Agency
• How to Give Your Agency Feedback
• Talking With Your Creative Marketing Agency
• With Experiential Marketing, You Can Win Hearts, Not Just Minds
• How to Work With A Marketing Agency