The Care and Feeding of Advertising Agencies

The care and feeding of advertising agencies, or how to get the most out of your advertising agency.

• Give them clear assignments with clear deliverables. (Write a well-defined “agency
• brief”)
• Tell them that you expect their best work.
• Treat them with respect.
• Expose them to your customers and all of your customer research.
• Get out of their way. Don’t micromanage them.
• Run internal “interference” for them. Don’t let internal review and approval
• processes adulterate their product.
• Pay them fairly for their work.
• Praise them when they do good work.

(c) 2014 by Brad VanAuken, excerpted from Brand Aid, second edition