Client-Agency Relationships- What endures?

In my professional life, I have had the good fortune to experiment with Planning at two distinct levels.

First, at the level of Strategy and Business Conulting and second at the level of communication, consumer and market consulting.

And this has enabled me to view the client/agency/consulting partner,relationship play out across various categories.

What I have noticed is that clients view their relationships' dynamic from a completely different lens when it comes to Advertising and Communication Agencies.

In the Business Consulting world, relationships with the client are often well defined, project led and mutual respect for each others' expertise is a given.

Contrast this with the Agencies' relationship and one will find that the relationship is generally under a scanner, the agency often having to prove itself year on year and the Client always behaving and taking decisions unilaterally.

Not that this happens always but it generally happens to be true.

Now the contribution of a great Advertising Idea to the business is as substantial (if not more) as a Business Consulting. This is generally now accepted and proven that great Advertising just like Great Business consulting, does create an exponential diffferential to the client's market share and drives business with as much gusto.

One often wonders then, why do the Greatest of Agency Client realtionships are not enduring as one would expect them.

Here is something that Adage published on the 17th of this month.

Volkswagen- one of the most awarded clients in the world, and also one of the world's savviest, is parting ways with its US Agency of Record, CP+B.



You can read the detailed story here-

http://adage.com/agencynews/article?article_id=138499




Generally, one would expect such a thing to happen when the advertising and agency's output was not up to the client's expectations.

But no, in this case, VW's market share increased in the four years concerned.

The Advertising that CP+ B created got noticed by the consumer. VW increased its consumer pull and equity.

You can take any index or any brand measure and you will see that the relationship performed.

Then why does VW looking for a change?

The second development that happened is Sony calling a review for its Creative duties.

You can read more about it here-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/theres-no-monkey-business-about-the-success-of-fallon-1769863.html

Now, everybody thought that the single handed way in which Fallon's creativity made the Sony portfolio a winner would make the relationship of almost six years endure.

But no, Sony wants a fresh understanding and hence the pitch.

Now some of the most Iconic advertising that got created during the past six years or so was for these brands.

Consumer loved the Brands, market share went up, advertising got awarded....Infact, during these six years two of the most loved ads (Bravia Balls and Paints) were the most watched and awarded ads in the world..!!

But still the relationships could not endure seamlessly..!!!

Why does that happen? What was lacking?What more could the agency have been doing?

If even so called Great Performing and Disruptive Ideas can not ensure the continuity of the relationship then what can?

I would like to hazard an explanation.

The Communication business is much more dynamic and competitive than the Business conslting business. Consumer Behaviour and category purchase dynamics change much quickly.

And as a result the clients are forever made to feel, by the media, by other competing agencies and by their own hubris that may be they can still get better.- bettter consumer understanding, better creative thinking and overall better Brand direction.

Such an approach is risky can actually backfire, as we have countless examples where a new Advertising Idea or communication platform has often backfired for the business.

Since the business fundamentals more or less remain the same for any business-logistics, manufacturing and Product Manamgement etc- Business Consulting vendors and their client relationships are much less uncertain.

As I write this, CP+B, being a proud agency as it is, refused to participate in the pitch, saying, it believes in its creative output and has a policy not to defend its businesses that it believes it has given its best. Bravo!

Fallon too set this example, when shortly after the BMW films, it refused to participate in a creative review citing roughly the same philosophy.

I guess, the advertising business needs more such Gladiators who believe in themselves and their work.