Ian Bishops top 10 wants from a Marketing Agency

Ian Bishop has been the non-exec at Creative Spark for almost three years and has provided valuable advice and support to the team. As Ian has a wealth of knowledge in the industry and has experienced a range of different client/agency relationships, we posed him the question, ‘What are the top 10 qualities a marketing director wants from his agency?’

In order to build an unstoppable relationship, Ian suggests the below:

1. A trusted partner.
   I want someone who has my back when I need something, like, yesterday or can get me out of a hole when I’ve forgotten something!
2. Has a great understanding of my business, competitors and the industry, not just a token gesture.
   I want my agency to really know what the issues are that we face, so when they present work back, it answers the exam question, there’s logic to the thought process, and therefore it has a chance of delivering ROI.
3. Understands me!
   They need to know how I work, my demands, why I want what I want and when I want it.
4. Creative.
   As we embark on a journey with an agency and we get to know each other, we know what we like and things follow a pattern. But please don’t stop being creative just because you have the account. Complacency will lose you the business I can promise you!
5. Be worldly.
   I want you to know about other sectors with similar challenges, how they win customers or loyalty, how they grow sales and margin and how solutions they found could be applied to my business with real-life examples.
6. Creative wins work, but service keeps it!
   Be on time for meetings “end of” and come prepared! It’s not asking for much, is it? There’s nothing more annoying than someone being late and coming undercooked. I can spot it a mile off and all it does is turn me off from whatever brilliant idea you may have come with.
7. Loyal.
   You are an extension to my team and I expect you to behave and act as one of them. In return, I will fully support you as I would any member of the team.
8. Don’t lie.
   You will get found out, as remember, I know more about the sector I work in than you do!

9. Don’t waffle and come with endless PowerPoint slides as I will just ask you to stop!
   Tell me the exam question you’re answering, present me the idea, show me the creative and then tell me how much.
10. Be well-rounded.
    I want my agency to understand how creative works across all platforms and don’t always think the digital route is the best (because it’s obvious and current). Sometimes the old ideas and methods work better!

If you’re looking to partner with an agency and want to build an unstoppable client/agency relationship, get in touch with us by emailing hello@creativespark.co.uk or by filling in our contact form.