by Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) The client-agency relationship is often referred to as a marriage. Even though this feels like a colloquial use of the term, it is not a misnomer. In fact, there are many elements of the client–agency relationship that bear similarity to a marriage.
The Oxford dictionary defines a marriage as ‘the formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognized by law, by which they become 
husband and wife’ [Oxford needs an update – ed.].
With marriage comes a set of vows which are undertakings that the parties make to each other. Some of these vows include a promise to respect, cherish and love each other, to provide for each other, to protect each other, to stay faithful to each other, to support each other’s goals, to support each other through difficulties and lastly to submit to each other.
If you compare a marriage to a client-agency relationship, you will notice that there are similarities between the two.
The client-agency contract makes provision for the supply of advertising services in return for a set fee or commission. It also states the duration of the contract and stipulates grounds for terminating the contract. What is often absent from this contract are rules of engagement or rules that govern how the parties relate to one another.
Let’s apply marriage vows to the client–agency relationship to see if they would be of any value.
A vow to respect each other is the cornerstone of all relationships. Without respect, relationships become servile and abusive. The best client–agency relationships are partnerships that are based on mutual respect (just as submission in a marriage has to be mutual).
Some agencies tend to treat clients like ‘mini gods’ thereby turning a partnership into a servant-master relationship. On the other hand, some clients tend to breathe fear into their agencies, treating them with disdain and disrespect. Needless to say such a relationship is doomed to fail.
The next vow is about loving and cherishing each other. Perhaps love is too strong a word in the context of client–agency relationships but it is important for the two parties to like each other and enjoy working with each other. I’ve seen instances where there is no love lost between the two and the relationship is merely transactional.
It doesn’t matter how hard you try, you will never create magic if the two parties don’t like each other. That’s why we have pre-pitch chemistry sessions between agencies and clients. Client–agency relationships that are purely based on money have more effervescence than substance.
Providing for one another and protecting each other go hand in hand. As much as agencies will say they do what they do for love, they also have bills to pay. It is important that they are fairly remunerated for what they do and appropriately incentivised to excel.
Clients on the other hand don’t have infinite budgets. The expectation therefore is that agencies will be sensitive to this by managing costs and realising efficiencies where possible.
Agencies have a duty to protect clients from unscrupulous and greedy suppliers. Clients have a reciprocal duty to protect agencies from undue and counter-productive meddling as well as indecision on the client side. The creative process is delicate and its immune system is not strong enough to withstand ‘too many cooks’.
Fidelity is an important aspect to the client–agency relationship. Some clients think ‘a bit of competition to keep agencies on their toes’ is an incentive to perform, the opposite is true. Agencies produce much better work when they work within a secure relationship of trust.
I’ve come across both clients and agencies who are guilty of infidelity. Sometimes clients, out of frustration with perceived excessive costs and lack of speed and agility of a large agency, turn to a small one-man-band agency down the road that can do the job much quicker and cheaper. This is clearly in breach of their contract but often the large agency is reluctant to invoke the contract lest they piss off the client and risk losing the account. I’ve also heard of agencies secretly pitching on conflicting business simply because the prospect comes with a larger fee and a nicer client to work with.
The last vow that comes to mind is a promise to support each other through difficult times – read ‘for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health’. Every business goes through troughs and peaks. The world went through a massive economic recession a few years ago and a recent double dip recession.
We’ve seen consumers cut back on discretionary spend and clients advertising budgets come under pressure as a result. The question is how have agencies and clients responded to this exogenous shock to their ecosystem?
Are we seeing more efficiencies as a result? Have agencies dropped their fees, margin or commission in response? Have clients become more single-minded and put more money behind fewer objectives?
When agencies lose big accounts and are forced to retrench staff can they approach their other clients for help? I’m not suggesting the bottom line is not important, I’m merely challenging us to see the bigger picture.
In conclusion, great partnerships are what we should all strive for and work towards. People come to work to grow, do great work, create wealth and have fun. Nobody grows if they operate in a fearful, abusive environment where mistakes are not tolerated, debates are stifled and risk is not entertained. A dull, transactional relationship is neither fun nor sustainable. It doesn’t lead to great work and certainly doesn’t win awards.
So next time you enter into a client – agency contract make sure it starts with the words ‘I (name), take you (name) to be my partner …”
Alistair Mokoena (@AlistairMokoena) is a Unilever-trained Chartered Marketer with lots of blue-chip marketing experience. He’s currently MD of Draftfcb Joburg. Mokoena contributes the monthly “The Switch” column to MarkLives.com.
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