Working with agencies. At what risk?

We’re pushing the big FIVE OH and we’ve seen many industry transformations in that time. But none more so than the drastic sea change of the past 5-10 years.

In the beginning, it was go-big or go-home. Big agencies, with large teams, large overheads and doing everything that could be imagined from branding, advertising, digital marketing to photography, filming, 3D modelling, illustration, copywriting... you name it, it was offered.

Then came internal teams, placing one or two creative or technical experts in selected areas to get the work done quicker and at less cost and more commitment. But maintaining inspiration and freedom, and covering a wide array of skills, can be tricky for creative minds when working on a single brand, day in and day out.

Today we see more of a hybrid approach. It’s an approach which takes the best bits of all the above; smaller more nimble agencies, in-house teams supported by the management and resource of agencies and drawing on specialists in specific disciplines when required.

But the sticking point comes as we’re moving away from a world where suppliers can be brought onboard at the drop of a hat. In this new world, supply chains must align to the vision, values and due diligence of their clients but also to those of the end customer. Agencies are now more accountable than ever before.

So, if all agencies can do roughly the same thing as each other, for roughly the same price, how do you decide which agency to work with? Whilst it’s true that some may be slightly stronger in one discipline than others, some skew more towards branding than digital, some more advertising than graphic, we believe the single most important factor for many clients is the reduction of risk.

At LEWIS we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients and take total accountability for each project, each hour, each action, each alignment to policy, and we have a dedicated team that manage all these things. It gives our clients the peace of mind and freedom to get on with their job, knowing they have a team of experts spinning plates on their behalf every step of the way.

Historically, we haven’t seen this as an USP or critical client offering. We were too busy shouting about the lovely website we’ve built or the number of staff we had filling our lovely, shiny offices! But time and time again, clients would say the same thing; “Thanks”. “Thanks for helping me get this done”. “Thanks for taking the weight of all these jobs and scheduling them, managing them, budgeting them”. “Thanks for being my extra pair of hands, not just doing the sexy stuff, but doing the crappy stuff and doing it well”.

Our brand support line: ‘Made to Last’ considers the creative and technical output of our studio, but primarily, it’s about the relationships we build. It’s clients who are more like partners, the trust developed over 5, 10 and even 15 years of shared responsibility and success with brands. And, most importantly, having fun whilst we do it. But what’s the secret to continually building relationships that last?

Unwavering accountability, transparency, no fear of getting our hands dirty, doing the heavy lifting and the eliminating risk. After all, we are all in this together.