Vision: How to make the most of your creative agency?

Essentially, all of my clients are looking to expand their business and generate more profit. And we have the strategic and creative tools to help them with that. This is our job. But as we all know there is a big difference between doing ‘good’ and ‘great’ work. And wouldn’t it be fantastic if clients knew that they could be the key in making that difference?
There is an interesting phenomenon that I had observed for many years working in the creative industry. First as a designer, later on as a creative director and finally as a partner at Skyne. No matter which country I worked in, it was always the same trick.

All human beings work their best if they are motivated and challenged to do so. And creative and strategic professionals are just like any other people.
It crossed my mind the other day when a potential client was not taking our work seriously; “I would like to be in your shoes- you just write something down on paper and send a heavy bill for it, haha” … eh I am sorry?!!

The difference between drowning in the competitive field or standing out with your product or service is in the hands of the agency and their team.
The key to doing ‘great’ instead of ‘good’ work, is cooperating with your agency as partners and making them feel like it is their business too. They will work late, be self -critical and even spend their free time giving you their absolute magic, which leads to brilliant creative and effective designs and concepts. And more importantly- you will be on top of their mind so they will come up with initiatives and ideas that your business can benefit from without you having to pay for it!

On the one hand, I know it is really important to make it more clear to our clients what we can really do for their business and why a certain investment is needed to get the best results. Or why a certain process is needed to achieve the winning concepts. But on the other hand, I always know for certain whether a new concept will work or whether it will be in a questionable state. Perhaps it is not always easy to understand for others that with decades of experience, your intuition is hardly ever wrong.

Working together as partners, treating each other with respect and having a clear brief on what you want to achieve, will make us- creatives and strategists use our time to go those extra 20 miles for you or help you meet those ridiculous deadlines. We just want it to be fantastic and successful for you!

Dennis de Rond is Founding Partner at Skyne.