There are some common practices and processes in our industry that we have accepted without question. These practices and processes have been put in place before some of us have been in this business.

It is perhaps stupid to question them. But I am not that smart a person so I will raise some questions about them.

The Brief Always Comes From The Client

The client obviously knows his or her business best. And the agency will not be privy to information that is not disclosed by client. The problem is that we tend to tick the usual boxes when it comes to what constitutes a brief.

If the agency is sensitive enough, and informed enough about what goes on around the world, the agency may come across an opportunity that the client has missed. Agencies should pitch briefs to clients to widen the horizon of opportunities for both parties.

The Production House Receives The Script At Quotation Stage

There are film directors who can make the agencies’ scripts much better. But because of our process, they are not permitted to. When the script gets to the film director, it has probably gone through countless rounds of approvals and perhaps a focus group or two. But the film director is seeing it for the first time, and he or she has ideas to make it funnier or more dramatic. The agency supports the film director’s vision but is afraid to rock the boat with the client. This is a pretty common scenario.

The other pretty common scenario is that the budget to realize the script is not realistic. These situations can be avoided if the process of when we include the production houses is changed. If there is a way for production houses to be involved earlier it will help dramatically.

There Is A Creative Department And A Servicing Department

No matter how well people get along with each other, the agency model creates a division. The thing is there is a breed of advertising people who blur the line between creative and servicing. An art director who services the client. An account manager who thinks of ideas. This breed can change the current agency model. And everyone has to be a strategic thinker.

Our Remuneration System Is Based On Services Rendered

This is a business that is sometimes hard for agencies to survive. I wonder if we can change the way we look at what it is that we do. Instead of selling ourselves as advertising practitioners, what if we sell ourselves as a company that represents advertising talents? Just like the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood that represents talents like Will Smith, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence.

We find the best projects for the best talents who are good at cars, shampoo or dog food. And packages are negotiated based on how the talent has performed in the past in their respective areas of expertise. Or how bankable they are in getting future results.

The views expressed in this article are personal opinions and do not represent the views of the respective agency.
Source: Brands Vietnam