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Brand Strategy Marketing Brand Safety

The worst thing a client ever said to me

By Simon Derungs, Client Services Director

The Maverick Group

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October 5, 2022 | 5 min read

Reflecting on a past client relationship and brand campaigns gone by, Simon Derungs of The Maverick Group anecdotally affirms that while there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe, safe is often synonymous with unseen.

Frenchie puppy content in its owners arms

Brands and stakeholders need trust if they want to dare to be different / Freestocks via Unsplash

I have an admission. I once presented a new campaign to a client that I was sure they’d love. We’d answered the brief, then the re-brief, addressed every challenge, and pulled it all together with some lovely design – practically tied it up with a ribbon.

A job well done. The clients smiled, nodded at each other, and thanked us for all the hard work. It was looking good. Then the client said the words that will haunt me to my grave: “It feels very safe.”

Oh my. Surely it should be the other way round. We are the ones who are supposed to challenge the client and make them feel uncomfortable. Scare them, even. It’s practically written into our job descriptions: ‘We will scare the bejesus out of our clients with our edgy creative.’ ‘Safe’? We should be doing ‘unsafe.’

I was recounting this episode to a colleague recently, and it made me wonder how this happened. How do agencies find themselves doing ‘safe’ work, right up to the point where they get fired?

Challenge, not transaction

Just like any relationship, it’s easy to find yourself in a routine. There’s an agreed way of doing things. You know the client and their business so well, you know what they like and what their boss will like. It becomes automatic and prescriptive, so you stop being an independent, expert advisor and fretting about what the client really needs.

Because you’re in your comfort zone, you create work for client approval rather than for the target audience. You do it today as you did it yesterday. The result? Work that follows the rules, rather than changes them. It’s a classic bear trap, and usually works fine – until a new chief marketing officer joins.

There’s nothing wrong with safe. Some of the best ads of our lifetime could have been described as safe (‘Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet,’ BT’s ‘Ology’ advert and so on), unless it becomes bland, expected, forgettable. ‘Workmanlike’ springs to mind. To be fair, this probably describes the vast majority of advertising out there today. But, as Dave Trott constantly reminds us, 90% of the money spent on advertising is wasted because it’s neither noticed nor remembered. Far too often, safe is invisible.

Get out of your comfort zone

Of course, bravado in agencies is legendary. How many times have I heard someone say: “The client needs to be brave.” Easy to say when it’s not your money (or your ass) on the line.

So, while we do need to challenge and break out of our comfort zones, we must do it in partnership with our clients. It was only when I went client-side that I truly began to understand just how difficult it is for clients to manage stakeholders and reach consensus (it’s really hard).

However, working together on ‘unsafe’ ideas can get you to Think Small, Cadbury’s Gorilla, I Hate Marmite and FCK (KFC’s apology). Together you may go through hell, but the prize can be immense. As that well-known saying goes: “Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.” Well, maybe they should be.

Brand Strategy Marketing Brand Safety

Content by The Drum Network member:

The Maverick Group

WE HELP BRANDS UNLOCK THEIR MAVERICK POTENTIAL. In the battle for hearts and minds the Mavericks have the advantage. Those that know that it isn’t the size of...

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