With a title like the above, you might think we’ve returned to the days
of Sarah Palin’s memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life.
But this time I’m not talking about a “mavericky” Alaskan -- who, along
with a very talented PR machine, masterminded a brilliant and profitable 15
minutes of fame. I’m talking about the client-PR agency relationship and how,
despite living in an age of instant communication, some maverick-prone clients
fail to keep their PR agencies abreast of what they are planning to say, how
they plan to say it, which media outlets they’re talking to and who’s
writing what. It’s as if we’re being undervalued -- a topic I discussed in
a recent blog,
Proving
PR’s Business Value Easier Said than Done, But Not Impossible.
A recent
AdAge article also
addresses this growing advertising agency concern, citing data from
The Bedford Group that finds
the average client-agency relationship length has fallen to under 3 years
versus 7.2 years in 1984 -- a drop of almost 60% over three decades.
What has changed and why is this happening?
Even my agency has not been immune to so-called rogue clients. A press
release gets drafted without our knowledge. A media interview is conducted
without our review and the client is caught off guard. Each scenario is a
potential PR minefield.
Notice in the preceding paragraph that I was very selective in my
language, as all PR execs should be. At no point did I say “without our
consent” or “without our green light” -- and I think that’s the problem right
there. Turf wars between agency management/oversight and client control.
Considering that client-agency relationship lengths are so short, we must do
everything in our power not to step on clients’ toes, or we may be perceived as
know-it-alls.
Trust me, we’re not. And in the power struggle that communications can
become, clients have the final say.
That said, there is a reason why we call the client-agency arrangement
a relationship and not a doctor-patient review. Clients come to us for creative
ways to
improve their brand, not reinvent it. They’re not
sick. They’re not dying. Agencies are integral to this team effort. And that
collaboration, as I addressed in another
blog,
begins with thinking about clients less as machine-like conglomerates, and more
like individuals with communication needs that must be met,
not serviced.
So what we have here are two partners failing to communicate -- one
that is perceived to be micromanaging (the agency) and one that’s looking to
preserve its own voice. As AdAge rightly points out,
technology ironically hampers our communication efforts as excessive emails and
meetings trump genuine correspondence and conversations, watering down the quality
of our time together.
And since this article began with a political reference, I’ll begin my
wrap-up like this: agencies and the clients they represent need to press the
“reset button,” remembering to be transparent about what each side plans to do
and when they plan to do it, within reason. It’s a building block
of trust and mutual respect. PR agencies are there to help, not hurt. And we
can only do that when clients are honest with us and we are aware of their
intentions. Likewise, agencies must involve their clients actively in the
communications and PR outreach process.
Of course, this advice won’t stop all instances of going rogue, nor
will it consign the occurrence solely to our industry. Sometimes, for very
deliberate reasons, clients employ elements of surprise to their communications
advantage, keeping everyone but their innermost circle in the dark. The recent
shocking resignation of Pope Benedict XVI demonstrates that even inner, inner circles
aren’t always privy to the thoughts of one individual.
In most cases, as seems to be the case with Alaska’s former governor,
going rogue helps no one, not even the so-called “maverick.” Fittingly, like
the drop in client-agency relationship length, Palin’s Amazon book price has
fallen 60% too.
Does your agency have a going rogue problem? Inspired by the data
gathered from The Bedford Group, I’d like to begin collating my own research on
the client-agency “going rogue” phenomenon and report our findings in a
follow-up article. Beyond the suggestions I have offered, how does your agency
address the problem? Are there examples of a contentious client-agency
relationship being healed by an attitude adjustment? Any particularly jarring
“rogue moment” that caused your agency to put its foot down and change communications
course? Lastly, like a heart attack, are there any warning signs that rogue has
arrived? I would love to hear about your experiences with clients “going
rogue.”
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