A TOP-NOTCH AGENCY BRIEF!

You have identified a specific communication/marketing challenge or issue for your brand and have decided to work with an external partner to implement an action plan.

The process of selecting the right partner involves three steps: 1- The scoping stage: drafting the brief/your specifications and selecting the partners you will approach. 2- The stage during which agencies develop their recommendations and you select a partner. 3- The onboarding or collaboration launch stage.

The relevance of the agencies' recommendations, and subsequently the effectiveness and quality of the operational implementation of the recommendation, depend of course on the quality of the brief, which is a fundamental step, but also on the overall dynamics at work at all stages.

Initiating a positive and productive dynamic requires two prerequisites:

• Anticipation: to cover the three steps above, a minimum of six weeks is necessary. This may be extended depending on the nature of the issue and the complexity of the expected recommendations.
  
• Weeks 1 and 2: drafting the brief and selecting the agencies to be interviewed
  
• Weeks 3/4/5: sharing the brief, drafting the recommendation by the agencies, presentation, selection

• Week 6: start of the collaboration.
  Before drafting the brief, it is also advisable to add the number of days (or weeks) required for internal validation of the priority issues to be addressed and the use of an external service provider.
  

• Collaboration: a collaborative and participatory approach is essential at all stages. Internally, it ensures that all stakeholders are aligned on the brief, the selection criteria and the choice itself. Between you, the client, and the shortlisted agencies, from the very first stages of discussion, trust and transparency in the information exchanged are guarantees not only of the quality of the recommendation but also of the quality of its implementation. This does not preclude keeping information confidential at the start of the process and/or having a confidentiality agreement signed at the stage of the process where it is required.

1- The scoping stage

This stage is fundamental, as it allows you, the client, to define the scope of the recommendation/response you expect from the agency and the scope of the agency consultation itself (particularly the participants if it is a competitive pitch).

The phases of drafting the brief and selecting the partners you will be approaching are carried out simultaneously, as they feed into each other.

Please note: A competitive pitch is not mandatory if you have a trusted partner, limited time or a multi-year framework contract with a partner. The written brief remains essential. Even if the brief is preceded/followed by a verbal exchange, the written document will serve as a reference throughout the project. If you are putting agencies in competition with each other, it will ensure that all participants have the same level of information. The formalisation required by the written document is a guarantee of relevant recommendations and productive collaboration!

1.1-Selecting agencies to participate in the competition

Although the selection phase for participating agencies does not require the brief to be finalised, it is highly recommended that, before initiating initial contact, you at least validate the issue and your macro expectations in terms of deliverables (brand activation, website redesign). The ultimate goal is to include three agencies in the competition to optimise everyone's time. However, you can initially identify five to six potential partners and have an initial discussion with them to validate the suitability of the agency's profile for your issue, its references to contact, its interest in the brief and the availability of its teams at the recommendation and operational implementation stage, as well as your ‘feeling’ with the teams, which is a fundamental element in a collaborative process. The relevance of the questions asked by the agency teams is also a good indicator of the future relevance of the recommendation! The final brief will only be sent to the three potential partners selected.

1.2-The Brief

There is, of course, no standard brief content: it depends on the nature and complexity of the issue. However, a brief does include certain essential points.

A/ Who are you? The aim is to present your entity/brand/products, but also its positioning, competitive environment, key figures, brand history in the market, distribution network, key image and awareness study elements, etc. You may also want to carry out a SWOT analysis to share your vision of the market and your brand's strengths and weaknesses with agencies. The aim is not to be exhaustive, but to share relevant information based on the issues you will be addressing.

B/ Why?

This involves formalising your needs, the origin and context of these needs, potential targets, and quantitative/qualitative objectives. Example: you need to redesign your website to optimise the customer journey and its natural referencing in order to be competitive with your competitors in a context where you are aiming to increase your online turnover from 5% to 10% within three years, or you want to organise a regional road show as part of the launch of a new product to present this product to your potential distributors and quickly gain notoriety and distribution coverage. (Need inspiration: find many projects carried out by Agence IS here*).

Don't multiply your objectives, prioritise them and, as far as possible, make sure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Acceptable (or shared), Realistic and Time-bound. This approach injects objectivity into the relationships between all stakeholders (within the company and in agency/client relationships).

C/ How?

The point is not for you to provide an answer in place of the agency. The aim here is to share your convictions or intuitions about how to respond to the issue. At this stage, share test&learn actions that have already been initiated in your company or elsewhere. For example, operations on other products of the brand or other international markets, inspiring examples from competitors or initiatives in other sectors that are similar to your challenges (communication on leisure boxes when you are launching a subscription service for a clothing box).

This section should also include your constraints: project schedule, organisational constraints, compliance with an existing charter, technical constraints, etc.

This framework should enable the agency to understand the degree of creativity possible and its latitude to challenge the proposed solutions to the problem you are presenting. Example: you are proposing a convention in Paris to launch a new brand range internally. The agency may or may not challenge this format (a road show to meet with store teams in smaller groups) because the Global CEO will be present and wants to deliver a message directly to all teams.

D/ What?

This involves precisely defining the scope of the project and your needs, and therefore the deliverables expected from the agency at the recommendation stage on the one hand, and at the operational implementation stage on the other. For example, if it is a campaign to launch a new product, do you expect the agency to provide a 360° recommendation or only on the customer and distributor events aspect? You can expect a recommendation on 360° media communication, but you specify that the space itself will be purchased directly by the in-house media teams.

Precisely defining the scope covered by the tender/recommendation allows competing agencies to work on comparable scopes. Also specify your requirements in terms of formalising the presentation: three creative ideas, choice of venues, a 3D plan, etc., and share the criteria on which you will base your choice at this stage.

It is also highly recommended that you include the provisional budget in the brief to ensure that the agency's response is appropriately calibrated.

E/ When?

This involves precisely defining the schedule for the tender process on the one hand, and the provisional schedule for the launch/roll-out of the operation on the other.

2- The phase during which agencies prepare their recommendations and partners are selected

At this stage, the workload is mainly on the agencies! However, once the written brief has been sent, we recommend that you schedule a question and answer session with the agency or agencies. This should take place shortly after the brief has been sent in order to clearly define the agency's scope of work and answer any additional questions. Indicate whether you are open to an interim working session to pre-validate the directions taken by the agency.

When selecting a partner, schedule an oral presentation meeting as soon as the brief is submitted and specify the time allocated, the internal attendees (selection committee) and the selection criteria. This grid is only indicative – add specific criteria here (e.g. international dimension or level of integration of certain professions such as logistics, etc.).

Once you have made your choice, please notify the winner and losers promptly. The grid will be a valuable tool for justifying your choice and enabling the losing agencies to adjust their working methods or proposals.

3- The onboarding or start-up phase of the collaboration.

Do not neglect this intermediate step between choosing the agency and implementing the solution you have selected.

Be available or take the initiative to organise a meeting with all stakeholders, especially the operational teams in charge of steering and implementation on the client and agency sides. This meeting will allow you to clarify who does what, get to know your now exclusive partner better, and review the recommendation to validate the expected deliverables, deadlines, and budget point by point.

By establishing a working relationship based on TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, SOLIDARITY and RELIABILITY from the outset, you are laying the foundations for collective success.