The big blog

Don’t be alarmed. No one’s coming after you with cold, hard steel. But you should, nevertheless, brace yourself. Because I have some news that may be hard to believe. Ready? Here it is: clients and agencies don’t always agree.

I know, I know. Inconceivable. You probably thought (especially if you’re a client of Big) that every project is all rainbows and unicorns. But the remarkable fact remains: differences of opinion do occur. And when they do, there might then ensue (shudder) conflict.

But is conflict necessarily a bad thing? Of course not. In fact, in my humble opinion, the tension between a client’s viewpoint and the agency’s is the electricity that often jumpstarts a better idea. But you have to be willing to acknowledge that tension. Even, occasionally, encourage it.

Of course, a lot of folks shy away from conflict. Which is perfectly understandable. First of all, ours is a decent, polite society (or at least that’s the hope). Plus, we want to behave like professionals—the intimidating, tyrannical prima donna is yesterday’s cliché (or should be). Self-interest is a factor, too. Many agencies fear conflict because they don’t want to risk frustrating a client and perhaps losing the account.

Which brings us to the real warning of this post. If you work with an agency and never, ever have a disagreement, or if every disagreement immediately evaporates with the agency abruptly caving, then you’re not getting what you paid for.

Think about it. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone’s opinion, if they’re truly engaged in the project, is valid—if your agency doesn’t agree, if they’re so arrogant as to think the client’s opinion doesn’t matter, then you can show them the door. Conversely, though, you have to remember that an agency’s opinion is based on expertise, on experience, on a set of skills and a unique perspective that you as the client do not have. It’s easy to forget this when opinions diverge over something subjective, like the best color or most effective phrasing or prettiest picture. It’s easy to think that, because the issue is subjective, every opinion is equally valid. But if you remember why you hired your agency, if you remember that this is what they do for a living, then you’re likely to give the agency’s opinion a little more weight. You’ll understand why the agency might push back when you tell them the boss doesn’t get the headline, or the VP of sales doesn’t like the typeface.

For the agency, it all comes down to this crazy little thing called due diligence. If we think you’re headed in the wrong direction, or making a decision that’s not in your best interest, then we have an obligation to tell you—even though disagreements aren’t always fun. If we don’t say anything, then we’re not giving you the full benefit of our expertise; we’re not being the best possible stewards of your project, of your brand, of your company. In other words, we’re not giving you everything you paid for.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the agency is always right. But if the agency backs down at the first sign of conflict, or if you make them back down rather than hear them out, then you’ll never know.

So lift your sword. And insist that your agency lift theirs. No one has to draw any blood, but the clang of crossed metal, the thrust and the parry, can be pretty invigorating. Not to mention productive. En garde!