How to Get Your Agency to Run through Brick Walls... Without Paying More - by Joanne Davis (Hardcover)

About the Book

This essential little volume by Joanne Davis should be a constant reference on the desk of every client and agency executive. It would undoubtedly improve relationships, save money, and produce better work.

Book Synopsis

More than one trillion dollars are spent globally on advertising-a figure exceeding the GDP of 19 countries.

Imagine the waste to companies and their stockholders when marketers aren't taught and do not know the basic skills of briefing, guiding, and motivating their agencies. Sadly, not enough organizations invest in ensuring that marketers can become better clients.

Surprisingly, with one or two exceptions, there are no other books about how marketers can be better clients to their advertising agencies, but there are hundreds of books on how to start an agency, how to grow an agency, how to run an agency, how to start an internal agency, how to revamp an agency, how to win more new business, how agencies can be better, and many biographies and memoirs written by agency leaders, but shockingly, no books teach clients how to manage their agencies effectively.

Given the high stakes of advertising expenditure, Joanne Davis' summary of what she teaches marketers and their procurement colleagues about managing, inspiring, and leading agencies- to get more out of their agency relationships without costing them more- is a must-read for any marketer or procurement executive who manages any variety of agency shops.

While Joanne's book tackles a serious subject, it is designed to be a fun, instructional read. The book showcases "Client Bad Behavior" and "Client Good Behavior," as well as how the agency responds- despite their inner thoughts. Organized into three sections- Foundation of the Relationship, Inspiring Creativity, and Business Matters- the book addresses practical and problematic issues, highlighted by Joanne's straightforward advice. How to Get Your Agency to Run through Brick Walls offers advice on briefing agencies, providing feedback, timing, governance, and financial management.

Her Glossary of Terms, or "Code Words and Ambiguous Phrases," is a brilliant addition that adds another layer of entertainment-and honesty-to the book. Her Afterword on "Agency Tricks and Tactics" also can't be missed!

As a long-time senior advertising leader and brand builder, she has lived through hundreds of agency searches. When she started her company 20 years ago, she promised her clients (and herself) that she would correct the wrongs. From concepts like Can This Agency-Client Marriage Be Saved? to specific ideas on how to repair relationships, she has proven that while change may be constant, it doesn't have to break partnerships.

Her book is designed to give real-life, inside-baseball examples and concise advice to time-starved marketers, procurement managers new to the advertising category, and agency leaders who want to teach their clients how to create a win.

Joanne Davis' examples of good client behavior underscore how great marketers can encourage their agencies to -figuratively- run through brick walls, jump through hoops, and walk on hot coals for their clients without asking for more fees.

This essential little volume should be a constant reference on the desk of every client and agency executive. It would undoubtedly improve relationships, save money, and produce better results.

Review Quotes

"Joanne Davis has always been a leader in client and agency management. She's one of the only consultants who tries to save the marriage before starting a review. I'm so happy that more leaders are writing on this important topic. I learned from writing my books that it's harder than it looks, and Joanne has summarized important lessons in a helpful little book that's a fun read about serious matters. I highly recommend it to marketers, procurement managers, and agencies alike who are trying to get more out of their relationship and build trust together."

-Jared Belsky, best-selling author of 'You Get the Agency You Deserve, ' and 'The Great Client Partner.'

"If Joanne Davis were a law firm, she'd be called Frank, Kind & Wise - but lucky for us, Joanne has dedicated her talents to helping we marketers create the kind of relationships that make all the difference. Read this book and cherish its advice, advice that's made me a better marketer and, honestly, a better human."

- Michael Fanuele, best-selling author of 'Stop Making Sense, The Art of Inspiring Anybody, ' and former Chief Creative Officer of General Mills.

"With 'How to Get Your Agency to Run through Brick Walls, ' Joanne Davis has created the definitive playbook for elevating agency relationships. Her practical advice on everything from briefing to financial management will empower marketing executives to unleash their agencies' full creative potential and drive market growth."

- Allen Adamson, best-selling author of 'Seeing the How, ' 'BrandSimple, ' and 'The Edge: 50 Tips from Brands that Lead.'

"Joanne Davis, whose clients over the past 20+ years have been big-spending advertisers, has written an astonishingly frank book about the shortcomings that advertisers bring to their relationships with agencies. Bravo, Joanne! In a brief 75 pages, she identifies fourteen "Bad Behaviors" of advertisers that prevent agencies from doing their best work. Offsetting the Bad Behaviors are recommendations for Good Behaviors, commented on in insightful ways by Davis. If advertisers take her recommendations to heart, we should see a major increase in the effectiveness of advertising in this troubled industry, which has been marked by low sales growth for advertised products."

- Michael Farmer, author of 'Madison Avenue Manslaughter, ' and 'Madison Avenue Makeover.'