Optimizing briefing processes for effective and engaging agency-client collaboration
When agencies receive client briefings, there is sometimes hesitation to request a rebrief. This reluctance can stem from the fear that clients, already under pressure or dissatisfied, might perceive the request for further clarification as bothersome or a sign of incompetence. Conversely, clients may choose to skip rebrief meetings not only because they believe their briefing was clear enough, but also because they themselves are not entirely certain and hoped the agency would make sense of it somehow without their participation. The real frustration for both the agency and client, however, emerges when the agency has already dedicated significant resources, only to face a wave of change requests. This situation can lead to high frustration along with over-time, additional costs, project delays, and ultimately a culture of blaming each other.
Whether you're on the agency side receiving briefings or on the brand side sending out briefings, consider the following if you genuinely want to boost efficiency, maximize output, and foster a pleasant collaboration.
Rebrief is not a favour, it is a fundamental aspect of project management. A rebrief, particularly for large and complex projects should be considered non-negotiable. When properly prepared, a rebrief phase provides an invaluable opportunity for both parties to ask crucial questions, clarify ambiguities, identify and address obstacles, and ensure that everyone's understanding aligns with the project's goals. On the other hand, rushing into projects in an attempt to save time often leads to unnecessary frictions. In fact, trying to cut corners at the beginning can end up being more costly later on.
A rebrief meeting needs preparation and a lead. Conducting a successful rebrief meeting requires preparation by the account lead. Simply launching into the session without adequate groundwork, assuming things will naturally fall into place, is not a good strategy. Time is limited, and without clear focus, the meeting is likely to yield little productivity. Apart from crafting an agenda encompassing all points requiring clarification, it's essential to strategize the most effective approach for addressing these, acknowledging that clients might not have all the answers.
Involve key stakeholders (agency-side). Attempting to tackle the briefing and rebrief meetings solo not only burdens account leads unnecessarily, but it is also negligent. Depending on the project's complexity, tapping into the expertise of teams like strategy and creative is essential. Ensure that key colleagues who will be part of the project are involved both in the briefing evaluation and in the rebrief meeting. Inviting them to the meeting without prior alignment can result in unnecessary debates during the meeting, with some colleagues choosing to opt out of the discussion to maintain professionalism in front of the client.
Involve key stakeholders (client-side). Brand Managers need to ensure alignment with all relevant stakeholders before sending out the briefing and before approving the rebrief to prevent communication of change requests. Ideally, these relevant stakeholders should also participate in the rebrief meeting to minimize unnecessary back-and-forth. In reality, timely internal alignments with all relevant colleagues can indeed be challenging at times, especially when facing tight deadlines. Brand managers then tend to brief the agency nonetheless. In this case, transparency about the aspects requiring alignment is key, enabling both brand and account managers to determine which project components can be tackled in the meantime and when final information must be provided to adhere to the planned timeline.
Share the polished rebrief document for final confirmation. Having a solid alignment document at your fingertips can provide ease for both brand and account managers. For brand managers, it helps to maintain awareness of which future requests are change requests or feedback loops. The same goes for account managers: They can confidently refer to the agreement when brand managers attempt to introduce change requests under the guise of 'feedback.' This ensures account managers can confidently navigate any budget conversations, if the approved scope and budget can’t cover the change request.
Consider regular status meetings: Regular status meetings are essential for reviewing the project plan, assessing progress against milestones, and identifying any deviations from the plan and their potential implications. For example, if client-side approval processes take longer than anticipated, it's crucial to discuss how this could impact project delivery timelines. Conversely, completing certain subtasks ahead of schedule may present opportunities for accelerating the project. Additionally, these meetings provide a valuable opportunity to engage with the client and gauge their sentiments, thereby strengthening the client-agency relationship.
Be adaptable to changes in scope over time: Account managers who cling to the idea that the briefing is set in stone will only create challenges for themselves and their clients. It's always possible for the scope or deliverables to change during the project, regardless of how meticulously the briefing process was conducted. Embracing this fact will help you adopt an agile mindset, focusing on supporting your clients who might be under high stress rather than working against them to maintain the previous agreement.
Derive insights on how to optimize the briefing process: Both brand and account managers will benefit from conducting a review after the project ends. What worked well and what didn't? For example, how about the briefing process? Instead of passively accepting incomplete briefings, account managers can consider organizing a workshop with the client to define essential briefing components and provide a comprehensive briefing template that covers all necessary elements for clarity. It's important to note that incomplete or vague briefings not only lead to unnecessary additional time between the agency and the client but also consume additional internal agency time and resources.
