We all know this scenario. Big piece of business goes up for review. You are invited in or fight to be in the review. You throw everything you have against it:
- People
- Resources
- Systems
- Infrastructure
- Culture
You start with deep insight and develop strategy. You turn the strategy into seamlessly linked execution…data rich…data connected and data activated. Your creative expressions are brilliant and cross platforms…on-line and off…but always on…always linked…always customer focused. Media is efficient and effective…cost wise; brand wise and ROI wise. Your team is bespoke; proactive; digitally connected and wise and adds value. You have gone in with a sharp financial plan…no fat…no excess and skin in the game.
And you feel good. The feedback has been positive. The potential client has been responsive, engaged. They even tell you that you are excelling.
The negotiations begin. Mostly..all? around cost and profit. The date of the promised decision passes and the negotiations continue. It’s clear they are negotiating with you and maybe another…or more.
All the hard work; the brilliant thinking; the cutting to the bone and your best at the table feedback comes down to cost and profit.
Are you being undercut by someone else? Have they seriously underbid the cost just to win… hoping for profit redemption latter?
Will you be able to deliver on what made you stand out if you cut more cost?
Can you get off to the right start given the final negotiations?
And then you win!!!
The press is all about the great thinking…nothing about the cost.
And now you have to deliver…to a set of Shareholders who care about your margin.
We have all played in this scenario. And despite protestations, to the contrary, by some, for whom the illusion is better than the truth it is still being played out in the industry.
Needless to say I don’t have to remind you that financial and delivery issues linked to transparency and accountability continue to rank highest in the issues that sour relationships.
Scopes of Work based on FTE’s negotiated to fractions of cost don’t add value to the client deliverable…to the contrary and strangle the agency. The ability to plan and measure in real time…linked to a client’s ROI is a powerful tool for all. The entire process should be based on building the clients business and the agency profit should be pegged there.
Accountability follows. This is not just the realm of the CFO or a procurement issue. This is core to the relationship…every one including creatives need to be on board driving…the SOW…client success and agency profit.
And yet…
Perhaps the solution is to take this issue off the table. Create a standard agreed to by all…agency and client….ANA and 4A’s. A way to deliver results profitably, for all and on time. A solution that makes working with multiple partners simple and allows for real time apples to apples analysis of deliverables.
A solution focused on outcomes and building the clients business and owned by all…from creatives to the CMO.
COR is that solution. Bringing together the entire Agency team in a transparent system that intelligently suggests how to manage projects, teams and finances.
COR:
- Automates task creation through project and service templates
- Uses AI to learn from previous projects to help with time benchmarking
- Detects time spent on different tasks making time tracking accurate
- Handles real-time calculations for operational and financial reporting
- Monitors performance suggesting changes to teams; fees; deadlines
- Accurately predicts time needs
Bottom line…as clients and agencies struggle with the same need to deliver profit and shareholder value…why worry about overload; turnover and visibility when it can be yours.
Today COR is a secret weapon used by many agencies and demanded by some clients… those that are laser focused on business results and who believe, in their own core, that exceptional client Brand/Business results drive all.
Make COR core.
