Chairing the session was Future Factory Managing Partner Gill Huber, she was joined by: 

Adrian Mooney

Marketing Director UK at HOVIS, Previously VP Marketing EMEA Tetley Tea & Scholl & Marketing Director at Heinz, Mcvittie’s & Britvic  

Emily Somers

Senior Director, Global Brand Strategy and Creative at Deliveroo. Ex Chief Marketing Officer at Domino’s, Ex Vice President Marketing and Food Development at McDonalds, Ex MD at Havas 

Andrew Garrihy

Founder of the CMO Coach, Ex Global Chief Brand Officer/Marketing Officer at Huawei, Ex Vice President of Marketing EMEA at Qualcomm, Ex Director of Corporate Marketing at Samsung, Ex Global Head of Marketing at Vodafone 

Samuel Regan-Asante

Ex CEO of JOE Media Group, Ex Head of Marketing / Product & Marketing Director of LADbible Group  

How has the role of the CMO changed over the last 5 years?  

The panelists agreed that it continues to be an incredibly challenging time for marketing leaders, identifying three core pressures which have significantly changed the marketing landscape and the pressures CMO’s face.  

The cost-of-living crisis has caused a drastic increase in costs for brands, which has forced many marketeers to focus on short-term profitability to ensure survival. Somers commented, “the pressure on marketeers has never been greater, having to juggle between shifting consumer perceptions in the long-term, while driving short-term profitability has become increasingly challenging”.

The panel also agreed that the pandemic created a fundamental shift in human behaviour, which has forced brands to adapt in order to meet new demands. Garrihy added, “we’ve seen a fundamental shift in universal values, both for our customers and our teams. Especially after covid, where people had a huge reassessment of what’s important to them. As a marketing leader, this behavioral change was incredibly challenging to navigate”.

In addition to these challenges, the panel highlighted the impact that rising costs on products and services has had on consumer trust, Mooney commented, “the increased economic pressures have meant that we’re having to justify every penny and try to predict your ROI which isn’t always possible”. Adding to this, Somers agreed that “due to the economic state, businesses have been forced to put their prices up, but with people having less money than ever before due to the cost of living, this rise in costs has significantly eroded consumer confidence and loyalty towards brands”.

Given the increasing pressures on CMO’s and emerging challenges, the panel explored what they look for from an agency partnership, what causes them to reevaluate their existing relationships and what they notice when searching for a new agency.  

Building trust is vital to forming a strong agency partnership

The panel agreed that building trust is vital to creating a strong and successful partnership but stated that this isn’t just something that the agency must uphold. Marketeers also have a responsibility to have open and honest conversations and treat the agency like a part of the team, Somers commented, “building a true brand – agency partnership is a two-way street, it’s vital to understand both the client and agency pressures and requirements and communicate this regularly”. Adding to this, Regan-Asante agreed, “you need to be able to trust your agency to be reactive, move fast and break things in order to create truly innovative work”.

Be distinctive and be culturally relevant

The panel also highlighted how marketeers want to partner with agencies that create distinctive work that gets them noticed. Mooney emphasized the importance of this, “there are some really less interesting sectors out there, we’re all looking for that creativity that brings those brands to life and makes them distinctive”. The panel also agreed that cultural relevance of a creative idea that has that longevity is pinnacle to wanting to work with an agency.

Be transparent, accountable, proactive, reliable and consistent

The panel discussed the challenges that can come from building trust between brands and agencies, if the company cultures are different, especially when working across different cultures and countries.  

Garrihy, highlighted from his experience, five characteristics, which are transparency, accountability, proactivity, reliability and consistency, that help instill trust and build a strong partnership “If I can solidify those 5 characteristics with my agency, I’ve usually got a strong partnership, and we then have the ability to foster great strategy, creativity, and have the freedom to break things and create innovative work”.

What causes CMO’s to reevaluate their agency partnerships? 

Consistent failures cause a breakdown in trust

All the panelists agreed that once they’ve agreed to partner with an agency, they’re committed to making it work, however, consistent failures in operational efficiency, missed deadlines and cost overruns are two of the biggest causes of relationship breakdown. Somers commented, “messing up the process, ruins everything else within the partnership, causing a breakdown in the brand – agency relationship and negatively impacting the work”.

Getting the right people in your team is critical

Having the right people in the room and on your team is vital to the success of the partnership, Mooney commented, “having the right people skills, clearly communicating the process and having the gravitas to push creative ideas forwards is really important to delivering great work”. The panel agreed that if there are issues between your team and the agency, marketing leaders end up spending a lot of time acting as referees between them, which hinders everyone from producing cutting edge creative work. Adding to this, Regan-Asante commented, “if it’s a nightmare for the team, then it becomes a nightmare for you”.

What do you notice when looking for a new agency?

The panel agreed that one of the biggest things that catches their attention is seeing truly interesting and thought-provoking work out in the world, Regan-Asante commented “we’re inundated with more content than ever before and it’s really hard to cut through the noise, so when you see new and refreshing work that’s caught your attention, you can see they’re thinking outside the box, that’s what makes me want to work with them”. Adding to this, Mooney commented, “seeing work that’s solveda similar problem that you have as a marketeer, and seeing those parallels is what catches my attention”.

Network recommendations and a tailored approach are essential to get your agency noticed

The panel agreed that the agencies that do their research, understand their brands’ biggest problems and come to them equipped with a solution, are the ones that get noticed. Garrihy commented, “if an agency comes to me with a solution, has been recommended by my network, and then someone in my team mentions them, that’s when the message gets through, and I’m motivated to take that chance and have a meeting with them”.

Somers agreed that a tailored approach is the most effective way that opens the door to a new conversation “if they reach out with something that provides value to me as a marketeer, such as a piece of research or market insight, that’s when I’m much more inclined to have a conversation with them”.

The panelists all agreed that it’s a combination of these factors that builds their awareness, interest and willingness to learn more about a new agency and kickstart a conversation with them.

Are you looking to grow your agency and land new partnerships with dream brands?

Get in touch with sam.wheatman@thefuturefactory.co.uk