Agency Relations, West Coast Chapter

NETWORKING BREAKFAST (9:00 – 9:30)

INTRODUCTIONS (9:30 – 9:45)


I. DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS OF THE AD BIZ (HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR CREATIVE PARTNERS) (9:45-11:00AM)
Every client wants great work. So do agencies and, of course, their creative people too. The problem is that creative people and clients don't always have the same definition of what "great" work is.

Nina (one of the most accomplished creative leaders that this industry has ever seen) says: "Yes, we do want to win awards, but there are other things driving creative people, and if you can understand these things you will have a better chance of developing a true partnership with them. Or at a minimum, a decent working relationship."

This session takes an in-depth look at the world of the agency creative department, including departmental structure, left brain vs. right brain thinking, the key drivers of creatives' behavior and other "dirty little secrets" that will help you manage creative people more effectively. "And let's face it," Nina says, "if you can manage a creative person you can manage anyone."

Speaker:
Nina DiSesa, Creative Management Consultant – R3:JLB and former Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of McCann, New York


II. INVESTING IN INPUT (11:15AM-12:15PM)
In search of world-class excellence in marketing, Verizon decided to start at the beginning.  The beginning of every marketing communication project, that is: the Input Brief.

Brilliant input up front drives faster delivery of new marketing activities and delivers better results.  But writing a great input brief doesn't come naturally to every marketer.  Like any craft, it takes time, training and practice.

Since deciding to focus on the quality of Input Briefs in 2010, Verizon has seen a 30% improvement in their agency feedback scores. Casey Jones, Chief Executive Officer – BriefLogic will describe how Verizon has achieved this using a multi-pronged strategy that measures the effectiveness of briefs, defines and standardizes input expectations, trains all marketers to establish a common knowledge-base and embed quality briefing in Verizon's DNA, implements company-wide tools and resources for writing briefs, and provides ongoing metrics and feedback for continuous improvement.

Speaker:
Heather Doyle, Marketing Communications Manager – Verizon Wireless Inc.
Casey Jones, Chief Executive Officer – BriefLogic


LUNCH (12:15-12:45PM)


III. THE MARRIAGE OF SCOPES OF WORK AND AGENCY COMPENSATION (12:45-1:45PM)
In most client-agency partnerships today, workload is not planned or negotiated and agency  workloads are increasing while fees are flat or declining. It's a tense situation. In this session, Michael Farmer, Chairman – Farmer & Company, LLC will share ideas on how the scope-of-work can effectively be the integral part of the client/agency relationship and the basis of how agencies are compensated.

Speaker:
Michael Farmer, Chairman – Farmer & Company, LLC


IV. MEMBER ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION:  MEDIA REBATES AND INCENTIVES (2:00-2:30PM)

Facilitator:
Bruno Gralpois, Head of Global Marketing Operations – Visa