by Steve Fodor
Remember the old jingle for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? “Two great things that go great together.”
We’ve embarked on a new client relationship here at Badertscher Communications that has made that jingle run through my head (aside from making me crave the taste of peanut butter and chocolate together).
We have an assignment to develop a new Web site for a new client. So what, you may say. Well, the reason this assignment is particularly sweet is because we’re working in seamless collaboration with the client’s network administrator. It’s almost like he’s a part of our staff on this new assignment. We’re able to do what we do best – create and promote a new Web site design and brand presence for a client. And the client’s network administrator can do what he does best – build a Web site platform with the latest content management tools. The result will be a new Web site that allows our client to be a curator of information and content…with the benefits of cost and time savings.
The reason we’re so jazzed about this relationship is because we see it as a prime example of the way client-agency relationships are evolving for the better. Agencies are content developers. Or, said another way, agencies are expert at bringing a brand story to life with words, pictures, sounds and designs. Though most full-services agencies (ourselves included) have Web developers on staff, an agency’s culture is usually driven by creativity and content development. Many clients, on the other hand, have invested in information technology and in people that can manage all the technological “back end” stuff of Web sites and content management. When an agency can marry its talents and expertise with the talents and expertise of the client’s people, a working arrangement develops where brand stories can be developed and told with more creative excitement.
Economically, times are still tough. Many companies have put off updating their online presence or have deferred new content development strategies because of costs. But, when an agency and client can work closely together and focus on doing what each does best, something pretty sweet can develop. Actually, that’s exactly the way we like to work here.
Flickr Photo Credit: kimberlykv
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