SODA GMM 201412 interesting insights for agency owners

Once a year the founders, MD’s and CD’s of the earth’s best and bravest agencies gather to share insights, thoughts and fun. This year the Global Member Meeting was

held in Barcelona. Energize’s Richard de Jong (CD) and Klaas Weima (MD) were there.

#1 BECOME A STORYTELLER

You can tell the client’s story eyes closed. But how about your own story? Make sure you have your own brand story lined up, offline as well as online. Clients choose an

agency for their work and fall in love with their people and story.

#2 SMART CITIES

Barcelona is full of sensors; on containers, parking spots, buss stops. It shows a clear trend: The Internet of Things is coming. You better believe the hype, the future is

smart and connected.

#3 TOOL TALK

Crafts men need the right tools. Which tools do you use in your agency to enhance quality and save time? Nifty tools: 10,000 feet, Trello, Hubplanner, Float Schedule (Resource Planning), Xero, OpenWater, QuickBook (Finance). Harvest

& Forecast is indispensable for time tracking and planning.

#4 AGILE APPROACH

How agile is your agency? In times where clients have more knowledge and want to be in the driving seat an agile approach has many advantages. Involvement, flexibility,

and better scope definition.

#5 NPS & INFOGRAPHICSIt might involve numbers, brrrr… But! Infographics are short and

communicate your message fast. No more 30+ slide decks that will bore your audience to death. After the project: check the NPS score and evaluate.

#6 QUALIFY

Don’t underestimate the importance of selecting a new client, its the future of your agency. Is it a match made in heaven? Before getting into a pitch ask 5 questions:

what’s the budget, is it approved, who is the DMU, when is it due and why? Always meet in person; you are not a vendor, you are a trusted advisor.

#7 MITTSOW

A lawyer once told me: don’t negotiate about your new relationship until your relationship is over again. Just start working on the terms you do agree on.

Still things to discus? Move It To The Scope of Work.

#8 PLATOONS

Think outside the traditional team. The triangle; strategy, creation, account is a thing of the past. It’s much smarter to work in platoons; small hybrid teams with people from different backgrounds instead of departments.

#9 BITS BECOME ATOMS

The digital world is becoming physical. Think: 3D printing and laser cutters in design and architecture. Barcelona’s Fablab is a great example where talent

from many disciplines meet and ideas and tools are shared in an open source environment.

#10 SERVICES TO PRODUCTS

Digital agencies move from digital services to physical products. Some recent product initiatives from SoDA agencies:

Boomf: print your own marshmallow print (boomf.com) Projecteo: your own mini projector for your Instagram pics. Brilliant!

(getprojecteo.com)

#11 VALUE BASED MODELS

More and more agencies choose for value based models. If you create succes for a client you will also share this success financially. Agencies are more committed, clients get more value for money. Make sure to control the

metrics and agree on an uplift when you ’kill’ it. It makes your work better and everyone is more focused on results.

#12 HIRE A TALENT MANAGER

Your agency is made of people, cherish them. And cherry pick from the best talent around. Have a talent manager in your team. Someone for

resource planning, internally and externally. Oh and nurture free lancers! You might need them now and then.