Companies around the world can relate to the shared adversity brought about by COVID-19, and through the experience many have learned great lessons. From reestablishing the importance of audience-company relations and advancement of digital technologies there have been great changes however with how consuming the pandemic was and is it can be easy to forget the other adversities marketers can face. We spoke to various individuals in the field in order to better understand what challenges exist in the industry.
Linda Johnson of Social Deviant has seen a push for fast timelines and big business objectives. But they have found a way to thrive in that environment, helping their clients that need to launch a brand within less than two months or increase volume within a month. Social Deviant has found a way to not buckle under the pressure; Linda’s advice? Not getting lost in the data. “We try to focus on the core hypothesis that we can prove or disprove and then activate specific team members in order to develop against it whether that’s strategy, creative, content, social, paid media, etc. so that we have a clear and cohesive process.” Linda and Social Deviant prioritize seeing the big picture in order to know when you’re winning and plan for the next step even under the tightest of timelines.
For John Donahue from Up & to The Right, what’s important to him is defining what success is for the client. It’s key to becoming more of an enablement partner for clients. John wants to avoid taking the policing tone that can reduce cadence in workflow, instead taking on a more positive approach. “We realized that the only way to maximize accruals was to do it from a positive change and progressive change perspective.” John has found it has not only led to a more effective working environment but also improves the company-client relationship as he finds agencies that turn to him for assistance now treat him and his company equally and being more open to outside advice.
