Where should Agencies fit in the Consumers and Brands mix?
Recently a lot has been written about agency/client relationship turnover. Agencies (PR and Advertising) fill an important role of connecting a brand to an audience. Okay I’ve stated the obvious. I believe our world needs to move to one where the agency fills a role of “Brand Fiduciary.” A Fiduciary (definition below) is someone or an entity that is hired in a position of trust with a responsibility to act:
- with the highest degree of care
- the utmost good faith
- in the best interests of the client (not exploit the position of trust for personal gain or put self interest ahead of the client’s interests)
For me, a “Brand Fiduciary” has a dual responsibility:
- Primary: To the brand/marketer – the responsibility being to help the client increase shareholder value
- Secondary: To the consumer – to increase utility by bringing the client’s products and services to the consumer
It requires Agencies to be solution agnostic and for them to do what is in their client’s best interests, regardless of that Agency’s core competencies or capabilities. This may require turning down business rather than arguing for what that agency does best as opposed to what is best for the client. Until Agencies function as Brand Fiduciaries, we are still going to be debating ROI.
But then again, the product or service has to be able to stand on its own two feet.
Fiduciary as defined by Businessdictionary.com:
Person or a legal entity holding assets or information as an agent-in-trust for a principal. A fiduciary owes the duty of loyalty, full disclosure, obedience, diligence, and of accounting for all monies handed over, to the principal. A fiduciary must not exploit his or her position of trust and confidence for personal gain at the expense of the principal. Law demands a fiduciary to exercise highest degree of care and utmost good faith in maintenance and preservation of the principal’s assets and rights, and imposes compensatory as well as punitive damages on the erring fiduciary.
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