Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner, Stanton & Everybody Advertising + Design
Two good things happened this week.
First, we got an RFP. Second, it wasn’t stupid like most of them seem to be.
I have thought that in my semi-retirement I could make a living teaching clients the right way to conduct an agency review, because 95% of them are done with no real understanding of who they really are as a brand, what they really need from an agency and what agencies can deliver best on those needs.
Years ago my shop ended up in the finals for the UW Physicians account against Publicis.
Go figure. They had no idea what they were doing or why.
The RFP we received this week is one of most intelligently thought out, succinctly stated and fairly delivered opportunities I have seen in 34 years.
They provided a clear over view of who they are and it actually appears to be an accurate assessment. They have a solid understanding of their market and the challenges they face given the new reality economy.
The questions they are asking are smart and downright engaging. As I started reading them my smile just kept getting bigger. There’s hope for the process and it will be fun to dig in and answer them.
And best of all, they aren’t asking for free creative.
I hope we get to work with these folks. If their RFP is any indication of the kind of client they will be, 2010 just took one big step to being a better year.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Cheery Whatever-else-you-celebrate.
Let’s all hope 2K10 provides all of us an opportunity to turn the corner.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
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how'd the RFP turn out?
ReplyDeleteThanks for remembering! And asking.
ReplyDeleteWe lost the business in the final round. When we did the postmortem, we believed we did all we could with the information we had. Additionally, we continue to look at these missed opportunities through the lens of what could we do better.
Regardless, we were not the fit the client was looking for, but perhaps in the future we will be. We respected how they think, how they approached the RFP process and knew that we could have helped them meet and exceed their objectives.
When Rick met with the winning agency to congratulate them and
buy them a drink, he walked away knowing that it was a toss of the coin.
Could have been them, or could have been us - it just went their way that day. Good for them.