We are delighted to continue our debate of BRAND v AGENCY with our wonderful guest blogger Noah Koff.
Noah Koff, is a multi-skilled creative advertising and entertainment media consultant with +16 year career track record of success and has worked with some illustrious names in the business including Bacardi, Endemol, Mother and Ogilvy.
So again we asked him one question: With your agency background what was the attraction for you to work direct for a brand?
Here are his thoughts.
With over 10 years of agency experience under my belt; a well-rounded mix of creative and business skills, and a robust network, the move to in-house brand communications work came at a logical time in my career. I was looking at my next step as an opportunity to apply my background in planning and delivery of digital communications to a new challenge. It was a chance to go further upstream to shape a new phase of a brand’s evolution. And, finally, I hoped to have some control over my diary.
Moving from agency side to client side work has felt like a natural one. It’s an opportunity to contribute to a brand’s architecture and shape the messaging. You get to make creative decisions and choose the path forward. It’s also your chance to call the shots with your budget and with whom you spend it. You’ll get to source agency partners for collaboration; which opens up the opportunity to call on your trusted relationships, and create some new ones with folks you’ve always wanted to work with.
Possibly the most refreshing part was all the headspace freed from the operational side of agency life, from resourcing and management of teams, to late nights spent on pitches or delivering to client deadlines. But let’s clarify that working on the client side doesn’t mean that late nights go away, because they don’t. But the outputs change. Instead you’ll spend time reviewing your agency’s work and writing internal presentations to sell your ideas. Your diplomacy skills to align stakeholders behind your ideas and manage budgets will be crucial for success. Networking, both within the brand and externally throughout the ecosystem of suppliers and partners, is another vital skill set for this next phase of your career.
So if you want to take ownership of a brand at a deeper level, and over a longer timeframe, then maybe a client side move is right for you.
Noah Koff is a Digital Brand Consultant and can be contacted for consultancy work.
You can read more of his thoughts on Twitter: @noahkoff