What clients are expecting from their agencies.

As marketing departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, they are demanding more from their marketing communications agencies.

So what makes an agency exceptional and why do some remain run-of-the mill? For several high profile clients, the key lies with the value they receive for the dollar invested. Value in terms of breaking through the cluster of messages bombarding agricultural producers each day, trying to change the way producers do business.

To succeed, clients agree their agency must have a firm understanding of not only the products they are selling, but also the customers they are attempting to reach. Companies take many different approaches to reach customers, in this case mostly farmers, but agencies must not lose sight of the bottom line--their clients' profitability.

Director of Marketing Services Steve Kant with Chemtura Crop Protection in Middlebury, CT, runs the gambit of responsibilities managing the company's advertising, public relations and marketing services. Kant said companies are not just looking for aesthetically pleasing advertising, but an easily understood message tailored to the recipient.

"The ad has to communicate a purpose," Kant said. "Primarily, it is a creative solution, but it still needs to reach the individual. To reach the prospect, it needs to not only be attention-getting, but it must also have an on-target delivery of message in a creative way. The ad is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The focus of a good agency is delivering the message since an ad must not just be interesting, but also be on target."

Communications and External Affairs Director Neil DeStefano with FMC Corp. in Philadelphia, PA, agrees and said the best agencies have the client's marketing strategy in mind.

"It's not about just making an ad, anybody can make an ad. What you're trying to accomplish is an objective, not just regurgitating a briefing from us into an advertisement," DeStefano said.

"You must be creative, not just for creativity sake, but have creativity that sells. Agencies are interested in winning awards, which is fine because that puts the best people on a project, but they must not lose sight of the goal. They must understand that at the end of the day my group needs to have helped sell something."

John Deere Agricultural Marketing Center in Lenexa, KS, has an in-house advertising department and employs an outside ad agency to regularly provide necessary production manpower. Public Relations Manager Barry Nelson said a great agency manages to maintain focus on the client's needs.

"While we understand agencies need to make money, in some agencies where you are one of many clients, they may lose focus on your company and become deterred from your goals," Nelson said. "The agency must continually try to meet customer needs. We are in a constantly changing business and they need to focus. We need to see value in everything we do. Our budgets have remained flat for years, yet we are expected to do more."

GREAT CREATIVITY, GREAT SERVICE

Communications Manager Charlie Hale with Bayer Cropscience, Research Triangle Park, NC, has held a wide breadth of positions in the advertising world. For years, he has employed, worked for and even co-owned ad agencies, so he has a unique perspective on what sets apart an agency from the pack.

"I can sum it up in four words: great creativity, great service. That's what stands out from what everybody else does," he says. "The primary thing an agency should bring to the client is customers. They can do that by understanding the customers' needs and then matching those needs to the client's products. Bring a solution to the client and know how to deliver a message to a customer. It's not always the prettiest or neatest ad that reaches the customer. They need to bring really good communication skills."

Understanding the agricultural market presents a challenge to some agencies that are accustomed to the general consumer market. For those agencies unfamiliar with the latest trends in the agriculture industry, a visit to the field with sales representatives can sometimes be an eye opener.

"Agencies must have a willingness to understand farmers," Kant said. "They must go out into the field and speak with the farmer, hearing how they talk. The advertiser must talk their language as well, because we are asking them to change how they do business and how they make decisions. What are their values? If we understand their values, we can communicate very clearly."

DeStefano said an agency with a firm understanding of their customer has the advantage of being able to use emotion or humor to get the message across. Communicating to farmers is a hybrid of B-to-B and consumer, but it is still a person that is making the purchase decision.

"It is a disservice to the farmer when an agency does not think they will get or respond to emotion or humor," DeStefano said. "Agencies must have an eye for creative humor and understand the farmers emotions. It's still about breaking through the clutter. You have to reach out and grab them. Farmers are people too, and we should be using the same techniques as consumer advertising. There is some sensitivity, but when you understand the farmer culturally and emotionally you can walk that fine line."

PUSH THE ENVELOPE

When you understand the lifestyle, that's when you can push the envelope, DeStefano continues. "We like an agency to push back when they think we're playing too safe. I'm disappointed when they come back with the predictable."

Hale says agencies would do well to remember farming is a business first and lifestyle second.

"I do care immensely about the farmer's interests and what his needs are, and although I hear about farming being a lifestyle, we and our agencies need to understand that it's a very serious business," Hale says. "An agency needs to understand that in order to communicate effectively. I think today's producer is a whole lot more interested in the bottom line than in having an agency put something together that just tries to appeal to their lifestyle. Producers are modern business people and very smart business people."

More importantly, agencies should focus their attention on learning what influences the farmer's decision making, Hale says.

"Agencies must understand what's important to a producer in making buying decisions and that varies by product," Hale says.

"Agencies should understand where that farmer is coming from and who the influencers are."

For example, Hale notes, "More than half of all Illinois farmland is owned by someone other than the producers who farm it. In many cases, the landowner may play little or no role in influencing the producer's decisions. But some landowners may play a huge role in other decisions made about a farm's operation. For instance, imagine the effect that a landowner might have if they decided that they prefer only organic crops grown on their property.

"Those owners, though absent, could certainly have an influence on the farmer's decisions and the crops grown on that land," Hale said. "You hope the agency has an understanding of how those relationships between producers and a whole variety of influencers can impact buying decisions. If the agencies are able to understand these relationships, clearly it will help them do a better job of communicating."

Having an internal advertising design team has given John Deere the advantage of always having a team intimately familiar with the product and customer. A team will generally follow a product from the production line to the hands of the farmer Nelson says.

"One of the reasons we have an in-house agency is so that they are very aware of the product they are advertising," Nelson said. "We have a writer/design team for each tractor who know all the nuts and bolts and work hand-in-hand from the factory to the field. In addition, the teams will hear from customer focus groups and consumers to create more effective advertising."

NK Brand, a member of the Sygenta group of seed companies, Golden Valley, MN, has an in-house design team in addition to outside agencies. Advertising and Public Relations Manager Bev Larson says the teams pull feedback from sales representatives, focus groups and surveys to reach their customers.

"It is extremely important to work as partners as we develop marketing tactics," Larson said. "They must understand what farmers need and connect that with our offer. We have a collaborative effort with our ad agency, bringing them into the planning and strategy cycle."

AGENCY PERSONNEL

The technical nature of agricultural industries makes it difficult for most novices to fully be productive within their first advertising cycle. So an agency suffering from a high turnover rate can become a drain on time and resources over time, Larson says.

"We don't want to train new personnel all the time," Larson says. "We need agency team members who are familiar with the industry. The seed business is different than other businesses. If they are familiar with it, they are less likely to make off the wall suggestions."

DeStefano agrees and adds the jargon-rich agricultural industry is difficult to fully grasp for newcomers. "It's frustrating if the agency has a high turnover rate," DeStefano says. "You are constantly educating a new team to know the individual farmer and speak the language."

Another common concern for clients is avoiding agencies whose "layering" of personnel boosted the price tag of services. Nelson says the ideal agency is very responsive to their clients' needs and can fill manpower needs.

"Oftentimes agencies will be layered, which means we end up paying for extra talent we don't need. We are able to avoid that with the agency we have now and that has stream-lined its efficiency," Nelson says.

DeStefano and Larson agree and say they prefer their agencies provide integrated services, such as one department handling design, presentation and billing instead of three.

"The business is becoming increasing more complex and it's important for an agency not to add to that complexity," Larson says. "We are looking for ways to get our message out and more easily understood. We do not want the complexity of a lot of layers or a lot of people. What we're looking for is ways to make a complex system simpler."

TAKING CARE OF THE DETAILS

It may sound simple, but advertising veteran Hale says the basics must be tended after as well.

"Agencies should pay more attention to details, such as proper grammar, spelling and meeting deadlines," Hale says. "Over the years I've found that inattention to these details seemed to be an indicator that other details also don't get the attention they deserve, either. If we don't see the little things taken care of, we are left wondering about other things. How much thought have they given to what we are trying to communicate and what the audience needs to know about my product?"

Another essential aspect of advertising design stems from the authenticity of photographs. A good, accurate photo can make the difference between a message being understood or mocked, Kant says.

"One of the hardest parts of agricultural advertising is finding good photography. The photograph must have the right machinery, breed of cattle, crop, etc. If not, you are not going to get as much attention or motivation if you had depicted the inaccurate agricultural practices," Kant says. "The last thing you want is a farmer saying 'No real farmer would ever do that.' Paying attention to details is critically important."

EXPECTATIONS

The cliche that the relationship between agencies and companies resembles a marriage rings true.

"It's very important to have compatibility and a similar culture, values and size because we work together quite a bit," DeStefano says. "When you find the right partner it's really a good thing. It's so much effort to bring an agency up to speed. It takes a full cycle before they know what's expected. It takes a while and is too painful to be constantly changing."

Even with an agency's need to fully understand the product and farmer, one trait always stands out among the exceptional agencies that speaks to companies immediately, Hale says.

"It is extremely important for communicators to have a passion for what they are doing and a real desire to help producers do a better job," Hale says. "If it's just a job, they will perform that way. If there is the passion, the desire to help the producer do a better job, we will all be better off."

Dan Kelley is a freelance writer based in Chesterfield, MO.