The first and most important thing is to be very clear and specific!

If you have gone through a robust selection process the Agency you have got into bed with should have already ticked the boxes on all of the key attributes you need.  The account management team you have met will work with you directly, you’ve established a personal rapport and you have agreed the functional aspects of your relationship like how they charge you for their services.

So what next!  The most important thing is to give them a vision of what you want to achieve, be as specific as you can as this will get the best out of your team.  After that the agency relationship should be viewed as a virtual extension of your team.  They need to immerse themselves in your operation and understand what makes you and your customers tick.

From that point onwards I want my agency to come up with lots of creative ideas but specifically to meet the challenges I have set.  I want them to push the boundaries of the current marketing whilst not alienating my customers.

The best way to achieve this is write a good brief with realistic project timelines.  You will then get the best value for money from your agency and usually you get the best creative results.  However, we all know that life does not always allow you to be well prepared so the better your agency knows your business the better they will respond to last minute intense project deadlines.

I don’t want my agency to be bunch of wine swilling ego maniacs but I do want my agency to comprise a team of people I can rely upon, bounce ideas off, give me a fresh perspective and not to be constrained by internal pressures.  Most importantly I want experts who can provide me that something special to make my brand come to life.