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RLH are a London-based full-service B2B advertising agency. They began back in 1977, and have a team of 28. Chris Ross, MD, talks here of the demands of large corporate clients today, the rise in procurement and how he and his management team have transformed the agency in response.

D E P A R T M E N T S

Chris Ross

‘

WE ARE CUSTODIANS OF THEIR BRANDS AND BUDGETS. WE TAKE THIS RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY.

“W E C H O S E SY N E RG I ST

1 0 Y E A R S A G O. O N E

ISSUE WAS GETTING OUR

AC CO U N T M A N AG E M E N T

TEAMS TO SEE IT AS A

COMING OUT ON TOP WITH

HOW DOES AN AGENCY THRIVE FOR

36 YEARS IN A ROLLERCOASTER WORLD?

ONE ANSWER IS NOT TO BE AFRAID OF

CHANGE AND TO HAVE THE COURAGE TO

REINVENT AND ADAPT TO CLIENTS’ NEEDS.

“CLIENTS DEMAND ROI, QUITE RIGHTLY. AND IN RECENT

YEARS WE’VE SEEN MAJOR CORPORATE CLIENTS INTRODUCE

COMPREHENSIVE LEVELS OF PROCUREMENT.

“ B U T T H E R E A R E T W O S I D E S

TO THAT. WE BEL IEVE PROCUREMENT

TEAMS MUST APPRECIATE WHAT IT IS

WE OFFER. WE SEE IT AS PART OF OUR

ROLE TO HELP THEM BETTER UNDERSTAND:

EXAC TLY WHAT WE DO

HOW WE OPERATE

“ THEY ALSO NEED TO KNOW

HOW HARD WE WORK TO

FORGE STRONG PARTNERSHIPS

WITH THEIR BRAND TEAMS

‘

’

P L A N N I N G | S TAT E M E N T S O F W O R K S | C L E A R A R E A S O F R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y | E V I D E N C E S U P P O R T I N G T I M E TA K E N A N D C O S T S | P R O M P T I N V O I C I N G

WE TOTALLY EMBRACE PROCUREMENT- STYLE THINKING, WHICH HAS PAID OFF STRONGLY FOR US. IT INCLUDES:

THEN G ET I T. OVER TIME

WE’VE UPDATED THE SYSTEM,

GIVEN MORE TRAINING TO OUR

TEAMS AND NOW HAVE DATA

A N D R EPO RT I N G AT

WHAT THEY ARE BUYING

WHAT THEY SHOULD EXPEC T FROM US

TO ENSURE THEY ACHIEVE THEIR MARKETING GOALS AND

MEET THEIR BUSINESS AND BUDGET REQUIREMENTS.

OUR FI N G ERT I PS WHICH

HELP US MAKE B ETT ER,

A N D M O R E I N FO R M ED

D E C I S I O N S"

TOOL TO H ELP A N D S U P PO RT T H EM, NOT

BE A FINANCE TOOL TO BEAT

PEOPLE WITH! ONCE THEY SEE

THE POW ER O F W H AT I T

D O ES FO R T H EM, THEY

“OUR CLIENT BRAND TEAMS ARE HAPPY THAT

WE GIVE THEM THE CREATIVITY THEY NEED.

OUR CLIENT PROCUREMENT TEAMS ARE ALSO

HAPPY. THAT’S BECAUSE WE ARE TRANSPARENT

AND SO WE’RE SEEN TO BE TRUSTWORTHY.

OUR AGENCY DIRECTORS ARE HAPPY, AS THEY CAN

INSTANTLY REVIEW ANY PROJECT AND MONITOR THE

SUCCESS OF OUR TEAMS. SO IT’S A WIN-WIN FOR ALL.

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT SYNERGIST IS PART OF

THE PROCESS THAT HELPS OUR AGENCY DELIVER.

"LIKE IT OR NOT, PROCUREMENT

IS H E R E T O S TAY . FORTUNATELY,

ATTITUDES TOWARDS PROCUREMENT

HAVE M AT U R E D IN MANY LARGE

ORGANISATIONS TODAY. PROCUREMENT

D E PA R T M E N T S A R E T H E R E F O R E

N O T T H E E N E M Y "

‘ ONCE IN THE KNOW, AGENCIES CAN GREATLY

BENEFIT FROM THE PROCESS AND THE

DEEPENED RELATIONSHIPS THAT CAN

FLOW FROM PROCUREMENT.’ “IT IS IMPORTANT TO SCOPE THE DELIVERABLES IN

A DETAILED AND CLEAR WAY. EXPECTATIONS AROUND WAYS

OF WORKING IN BOTH THE ‘INPUT’ AND ‘OUTPUT’ STAGES

OF THE PROCESS SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED, SUCH AS:

THE APPROVAL PROCESS

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT

TEAM COMPOSIT ION

% OF ASSUMED T IME TO BE SPENT ON DELIVERING PROJEC TS

OVERHEAD RECOVERY

DETAILS OF THIRD PARTY COSTS”

OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED TO HAVE GOOD DATA SO YOU ARE ON TOP OF IT ALL. WHICH BRINGS US TO...

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Implementation and consultation by

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