Spirit of partnership: Building long-term agency-client relationship

At a time when brands are always on the lookout for new agencies to offer them innovative and futuristic campaigns, we try to understand the importance of working with one agency and evolving with them.

Working with one agency not only builds trust, it also develops a connect between the two, which helps create a better and stronger brand image.

With WATConsult set to celebrate its 10th Anniversary in January 2017, we spoke to some of their old clients who have worked with the agency for long. These leading industry experts explained the importance of the ‘Spirit of Partnership’ and gave us an insight into the long-term client-agency bond.

Is it the trust that binds them or creative capabilities or both? Let’s find out.

Describe your experience of working with WATConsult.

“Excellent!” exclaimed Shaila Bothra, Senior Brand Manager, Emami Group. She continued, “The agency brings in the agility of the youth. The fast execution makes our campaign in sync with current events. Digital is growing and so is our commitment.”

Echoing similar views, Suman Saha, Head of Media and CRM, Mother Dairy, said, “It’s been an overall pleasant experience working with a young and energetic team.”

Bhairavi Rangarajan, Digital Marketing, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co, elucidated, “Working with WATConsult has been like working with an extended part of my team. From starting off with social media campaigns, we have now enlisted them for ORM as well. The team is reliable, understands the brief and passion that we share and translates it into an effective campaign idea. The team is committed, creative, and open to inputs, focus on quality of output and these according to me are their biggest strengths.”

Atul Bawa, Marketing Manager, Nikon India, added here, “WATConsult has been extremely easy to work with. The team is young and friendly and has an indepth knowledge of digital marketing. We would highly recommend WATConsult for digital marketing.”

If you were to describe WATConsult in three adjectives what would it be?

Shaila Bothra: “Dynamic, Fresh and Restless.” 

Suman Saha: “Prompt, Enthusiastic and Creative.” 

Bhairavi Rangarajan: “Energetic, Creative and Passionate.” 

Atul Bawa: “Innovative, Hardworking Team and Focused.”

If you can throw some light on working with an agency on a long term basis.

Bothra stated that brand building is a long term process. Digital media is new and is changing constantly and brands have to evolve, adapt and regenerate around the new technology. Consumers pay and want to be associated with brands. Therefore, it is imperative that agencies look at a combination of planning, creative execution and innovation in media spends on this platform as a conjoint process and not in isolation.

Rangarajan believes that it is easy for any agency to keep re-hashing same old ideas for an existing client, but only when the agency consistently delivers and is willing to push itself instead of getting comfortable with the status quo, is it successful in working with a client on a long term basis. “Overtime, we have come to rely on WATConsult as one would with their own team rather than as a third party hired to execute briefs. The team is easy to interact with, takes feedback and works on them, understands our ambition and works on finding new avenues and ideas. WATConsult has made sure that they stay updated with the latest trends, present us with the latest tools and resources. They share our passion, see the bigger picture and make sure that the campaign delivery is not compromised. All these are the traits that have made us work on a long term basis with WATConsult,” she added.

Appreciating all the work that WATConsult has been doing for Nikon, Bawa commented, “We began working with WATConsult approximately five years ago. They have actually gone beyond their scope of work and helped us out on many occasions. The team provides an exceptional level of digital knowledge alongside practical hands-on day to day support. They provide excellent creative suggestions, media recommendations, and insight for strategy.”