Lion’s Matt Tapper, BMF’s Lisa Ramsey and Aprais’ Richard Goodrich share perspectives on why client and agency relationships matter

Last week, Sydney and the AANA played host to the hotly contended WFA Global Marketer Conference. A week which brought together leading marketers and agency legends alike from around the globe.

Thought provoking challenges and opportunities were tabled and the energy in the room was abuzz. And whilst the world is changing in a big way, a common thread was the success garnered from strong client/agency partnerships. Or as Sir John Hegarty calls it, the power of ‘turning intelligence into magic’. Aprais was the sponsor of the evening function, themed ‘relationships matter’. And so it seems timely to reflect on one of Australia’s longest standing relationships, between client (Lion), agency (BMF) and relationship appraiser ‘Aprais’.

The Client Perspective

Lion operates an agency village model and all partners in the village (including the marketing team) work together towards a collective goal.  It’s not always smooth sailing, but it’s often easier to work through challenges with a team you know well and who know you.

BMF and Lion have worked together for 17 years, representing one of our longest relationships.  Together we have created some very memorable consumer moments from the “Tooheys Extra Dry ‘Tongue” to more recently “XXXX Island”.

At Lion we refer to the equation Behaviours x Results = Achievement.  We believe that this applies equally to our relationship with our agency partners.

Long-term relationships enable our agencies to understand, develop and grow our brands with us to deliver strong results for our brands in the long term.

By working together and measuring success, what we learn is fed back into the business to enable us to operate a model of continuous improvement.

Just like any relationship, it always pays to step back and review the status on a regular basis, as we do using the APRAIS system. This allows everyone involved to voice how they feel the relationship is progressing and to address any issues in an open and positive manner.  

The Agency Perspective

I joined BMF in 2003 when the Tongue ad for Tooheys Extra Dry was mid-way through production. The first thing that struck me, apart from how on earth are we going to make an animated, moving tongue look real, was how strong the relationship must be to get such a brave and pioneering ad [at the time] over the line. As it turned out, the bravery paid off; sales took a hike and the hunch around the relationship was right.

There’s no doubt that most agencies in Australia would have Lion at the top of the wish list. It’s beer after all and the brands we have the privilege to work on are some of Australia’s biggest powerhouse brands, not limited in creative potential by global campaigns or guidelines. The perfect combination of a strategic and creative blank canvas, coupled with a desire by the team at Lion to break new ground.

For BMF, the ideas we create for Lion have always been a strong magnet to attract great talent across the board and have helped raise our profile on the international stage, through creative and effectiveness recognition alike.

Given this, it would be easy to imagine a world where Lion lapped up the attention and put the word ‘partnership’ on the back burner. But the truth couldn’t be further from this. As one of BMF’s longest standing relationships (since 1997), Lion has always worked hard at creating a collaborative partnership based on trust and respect. We genuinely believe the Lion team, headed up by Matt Tapper, care about our business as much as we care about theirs.

Lion has a policy of continual improvement, which is reflected in the investment in their own people (they must seriously be the most well trained marketing team in Australia) and the constant evaluation and benchmarking against best practice.

No matter what shared success we’ve enjoyed or how our worlds have changed, complacency has never set in, as we continue to dig and unearth brilliance for all of the brands we’ve partnered with. As with any strong relationship (after all, ours has been longer than many a marriage) things have to be kept fresh and relevant, and issues need to be faced. Enter Richard and Aprais. Richard has been the conductor of these conversations, laying safe foundations for frank and open discussions, providing context against global best practice benchmarks, identifying issues and putting in place genuine solutions. Importantly Richard isn’t aligned to only one party (client or agency), and that neutrality is important for it to be a genuine 360 degree review. Politics has never been on the agenda.

But, no matter how warm and fuzzy things are and how much we respect and like each other, it’s worth nothing unless we back it up with great, highly effective, award-winning work.  To name a few of the many campaigns we’re proud of – the 10 year running Jacko campaign for XXXX GOLD, launching TED on Tap with an early exploration into content through the ‘stolen glasses’ campaign, TED 696, right through to buying an island for XXXX Gold, West End Draught reclaiming 500 square miles for South Australia, and putting Lionel Richie in a fridge for Tap King.

Here’s to the continuation of a great relationship and creating work we’re proud of.

The Relationship Appraiser Perspective

Lion BMF.

To murder an old adage, it takes three to tango. Working with Lion and BMF to fine tune their relationship over the last eight years has enabled me to demonstrate that when you get leadership from the top down, measurement then management is a liberating and rewarding discipline for both client and agency teams.

The Lion and BMF relationship has maintained its incredibly valuable momentum over the time its been appraised.  Like all relationships, both business and of course personal, some areas have needed attention by both parties. The single most impressive factor from my perspective is that when the issues are identified, they just get on with it, without rancor or blame.

This attitude has made Lion one of the key ‘go to’ clients in Australia and attracts some of the most capable agency people and partners available.

The manifestation of both the physical and intellectual buy in to true RMM (Relationship Measurement and Management) is almost incalculable to value. Yes, of course there is a direct economic benefit, but best of all, both Lion and BMF attract and critically keep the best quality people in their businesses. There are some seriously talented marketing and brand people at Lion, led impressively by Matt’s example and happily, a consistently strong team at BMF.

The results are what is of course the ultimate aim of any true RMM – the d
elivery of not just great work but critically effective work or, as Ian Alwill says, commercial creative. Keeping the constant, positive pressure on each other to push the thinking, the engagement and the results.

It is a privilege for Aprais to be invited on to the dance floor to help maintain genuine collaboration and outcomes. Being actively encouraged to help people as they come into such a rewarding working relationship, to understand how they can add their own perspectives to further enrich and strengthen what is, and always has been a great relationship.