Hello from Cubed

I recently presented a seminar at the University Marketing Forum (UMF) that was organised by colleagues at CASE Europe. It’s always best to talk about what you know – so I did. And what I do know about is HE marketing, advertising and agencies. Having worked in and with the sector for a decade or two, I have seen it shift from print, to digital display, to programmatic and all of the variants in between. Our market is incredibly busy with many institutions saying similar things at similar times to the same audience. Unless you have big budgets to truly “own” this space, you need to be canny, creative and clever with your budget and targeting.

[mkd_blockquote text=”Are you getting the best value – both financially and from an insight point of view?” title_tag=”h3″ width=””]

These changes have also seen the expectation of what agencies need to do shift as well. The more feedback I receive from clients, colleagues and other professionals in the business, the more I realise that it’s not just about providing a shopping list of media choice or delivering schedules – it’s about an overall attitude to the business and the client base. Agencies are a support service – they should focus on getting it right and not just on the operational delivery of a campaign. They should spend more time asking questions, really getting under the skin of the businesses they work with, buying into and owning objectives and KPIs.

Ask yourself a few questions: Does the agency I’m working with understand my objectives? Do the people working there feel accountable? Do I get advice and shared knowledge (or just replies)? Is my agency happy to work collaboratively with me? Am I getting the best value – both financially and from an insight point of view? If you answered “Yes”, that’s brilliant, I’m glad there are a few of us out there that are living up to your naturally high expectations. If you answered “No”, please do drop us a line to see how we can give you a much-enhanced agency experience.

by Jo Redfern, MD