Negotiate This: Brand Versus Agency Deathmatch

There are a variety of bottlenecks in the marketing world that hold us back from achieving the type of creative initiatives we were born to create. The other day a friend of mine (who is not in marketing) said to me, "80% of the marketing campaigns out there are not nearly as creative as what I can come up with". This is probably true, but what is also true is that many of the campaigns out there are not as creative as they could be because of the bottlenecks and red tape we, in the industry, face on a daily basis.

I can probably go on for days about the various blockades that keep us from realizing our true potential; but I won't.

I would like to focus on one area that is at the root of unhealthy industry relationships and manifests over time into unsavory working environments-- contract negotiations.

My goal is to help brands and agencies do better in the negotiation phase, as I feel that this will lead to more creative executions in the long run.

The first step to a healthy agency/brand relationship is making sure that both parties are comfortable with the terms of service, and that neither party feels like they are being taken advantage of. In light of this fact, I have created a poll to get insights from you, the marketing community.

Please help push the industry forward by taking some time to fill out the poll.