💥 “It’s getting to mutually connected integrity.” 💥

Simon Hewitt, Orange Panther Collective (OPC)

This one was a "Less-Quick Quick Conversation 🎤" because it was too good to stop. Simon Hewitt and I covered a lot of different topics around client and agency relationships.

👉 What’s The Key 🔑 to successful Client and Agency relationships?

Simon Hewitt’s answer?

💥 Integrity. On both sides. 💥

Here is how he brought it to life:

1️⃣ “To get to integrity, you need to show trust, be grounded, and get things wrong so you can prove how you fix them.”

2️⃣ “Fall out a little. Show you can make up. If you never fall out, you never know what someone’s like when you do.”

3️⃣ “Integrity means worrying about the work and the results, not just how pretty it looks or how smart it sounds.”

4️⃣ “It has to be both ways. If you do not think the client has integrity, and you’re just kissing ass to get things through… it will always bite you later.”

🔥 Simon Hewitt shared more about their work with the Financial Times — a relationship that started with a smaller project in 2020 and grew into Orange Panther Collective leading global acquisition campaigns.

💬 “We work seamlessly with the internal team. No egos. We steer the strategic and creative direction, and they evolve and activate. It’s about mutual respect, not competition.”

📈 That same Financial Times relationship led to OPC being brought in by a former client now at THE WEEK. A perfect example of integrity paying off over the long term.

🤝 Not perfection. Not kissing-ass. But trust, honesty, and shared values. That is what makes the best partnerships.

🙏 Huge thanks to Simon Hewitt for the "Quick Conversation 🎤" and for this honest, powerful take on what keeps relationships real and resilient.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#InternalCreativeTeams

#CreativeIntegrity

#AgencyModel

#Trust

🎯 “The biggest driver of a successful relationship is a laser focus on the customer.” 🎯

Rachel Aldighieri, CEO at DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK

I met up with Rachel Aldighieri, at their HQ in London for a "Quick Conversation 🎤" to ask:

👉 What’s "The Key 🔑" to successful Client–Agency relationships?

Her answer:

🧠 Trust, transparency and customer focus above all 🎯

Here is what Rachel Aldighieri shared:

1️⃣ “There really does need to be unity in terms of what success looks like, and that success needs to resonate meaningfully at the boardroom level too.”

2️⃣ “Customers are at the heart of what we do. All our members sign up to our code of conduct. It’s not just a fluffy manifesto, it’s a commitment.”

3️⃣ “We’re not here to police. We’re here to guide and to help you do the best and right things with your data.”

Going into a bit more detail on what the DMA (Data & Marketing Association) UK offer:

✅ The DMA seal of approval is more than a badge. It is a formal commitment to uphold responsible, customer-first marketing, validated by a compliance team of experts. Supportive, not punitive. Practical, not theoretical.

📚 The DMA also hosts the DMA Effect Database, offering award-winning case studies and evidence-based insights on how creativity, customer focus and meaningful measurement improve marketing effectiveness.

💡 Well worth a review!!

🎯 A brilliant reminder that putting the customer at the centre is not just good practice it is the foundation of truly effective partnerships and relationships.

🙏 Huge thanks to Rachel Aldighieri for the "Quick Conversation 🎤" and for championing customer-first, data-smart marketing.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#DMA

#CustomerCentricity

#DataEthics

#MarketingEffectiveness

#Booster

🗣️ “The key to great client–agency relationships is being good at disagreeing with each other.” 🗣️

James Rice, BBH London

I met up with James Rice, Client Managing Director at BBH London, for a "Quick Conversation 🎤" in the BBH atrium to ask:

👉 What’s "The Key 🔑" to successful Client–Agency relationships?

His answer?

🗣️ The ability to disagree well.

Here is what James Rice shared:

1️⃣ “The best work and the best relationships come from when people are able to be really honest and candid and open with each other in a very trusting way.”

2️⃣ “I do not mean rowing… but being able to push your client, push your agency to make the work better, to make the insight sharper.”

3️⃣ “It works both ways. A client brings business and customer insight. The agency brings creative answers. That’s where the magic happens.”

4️⃣ “Being able to push each other, respectfully but pointedly, leads to long-standing relationships.”

💥 A brilliant example?

🍊 🍳 🍓 🌶️ 🧅 The Tesco Out of Home "Icons" campaign that replaced the Tesco logo letters with ingredients. A simple idea… but only possible through candid collaboration 🍊 🍳 🍓 🌶️ 🧅

🎯 “The BBH London-only version might have looked completely different. The Tesco-only version might not have been as pared back. But together, through honest disagreement, we made something we’re all deeply proud of.”

👉 Link to the campaign here:

https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/10/21/ad-the-day-tesco-loses-logo-new-outdoor-campaign

🙏 Huge thanks to James Rice for the Quick Conversation 🎤 and for reminding us that great partnerships are built not just on alignment, but on the ability to challenge and push each other for better.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#BBH

#Tesco

#CreativePartnerships

#Collaboration

#DisagreeWell

#Booster