Orientation doesn't need to be "smart"! Generous information sharing is what brings out the best proposals

Advertisers, media, advertising agencies, creatives, and academia. The Borderless Marketing Community (BMC) aims to create interaction and discussion among professionals with different specialties, and to realize seamless, holistically optimized marketing. The sixth regular event, which brings together members of the community, was held online on Wednesday, May 6, 2023.

The event was divided into two parts: a "seminar" where experts from various fields spoke, and a "lab" where practical knowledge was generated through two-way communication between the speakers and participants. This article reports on some of the content of the seminar.

【Speakers】

Mr. Yoshitaka Matsuura
CEO and Strategic Planning Director of STRATEGY X Inc. / Professor at Shinshu University

After working as head of strategic planning and executive planning director at Hakuhodo, Shanghai Hakuhodo, TBWA/HAKUHODO, and McCann Erickson, he started his own company in April 2021. For over 4 years, he has consistently worked in brand and marketing strategy at major advertising agencies, engaging in business for both domestic and international companies. He is particularly skilled in building brand strategies and global-related strategies. To date, he has been involved in the planning of strategies for over 20 brands in total.

Mr. Ken Matsuda
Creative Director, The Breakthrough Company GO 

After working at ADK, he joined GO in 2020. While he has worked with large companies such as FamilyMart, Kellogg's, and JINS, he has also worked with many startups. Armed with a wide range of knowledge from subculture to technology, he excels at building brands while talking with management. His motto is "creativity that is effective for business growth," and he enjoys seeing the stock prices and valuations of the companies he manages increase. He boasts a winning rate of about 70% in competitions.

※Moderator

Mr. Yoshiaki Hirao
President and CEO of XICA Corporation

The quality of the proposal depends on the quality of the orientation

When an advertiser requests a proposal from an advertising agency, the "orientation" is used to communicate the prerequisites and constraints. It is no exaggeration to say that a good proposal comes from a good orientation.The content of the orientation greatly influences the content of the proposalBoth advertisers and advertising agencies will be keenly aware of the potential benefits.

The theme of this seminar was "What is the 'strongest orientation' to obtain proposals that exceed expectations?"

Yoshiaki Hirao of XICA Inc., a director of BMC, had this to say about concerns he often hears from advertisers:

"In my daily interactions with many advertising companies, I often hear complaints such as, 'I can't get satisfactory proposals from advertising agencies,' or 'There is a discrepancy between what we communicated in the orientation and what they proposed.' However, when you look at the orientation objectively, it is not uncommon to think, 'With this content, isn't it inevitable that there will be discrepancies? Is it not surprising that they don't come up with any surprising proposals?'" (Hirao)

That said, it is true that it is difficult for advertisers to hone their orientation skills. Especially in Japan, marketing professionals who move between multiple companies are still in the minority, and it is not easy to learn about the orientation practices of other companies or to acquire universal know-how and techniques.

The theme of this seminar was decided in light of this situation. Two professionals from advertising companies who have participated in many orientations to date said, "The secret to a good orientation that produces good proposalsThis is a project to learn about "

The first speaker was Yoshitaka Matsuura, who has been consistently involved in brand marketing strategy planning for over 20 years at major advertising agencies such as Hakuhodo, TBWA/HAKUHODO, and McCann Erickson. During his lecture, he shared many insights gained from his experience in planning strategies for over 100 brands both in Japan and overseas.

The other is Ken Matsuda, who previously worked at ADK and is now the creative director of The Breakthrough Company GO (hereafter referred to as GO). Although he boasts a 70% success rate in competitions, one of the best in the industry, he is concerned about the current competitions taking place in the advertising industry, and he began his speech by posing the following question:

"If we continue with the current method, it's unlikely that a good proposal will come out of the competition, and I think a lot of that depends on the content of the orientation. I'd like to think about the ideal relationship between advertisers and advertising agencies, while looking at cases that have worked well so far." (Matsuda)

Be generous with information, including any doubts or worries

This seminar attracted the most pre-event questions from participants in BMC's history. The most common questions were about "better ordering methods to produce proposals that exceed expectations" and "the ideal relationship that advertisers and advertising agencies should strive for." By posing these questions to the two speakers, we explored the specific know-how of orientation.

Q1.What is the key to avoiding a misunderstanding between advertisers and advertising agencies?
→A1. Continue communicating after the orientation

In response to the question, "What is the key to avoiding a misunderstanding between advertisers and advertising agencies?", the first answer was, "Misalignments happenMatsuda pointed out that we should start from the premise that "Even if you are in a company and communicate with each other on a daily basis, there will never be a zero gap in perception. This is even more so when you are working together for the first time. That is why Matsuda emphasizes the importance of "Agile"We will move forward with this (※)."

"I try to present the ideas I've come up with to the client before the actual presentation. I think that increasing the frequency of communication after the orientation is important to reduce any misunderstandings. In the case of a competition, I submit ideas with the assumption that they will change after being proposed. A competition is not a place where ideas are selected, but rather a place where we can work together to try and error.Choose us as your partner"We see it as a place where

Matsuura also emphasizes the importance of communication after the orientation. At foreign advertising agencies, they hold "informal presentations" to present early-stage ideas to clients.Tissue Meeting (Tissue Session)It is said that this meeting was started by Jay Chiat, who worked on Apple's legendary commercial "1984."

"Rather than moving straight towards the final presentation, we need to be conscious of aligning our understanding with the client and proceeding accordingly.design the processIt is important to do so." (Mr. Matsuura)

*Agile: Means quick or agile. Agile development is a methodology for developing software or systems that repeats processes such as planning → design → implementation → testing in small cycles for each function, allowing development to proceed quickly while minimizing risk.

Q2. What are the explanation items and materials that are often overlooked during orientation?
→A2. "Background information" is important to correctly define the problem to be solved

Matsuura listed two pieces of information that would be good for advertisers to have during the orientation: "the business situation" and "past data, and past success/failure stories."

"Business Situation" refers to the issues that the advertiser company is facing and the major objectives that they are aiming for. It can also be said to be the background for implementing a campaign or project. This information is used by strategic planners and creators as "Define the right problem to solve" is essential for "Past data, success/failure stories" is said to be effective in avoiding making the same proposals or repeating the same mistakes as in the past, leading to better proposals.

"Strategic planners and creators are professionals with a high level of expertise and motivation when it comes to solving problems. I think many people find it more rewarding to be able to set a problem and start working on it based on background information, rather than being told straight out, 'Here's the problem.'" (Matsuura)

Matsuda said that the information he always inputs for a presentation is,Company/brand history"When"Interviews and writings by management" The former creates the personality of the company/brand, while the latter shows the direction the company/brand is heading in. He said that these are important guidelines when thinking of creative ideas.

Matsuura agrees. He says that the history of a company or brand, the thoughts of its founder, and the philosophy and purpose that reflects them are useful information when considering how to solve business issues.

"What kind of presence does the company or brand have in society? What do they want to achieve? Surprisingly, even employees of the advertising company often don't know this information. When I share what I've researched at the orientation or incorporate it into the content of my presentation, I'm often told, 'I was impressed.'" (Matsuura)

* Purpose: A word that refers to a "purpose" or "goal." In recent years, in the business world, it is often used to mean the social value or reason for the existence of a company or brand.

Q3. What is the balance between what information should be conveyed and how much?
→A3. Don't worry about the "measure" - share the information generously.

Many people were unsure of what information they should share and how much they should share. Matsuura said that it's best to share everything you can without worrying about the amount.

"Foreign advertising agencies often sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) with clients from the orientation stage so that they can provide as much information as possible. It is important to focus on the main points during the orientation, but it is also important to include detailed information.AppendixIt would be very helpful if you could add that to your comments." (Mr. Matsuura)

On the other hand, both men agree that it is best not to state too many opinions or requests regarding execution (specific measures and expressions). Specifying every condition in detail can result in narrowing the scope of proposals.

"At GO, we say, 'We should be doctors, not businesses.' You don't go to a doctor and say, 'I have these symptoms, so please use this medicine to cure me,' do you? Instead of just accepting the words, 'I feel like I have a cold,' our job is to determine whether or not it really is a cold, and then come up with the optimal solution." (Matsuda)

The quickest route to an optimal solution is for advertisers toCurrent Issues (As Is)"When"To Be"To Be" is not a sales target or KPI, but an ideal image of "We want to be a company or brand that can bring this kind of value to people and society." In addition,constraintsIf there are any issues, I would like them to be honest about it.

"For example, I've never been told to 'make a proposal without considering the budget,' and it's never worked out well (laughs). Sometimes it's because of constraints that good ideas can come out, so I'd like you to share them with us and don't hide anything," says Matsuda.

Q4. What are the tips for efficiently conveying your company's issues?
→A4. Let's move forward together by sorting out the issues, without thinking about efficiency.

It seems that many people feel uncomfortable expressing or organizing their sense of issues in words.Don’t be stingy with information" We all agreed that.

Matsuura believes that an advertising agency should be a partner that works together with advertisers to achieve their goals and the KPIs that their staff are pursuing. To achieve this, he says it is important to build relationships where clients can share with him the challenges they face and the things they want to achieve, from small to big.

"It doesn't matter if you haven't been able to put your issues into words, if they're still in the hypothesis stage, or if you haven't yet prioritized them. We want you to tell us whatever issues you feel are problematic, and we'd like to work together to verify your hypotheses and organize your issues.Reassessing and reformulating issuesThis is where a strategic planner's skills really come into play." (Matsuura)

Matsuda also said that it is not necessary to conduct the orientation efficiently and smartly, but to convey the situation as it is. For example, it is not uncommon that the "current issues (As Is)" and "desired state (To Be)" are not discussed within the company in the first place, or they have been discussed but not written down, or they are clear at the person in charge level but there is no agreement with upper management. It goes without saying that it is important to discuss it within the company first, but Matsuda calls for sharing the situation openly if there is a situation where "I think this, but the upper management seems to think otherwise."

"It's quite common that after a presentation is over, we discover that, although we were able to come up with a proposal that addressed the issues the person in charge had, in fact the higher-ups had a completely different view of the issues. Sometimes the issues and goals have not been sufficiently discussed within the company, and sometimes, even if they have been discussed, only the thoughts of the person in charge are conveyed during the orientation. It is our job to get the decision approved, so we would like to work together with you to come up with ideas and logic for making that happen," says Matsuda.

The ideal relationship between an advertiser and an advertising agency is that of "partners" and "accomplices"

We also received many questions about the ideal relationship that advertisers and advertising agencies should strive for. What kind of relationship is it between a client and an agency that is not just a simple order-taking relationship, but one that will help both parties achieve business growth?

Q. What is the stance (attitude/mental preparation) that advertisers should take during the orientation?
→A. Be prepared to make "good proposals" rather than "proposals that will pass"

Advertisers say, "Be prepared" Matsuda emphasizes that this is the condition for making the orientation successful and receiving good proposals. To be more specific,"Good proposals" rather than "proposals that will pass"Advertisers need to be prepared to accept the message and get it approved within their company.

"When we do good work, it's because we and the client are working together to realize a fundamentally good project."accomplice" At the beginning of the seminar, I said that there is a low chance of good proposals coming out of a competition, because many advertisers think that competitions are efficient because they collect ideas from multiple advertising agencies at once, or that it is easy to get this idea through to higher-ups as the best of the ideas that come out. In a competition where you choose ideas, it is difficult to start from the premise of, "Let's work together with this advertising agency with a strong sense of resolve. On the other hand, advertising agencies also tend to think of ideas that will pass the competition, and in the end, the reality is that these are the ones that tend to be adopted." (Matsuda)

Q. What kind of partnership should advertisers and advertising agencies build?
→A. A relationship where both parties have positive passion and can stimulate each other

Matsuura says that a relationship where advertisers and advertising agencies can "criticize each other" leads to good work. He says he has the impression that many people in foreign advertising agencies, in particular, think about the company and brand more than the advertiser, and have built a relationship where they can frankly say, "This way of doing things is absolutely no good!"Extended TeamHe says that the ideal for an advertising agency is to become "the

"When a person in charge at an advertising company carefully considers business issues, consumer insights, value propositions, and so on, and then says, 'Don't take this as a given, but use it as a springboard to think about it again,' I feel a strong need to respond to that enthusiasm. The sense that the client is proud of their product or service, and believes they can contribute to people and society, is what motivates us to fully support them.Positive passionI would like to build a constructive relationship where we can inspire each other." (Matsuura)

Matsuda agreed, and reiterated that the "determination" mentioned earlier is something that is necessary for both advertisers and advertising agencies.

"As I mentioned earlier, the ideal relationship between an advertiser and an advertising agency is one of accomplices. Advertisers must be prepared to shut out the noise that prevents their good ideas from coming to fruition and persuade their superiors. Advertising agencies must be prepared to set aside the distraction of wanting to win advertising awards and think even more seriously than their clients about the best way to grow their business and put it into practice. When both parties are prepared to break through all obstacles in order to achieve the single goal of business growth, I feel they can become true accomplices (partners)." (Matsuda)

Orientations do not need to be efficient or smart, nor do they need to cover up the fact that "we don't know" or "it hasn't been decided." The key is to find a partner who has the determination and passion to share the current challenges of your company or brand and pursue your medium- to long-term goals together.

For this to happen, the advertiser must also have the determination and passion to communicate this to the advertising agency. They must honestly share what they know and think about their company and their brand, and be willing to communicate. This attitude is the most important thing in an orientation, the beginning of a partnership between an advertiser and an advertising agency.

Questions from participants in Part 2, "Lab"

In the second part, "Lab," held after the seminar, various questions were asked by members who attended the event and they exchanged opinions with the speakers. Here we present an excerpt of some of the questions posed by members.

"If you provide information, constraints, and freedom, and still don't come up with a proposal that exceeds your expectations, what do you think is needed?"

"What would you not want your clients to do or say to maximize the performance of their initiatives?"

"Are there any differences in the information that consumers would like to see conveyed in an orientation for a long-established brand (a brand that more than half of consumers are aware of) and a new brand?"

"I feel it is difficult to fully convey our company's philosophy, thoughts, and commitment that lie behind the advertisements we want to express, and to have them deeply understand it. What should we keep in mind to communicate this effectively?"

"I think a long-term perspective is necessary to develop a brand and achieve results, but sometimes the promotions you propose don't produce results right away. In those cases, I would like some advice on how to convince the management."

"I imagine that you two will be on the client's side in some projects and will brief agencies and production teams. In those cases, is there anything you keep in mind other than what you discussed today?"