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1.13.22 | read time: 5 mins

The CS Filter: Fostering Productive Feedback

116 & West

As the front line and point-of-contact in all client communication, the Client Services (CS) team has a little saying when someone asks, “what do you do?” To put it simply, we’re the voice of the client to the agency and the voice of the agency to the client.

That’s often easier said than done, but thankfully (for us and for our clients) we have an incredible team to make sure that both voices are always heard loud and clear.

While many of my coworkers have naturally charming personalities, we can’t totally attribute that to our successes when acting as the filter between the client and the agency. It takes work from everyone. Moreover, there are a few proactive steps everyone can take to ensure smooth, clear communication between an agency and our clients.

Adapting to Different Communication Styles

A big part of our role, and a major factor in ensuring positive interactions, is building relationships with our clients. It’s no secret that everyone has a different communication style and processes information in various ways. That’s where we come in. Part of building those relationships is learning each client’s communication style, which oftentimes is influenced by their personality.

As discussed in a previous blog, every client is different. Some respond better to emails, while others prefer phone calls. Still, some enjoy small talk and love to chat about the weather and their weekend, while others want to get straight to the point. Having a good feel for the client’s personality also helps discern tone, especially in written communications.

Our job is to identify a client’s preferred communication style and adapt to it–kind of like a communication chameleon. The next step to ensuring smooth interactions is taking a client’s discourse tendencies and applying that knowledge to how they give and receive feedback.

Receiving Feedback from Clients

We do our best to notice how clients provide feedback and take notes on any trends in what they say. Are they specific, or are they vague? Do they know exactly what they want going into a project, or do they need to see something to which they can react?

It’s imperative for the CS team to accurately synthesize a client’s feedback, and it might require asking clarifying questions. For example, if a client shares that they aren’t in love with something, we ask them to do their best to explain the specific aspects of what they didn’t like. We ask if there is a certain mood or feeling they want to elicit with the creative.

The relationships we build with clients also tend to inform some of the feedback we receive from them. All human beings have quirks. Getting to know these quirks can help us understand the why behind a requested change.

Sometimes, we work together internally to figure out the questions that best get to the root of what our client is trying to communicate. This means taking the initial client feedback and discussing it with a designer, digital team member, or one of our media wizzes.

Ultimately, this helps our creative, digital, and/or media teams get the right information to make any necessary changes.

Giving Feedback to Clients

While it’s imperative to learn how clients communicate when giving feedback, we must also learn how clients receive feedback from us as an agency. Some are more open to feedback and suggestions from the agency, and others might be more committed to their original thoughts.

As a CS team, our job is to take the comments from our colleagues within the agency and provide context and a filter that makes it easy for the client to digest, all while keeping in mind how that particular client handles feedback.

A good example of this is when agencies have to shoot down a client’s idea–AKA gently guiding them in a more strategic direction. As long as we do it with kindness, reiterate the fact that their idea may not serve the campaign’s ultimate goal, and meet them with their preferred mode of communication, what can be a difficult conversation turns into a relatively easy interaction.

Simplicity and clarity are just as important for our teams as they are for the client. We often don’t realize that what makes sense to us on the agency side might not make sense to someone outside of the industry.

We use terms, abbreviations, and acronyms (SOW, KPI, CPC, and don’t even get us started on the various file types) in internal communications that make sense to our teams. But if we used that exact same language with clients, we could be more confusing than helpful.

So, keep it simple! The best explanations don’t need the most complex words. Plus, it saves time and frustration, which is something we can all appreciate.

Sharing Client Feedback Internally

Because this filter is a two-way street, there are things we need to keep in mind when sharing client feedback with other departments within the agency. With feedback coming in all different forms–long, short, sometimes confusing–it’s the CS team’s job to filter that information from the client so that it’s easily digestible for our creative, media, or digital teams.

Our goal is to take the reactions we receive, filter through to find the most necessary information, provide context to anything that may be confusing or open-ended, and get down to the core. From there, we need to think about who is going to receive the feedback, and what other information they may need to successfully make changes.

By providing clear and detailed feedback for our team, we can cut down on unnecessary back-and-forths and ultimately save time on the project.

The Unfiltered Truth

So, while Client Services is the voice of the agency to/from the client, that voice is filtered. It’s filtered so we can always be as clear and detailed for the rest of the agency. It’s filtered so we can best explain work to our clients. It’s filtered for the sake of clarity, detail, and efficiency. Every day we learn something new to help us be that much better in our role.

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1.10.22 | read time: 6.5 min

Media in 2021: A Year in Review

116 & West

Holy smokes. We did it. Congrats to everyone for making it through another rough year. We’re now looking forward to a bright, shiny 2022. (Well, maybe not exactly bright and shiny—2022 already has a few stains on it—but still, we’re excited.)

Although we’re a forward-looking company in a forward-looking industry, we would be remiss if we didn’t take one last peek in our rear-view mirror at the 2021 media landscape and see what it can teach us about where we’re headed.

The following is a short list of a few BIG things that happened in 2021, and how it might continue to impact us, our clients, and our industry through 2022 and beyond.

Meta Flags Content

In order to mitigate misinformation on its platforms, Meta (The Facebook company back then) began to flag content about sensitive issues such as COVID-19, politics, social issues, and elections. For example, posts that contain the words “COVID or CORONAVIRUS” will automatically be populated with a statement to visit the COVID-19 Information Center for vaccine resources.

Although these content flags are generally helpful in providing users with science-backed information rather than opinion, the guidelines about what or what doesn’t make a “sensitive issue,” or what makes something flaggable currently remains unclear.

So, companies and individuals who post about COVID, may have to endure a special box around their post. Brands may also have to alter their ad copy so they don’t get flagged and are unable to post to the platform(s).

We anticipate these content flags to remain through 2022 and beyond. COVID has yet to be contained, and the midterm elections will certainly provide fodder for social media content. So, stay vigilant as you create your content, and stay up-to-date on any of Meta’s updated guidelines. If you’re on a tight timeline, and don’t want your ad to get caught up in the process, play it safe and refrain from using language that could be flagged.

Apple Makes Data Tracking Difficult

One of the biggest happenings that came out of 2021 was Apple’s change to their data tracking protocols in the iOS 14.5 update. When the update was pushed, apps could no longer track how their users behaved, unless the user gave the app permission to do so.

It turns out, not many people gave permission. Customers on apps have a unique Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). As people opt out of sharing this identifier (only 25% of customers have allowed tracking), they’re being removed from targeted advertising.

For iPhone users, this privacy update feels comforting and long overdue. But for marketers and app companies, the loss of this information means that they can no longer target users based on this data. For instance, a skateboard company cannot utilize customer data to target an ad based on  a person’s user behavior, or similar interests. This lack of data makes it difficult to pinpoint the rider who may be interested in a board.

Targeting is helpful in delivering ads that are personalized and relevant. Without this data, marketers could lose space and dollars on ads that aren’t relevant, and so will likely have lower success metrics. Companies will have to look elsewhere for ways to more precisely connect with potential customers.

Don’t look for the opt-in numbers to rise in 2022. Companies will continue to hone their skills in developing new ways to learn about and connect with their target audience.

Nielsen Takes a Hit

Nielsen TV ratings have long been used by agencies and media vendors to measure how many people were exposed to content and advertising. We use multiple metrics such as reach, frequency, averages, and percentages to derive who is watching what and whether our ads reach their target audience.

So, the ad industry collectively gasped when the Media Rating Council (MRC) suspended Nielsen’s accreditation for the national TV and local TV rating service.

MRC, under pressure from the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), suspended the accreditation because Nielsen underreported viewership numbers during the COVID-19 crisis.

Because of the rise of connected television (CTV) and over-the-top media (OTT), the viewership-measurement landscape is much more complex. The measurement tools and products have not kept up with the media innovations, leaving advertisers and media vendors to have less-than-accurate numbers from which to buy, sell, and plan from.

As television gets more and more digitized, how we measure who’s watching will have to change. Because of the continual innovations and options in how people consume visual media, the trusted tools we’ve long used will have to innovate alongside the media itself. It’s a challenging time, but one that’s necessary. We think this will continue to impact our business for the next several years.

Podcasts Keep Winning

Americans love their podcasts. A recent report states that 55% of Americans say they listen to podcasts–that’s 155 million people! By 2022, it’s projected that 88.9 million listeners will tune in each month. By 2023, it’s estimated to be 94.7 million!

According to Marketing Dive, podcast ad revenue should jump to $1.13 billion by next year, showing that ad spend is increasing with the listenership.

Not only is the podcast audience large, it’s also receptive to advertising. According to a 2021 report, 86% of respondents say they remember an ad from a podcast. And, 76% of podcast listeners say they’ve taken action after hearing an ad on a podcast.

We feel pretty confident the podcast game will remain strong through the foreseeable future. With over 2 million active podcasts globally, listeners have almost unlimited options for content, and advertisers have a huge opportunity to reach an audience.

NFTs Come to Marketing

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are “digital assets like bitcoin, only they’re unique and irreplaceable, like owning an original work of art online” (AdAge). People buy and sell NFTs, and now they are making a splash in the marketing space. AdAge has been documenting how NFTs are working their way into advertising. It’s done differently by each company, but they seem to be racking in extra money from these endeavors.

For example, Budweiser sold 1,936 one-of-a-kind digital beer cans. They had 1,900 priced at $499 and another 36 priced at $999. They said these NFTs are “designed to celebrate the brand’s iconic history while also moving Budweiser into the metaverse” (AdAge). These one-of-a-kind digital beer cans sold out within an hour, and from this one NFT stunt Budweiser made around $984,000.

The NFL is also jumping on the NFT train. According to AdAge, the NFL is offering complementary NFTs to fans who have attended specific games. To be eligible, the ticket must be purchased through the NFL Ticketing Network, then accessed through a post-game email. The email provides a link to a NFT marketplace where the recipients can trade or sell them. This adds a new aspect of novelty to purchasing a ticket and attending a game.

This new era of NFTs is still unfolding, as more and more companies join the offerings. It’s hard to know how NFTs will move into 2022, but if big companies like Budweiser and the NFL continue to stake ground in the virtual asset world, it will likely stick around and transform into bigger and better offerings.

It’s another arm of branding and product offering that marketers can play with. NFTs can give loyal fans and customers more ways to engage with companies, and provide ways to expand the buyer/seller relationship in new ways. NFTs offer an exciting opportunity for customers to own a piece of their favorite brands—which might turn out to be one of the best ways to acquire and retain customers.

Game On, 2022

If we learned anything in 2021, it’s that the media landscape is forever changing, and our job is to stay aware of any changes. WE know that technology is only going to get more advanced, and people are going to keep changing how they consume media. We always do our best to help our clients find the right media mix for their goals and their audience. As we move forward, that means jumping into some exciting new trends that could pay big dividends for our clients.

Ready for your 2022 campaigns? We can help.

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