🎯 “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

🤖 “One in four visits to your website aren’t human.” 🤖

Brandon Borden, CHEQ

🎤 I was at The Marketing Society’s brilliant #TheDigitalDay, heard this quote from Brandon Borden who was on stage, and had to talk to him afterwards and get this onto a "Quick Conversation 🎤 "

⚡ This is fascinating!

👉 I asked Brandon: "What was the Key 🔑 Takeout from your session?"

His answer:

🧠 It is time to rethink what we mean by ‘customer’.

Brandon Borden shared that:

1️⃣ “The term ‘customer’ no longer just covers humans, it includes bots, AI agents, machines that can work on behalf of humans, who can transact, purchase, and drive revenue for your business.”

2️⃣ “We used to think bots = bad, humans = good… but what about malicious humans? Or good bots like search engines that help your business grow?”

3️⃣ “One in four visits to your website aren’t human.”

4️⃣ “That has a tangible impact on how you market, how you build your website, and how you measure success.”

💡 Rethinking digital engagement means making space for both people and machines, and building experiences that work for both.

🚦 Brandon Borden and CHEQ call this “go-to-market security” protecting digital journeys from fake traffic, fraud, and malicious actors, while enabling real growth.

🙏 Huge thanks to Brandon Borden for the "Quick Conversation 🎤" and for enlightening us to who our real ‘customers’ are.

🙏 Thank you also to Sophie Devonshire⚡️ for hosting the day (I said I'd post about the 🤖 Bots 👀 ) and The Marketing Society team for yet another insight packed day of inspiration: Rachel Letham (Montague-Ebbs), Ed Dawes, Anna Barber, Milena Spranger.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#TheDigitalDay

#MarketingSociety

#CHEQ

#DigitalMarketing

#Bots

🔑 “The brand is the beginning and the brand is the end...it is the brand that lives on” 🔑

Supriya Dev-Purkaystha (She/Her), Microsoft

At The Marketing Society’s brilliant #TheDigitalDay, I had the chance to grab a "Quick Conversation 🎤" with Supriya Dev-Purkaystha (She/Her), Head of Media & Ad Tech Solutions at Microsoft UK, just after she came off stage having delivered an excellent summary of the afternoon.

👉 So I asked: What was "The Key 🔑 Takeaway" from the afternoon?

🎯 Supriya Dev-Purkaystha (She/Her)'s answer was great in that it summarised a theme, rather than each talk individually:

⚡ Put Brand and Brand Purpose Front and Centre.

Here’s what Supriya shared:

1️⃣ “It’s about bringing it (brand) to the forefront, about living those values and the purpose and about thinking about those, when we are devising our marketing strategies, when we’re thinking about platforms that we want to be on, when we’re thinking about the creative…”

3️⃣ “Is it (brand) really living those values? living that purpose? And does it resonate with consumers?”

4️⃣ “Remember, it’s the brand that lives on...regardless of who is around it. It’s the brand that has to survive. It’s the brand that has to grow. So you need to put brand front and centre. And it’s the role of the marketer to champion that.”

💬 And this line summed it up perfectly:

🔥 “We evolved from talking about performance marketing to talking about brand performance, because the brand is the beginning and the brand is the end.” 🔥

📢 A powerful reminder: the marketer’s vital and business critical role is to define, manage, and grow the brand.

That makes our role central to the business, not just culturally and in comms, but commercially too.

🙏 Huge thanks to Supriya Dev-Purkaystha (She/Her) for such a sharp and purposeful takeaway from a packed and thought-provoking day.

🙏 Thank you to Sophie Devonshire⚡️ for hosting the day so faultlessly as always (it's all about the Bots 👀 ) and The Marketing Society team for yet another insight packed day of inspiration: Rachel Letham (Montague-Ebbs), Ed Dawes, Anna Barber, Milena Spranger.

Also great to catch up with and meet other members: Brandon Borden, Mays Elansari, Ritchie Mehta, Andy Sandoz, Emily Samways, Ross Edwards, Hannah Hattie Matthews, Jack Thomas Williams and many more!

🔥 Finally and importantly....congratulations to The Marketing Society on your new branding (click The Marketing Society to see their new logo)!

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#DigitalDay

#MarketingSociety

#BrandPurpose

#BrandPerformance

#MarketingLeadership

#CMOTakeaways

#Booster

🔑 “The key to successful client and agency relationships is all about putting emotion and feeling first in those partnerships.” 🔑

Miranda Hipwell, adam&eveDDB

I met up with Miranda Hipwell, CEO of adam&eveDDB London, for a Quick Conversation 🎤 to explore what The Key 🔑 is to successful Client–Agency relationships.

👉 Miranda’s answer: Emotion & Feeling First

Miri believes that truly great partnerships and great work start with empathy, not just process.

Here is what Miri shared:

1️⃣ “It’s about asking: What does this client really mean by what they’re saying? What do they really want in this brief?”

2️⃣ “How are they feeling? What do they want personally and what do they want for their brand?”

3️⃣ “That emotional lens becomes a kind of North Star guiding decision-making across everything we do together.”

4️⃣ “When you understand those feelings and bring them to life for the brand in service of your client’s ambition that’s when you move not only their business forward, but them and their career too.”

🎈 Miri also shared a brilliant case study from adam&eveDDB’s long-term relationship with Mars Petcare, and a Thanksgiving campaign for IAMS in the U.S. featuring a giant balloon version of a real-life overweight dog, Waylon, that got “stuck” between two buildings in Chicago to highlight pet obesity.

The emotional impact?

Thousands of pet parents took action and Waylon himself is now on a real-life weight-loss journey.

That is feeling-first creativity at its best.

🙏 Huge thanks to Miri for this feelings-first and thoughtful Quick Conversation 🎤

And thank you to the Temptations Cat for the elegant background.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#EmotionInMarketing

#Empathy

#Leadership

#CreativeEffectiveness

#adamandeveDDB

#MarsPetcare

#IAMS

#Booster

🧠 “The Key is trust. But not just any trust — the kind built on authenticity and vulnerability..” 🧠

Gemma Greaves, Nurture & Cabal

I met up with Gemma Greaves co-founder of Nurture and Cabal, and former Chief Executive of The Marketing Society, for a Quick Conversation 🎤 (not a game of snooker) about what The Key 🔑 is to successful Client–Agency relationships.

Here’s what Gemma shared:

1️⃣ “The only way you can truly build trust is to be your true self, your authentic self and that means being open and honest.”

3️⃣ “It starts with being vulnerable. It’s okay not to be perfect.”

4️⃣ “Once you create that space, you can have the big and sometimes uncomfortable conversations.”

5️⃣ “That’s where the magic comes...when both sides bring their full selves to the table.”

💡 In a world where transparency is in short supply, Gemma’s reminder cuts through: Real relationships are human ones — and brave, brilliant work starts with openness.

🙏 Huge thanks to Gemma for such an honest and energising Quick Conversation 🎤.

A game of snooker next time!

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#Authenticity

#Trust

#BetterTogether

#Booster

🎯 “It’s important to know what the key brief is and stick to it. Have a clear outcome in mind and collaborate toward that specific goal..” 🎯

Ruth Kieran, Cirkle

Recently listed in PRWeek UK’s Power Book 2025, Ruth Kieran, Chief Executive of Cirkle, joined me for a Quick Conversation 🎤 to discuss what The Key 🔑 is to successful Client–Agency relationships.

👉 Ruth Kieran’s answer: "Collaborative problem solving".

She emphasised the importance of agencies and clients bringing their expertise together to tackle challenges as a unified team.

🔗 A strong reminder that successful partnerships are built on trust, shared goals, and working together toward a common purpose...not siloed teams working separately!! It sounds obvious, but definitely isn't always practiced.

I think this quote is so bang on 🎯 :

🔥 "Collaboration is great, but without structure, the scope and brief can constantly change. It’s important to know what the key brief is and stick to it. Have a clear outcome in mind and collaborate toward that specific goal.” 🔥

🙏 Huge thanks to Ruth for her valuable insights in this Quick Conversation 🎤.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#CollaborativeProblemSolving

#Booster

🎤 “Radical candour — brutal honesty with respect — makes the relationship work and gets you to better work.” 🎤

— Hattie, Laura, and Fern from Uncharted Studio

For the first time ever, I met up with 3 lovely people at once for a “Quick Conversation 🎤” — and I hope you think we get away with it!

Huge thanks to Hattie Matthews (CEO), Laura Jordan Bernbach (Chief Creative Officer), and Fern Miller (CSO) from Uncharted Studio for the Quick Conversation

So I asked:

👉 What’s The Key 🔑 to successful client–agency relationships?

🧠 The consensus from the Uncharted team: Radical candour.

Brutal honesty, tempered by respect.

Here are some of the highlights:

1️⃣ Hattie: “Create a safe space for listening where clients feel they’re actually being heard.”

2️⃣ Fern: “Agree up front that it’s okay to disagree — and know it’s not personal.”

3️⃣ Fern (quoting Simon Gill): “Be hard on the work, gentle on the people.”

4️⃣ Laura: “There’s a difference between listening and really listening — it’s about responding thoughtfully, not just selling.”

5️⃣ Hattie: “Blunt feedback, handled with openness, can lead to some of the best work.”

In their words, this approach helps turn clients into collaborators — working together to produce bold, brave ideas.

🙏 Huge thanks to Hattie, Laura, and Fern for this insightful conversation, and for showing how radical candour can create strong partnerships and better creative.

#TheKey

#QuickConversations

#ClientAgencyRelationships

#RadicalCandour

#CreativePartnerships

#UnchartedStudio

#MarketingLeadership

#Collaboration