Integrated marketing agencies may be nothing new. But when we truly take advantage of others’ skill sets by collaborating and thinking holistically, we can get to better ideas and better results.
When teams work together and unite under the idea itself, barriers to great work are removed—and that’s when you can start to move the needle for the business.
We’ve found that bringing together top teams for all steps of the marketing process works best for us and for our clients. Jamie Stewart, Director of Digital Media, says that this allows us to “reach out to an expert in a different field with ease. We have so many capabilities here, and we can problem solve in a more effective manner.”
Those capabilities include everything from brand strategy, creative and production to media planning and buying, public relations, and UI/UX design. Alongside social media management, influencer marketing, interactive development and digital engagement, we’ve got teams who can take any marketing plan and bring it to life. This also means we’re unbiased—we offer recommendations to our clients based solely on what we’ve uncovered as a great strategy for your brand.
The relationships we build when we’re united around an idea help us create great work. According to Stewart, “It also makes our collective thinking more integrated as each Friend teaches the other.” Often everyone—yes, we mean everyone—at the agency is asked to submit ideas. No idea is too big or too small, and no voice is left unheard.
Because truthfully, we don’t know where the best idea will come from. Evanne Lindley, Director of Interactive Products & Services at GS&F, puts it this way: “In order for cross-departmental collaboration to be most successful, everyone has to do away with thinking ‘inside their lane.’” Once we label “idea people” or put pressure on one team, we’re toast.
But when we come together under a “best idea wins” mentality, we give our clients our best, boldest work. Lindley mentions, “If we each have a solid appreciation and understanding about what our colleagues do in their specialties, we’re able to help each other reach truly groundbreaking ideas.”
We also operate under what we call the Leads Model, which puts the client at the center of everything we do. This model brings together leaders from every angle—business, audience, activation and creative—to work in tandem, communicate effectively, and unite under a common goal.
Working together is a given, but efficiency that results in work that drives change doesn’t always happen. If you don’t work with or have an agency with every step of the marketing process housed together, it’s worth asking whether you’re getting work that does justice to your business goals.
Ready to get started? Take small steps as you make more substantive changes. Internally, as you think through your marketing objectives, open up brainstorming sessions to bigger groups. Keep conversations focused on your central problem—and your team’s solution to it. Externally, look for partners whose teams understand and value the roles different departments lead in bringing marketing plans to life. And make sure they always identify the right experts to work on a project, looping in whoever is the best fit.
Looking for a new agency partner on your path to great work? Learn more about how we approach our work, and check out some of our best!
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