This is how to create the Virgin & Leo Burnett of the Middle East

In 2011 we won a major advertising contract, the client was a local telecom operator in the GCC, we were invited as a filler agency (procurement needed at least 3 agencies so they invited us to fill in that third agency) so we came to the pitch with 2 other global agencies (much larger than O2).

We surprised everyone and we came on top, yes we did a much better job than the global agencies. Off course we celebrated the win, I had big hopes that this account may take our agency globally! we kick started the very next day, mobilized our resources from our offices to the client’s location and our excitement made us forget completely to ask client to sign the contract.

At the client side we had to deal with the marketing team, who were mostly Arabs. I was extremely excited about the account, I had tons of ideas for them and I really wanted to make a big story out of it, however reality is always different.

Surprisingly the marekting team at the client side did not work with us as a team and partners, didn’t support us, waited for us to make a mistake, sent complains almost everyday, unmotivated our team by showing them other agencies work, rejecting most of our ideas.

When I started to ask why? why they choose to fight with us, I got the answer: They wanted to sign with the global agency not us so they were trying to proof to their management that we were the wrong agency.

So they did, and after one year we lost the contract.

Life goes on, we won another contract (even bigger) and they chosen the global agency to replace us.

However for me the story didn’t finish here, lets go back in time and ask a simple question: what if they supported us to become even better than that global agency? The marketing team at the client side, could have simply worked with us not against us, and imagine what would have been the result if they have done so, they would have created a better story that with a local agency they are creating an even better campaigns than global brands.

We would simply become the Leo Burnett of the Middle East and they would have been the Virgin Mobile.

I consider this as an open letter to all clients out there to start collaborating with their agencies, support them, speak to them, ask them how can we help you to create better results, what resources do you lack? Expose your issues to them, make them feel they are part of your team, and most importantly: pay them on time.