Playing with Plug ‘n Play
Ask the right questions when considering a freelance ad team.
Ask the right questions when considering a freelance ad team.
Lindsey Slaby of Sunday Dinner posited something that grabbed our attention on Linkedin and seemed so a) wise and b) in touch with everything we’re seeing around us in marketing/ad world:
Here’s what she wrote:
“Can agencies be replaced by free agents & assembled teams? NYC agency creative depts had a tricky week last wk. Nonstop links were sent around of creatives who had just left shops or layoffs — both a result of clients making some drastic shifts. Ask where to: “We’re going to work on our own for a bit + see how it goes.” Ok, if all this great talent now wants to work “solo,” how does the client-side make this work? Continuity(!), chemistry, and broader capes are very much needed + ahem, did not all go in-house. Will clients need to fill in the missing pieces? The plug-n-play team & assembly model has many pros but also many cons. Not all can run a “business.” I’ve seen it go poorly. Mainly due to team chemistry that hasn’t had time to develop or client structures to set it up for success. Most importantly, these new ways of working require a *VERY* strong mktg client lead on the other side. I do a lot of that — and trust me, it’s hard work. It’s clear we’re moving away from ‘large scale’ creative agencies, but if we extract creative from media + strategy + the other wonderful things that make ideas be their best, are we getting further away from some of the problems we are trying to solve? This needs convo as an industry cc Association of National Advertisers”
At Honor Code, prospects sometimes have a hard time getting their arms around how we work (ours is a spot between solo freelancer and agency), and the questions raised often look like Lindsey’s, in particular around continuity. In the end, those who elect to go with us do so because they can get senior work product and fresh thinking without red tape, inefficiencies, and overhead, and with the benefit of a team assembled just for them and their unique needs.
If you’re looking at a solo, partnership or a variation like ours in place of a traditional agency, here are some key questions to ask:
Does the creative have a partner with left-brain chops? Traditionally a pairing is copy/design. Our Honor Code pairing is copy/project management. (I’ve also seen a design/strategy pairing.) We have designers we love that are part of the Honor Code Creative fabric, but the actual partnership is a left brain/right brain pairing. You want both the unbridled creativity and the “run a business” aspects.
In their past life, was this creative a leader, doer/leader, or a doer? We’ve all worked with creatives who are gifted doers only. The kind who are in the trenches, quirky, madly skilled, but not team leaders. A quirky doer is great when there’s leadership to help with feedback, responsiveness, deadlines, etc. But as a solo partner you want someone whose background is both doing the work (those skills can’t be rusty!) and leading it to success.
If it’s an assembled team, how are they assembled? Agencies themselves often used freelance talent, and while you then get agency oversight and single point of contact, you may still end up with a team of people who don’t know each other. (Once at a client meeting when I was in an agency, I accidentally introduced myself to someone on my own team. With a flexible WFH policy, we’d never met.) At HCC, most of our freelancers know each other; we pick our favorite people to work with, and for the most part they’ve worked together in companies. All of them know both of us, the partners, personally, and many of them for years or even a decade plus. It allows for a level of trust and shorthand that works well. We know what we’re getting and how they work.
What measures are in place to ensure continuity? Continuity (especially among valued creatives) is never a guarantee, even with full-timers. We actually think continuity is more likely when creatives are unburdened by the sameness and non-creative aspects (reviews, admin meetings) of full-time work. We evaluate continuity at the start of an engagement, looking at competing work and the depth of the project. But we also handle it by staying involved as partners. So as CD, I’m on everything to provide that constant thread.
Can the partner be on site? Freelancers often become freelancers because they love the flexibility and the chance to WFH. But so much happens when you can be on site at least from time to time. Trust building and collaboration with in-house teams, spotting issues and needs that might not be evident without outside perspective, and boosting morale (yes, that’s a goal of ours every time, reminding FT staff how amazing their company is, because it’s amazing to us or it wouldn’t be our client). Ask if on site visits are possible at the outset.
What can I do to be a true partner and help ensure success? Lindsey’s right that the stronger the partnership, the better the engagement. The ideal larger client gives us a single point of contact who helps set us up for success by positioning us as a resource to help the in-house team, putting us in key meetings, enabling the right flow of information (more is better! results, too!), and allowing for opportunities to be on site. A smaller client ensures success by respecting our expertise, being responsive, and streamlining communication so we’re able to be efficient.
And finally …
7. What do I have to lose? Maybe the easiest thing about this type of engagement is that there’s minimal risk. If you’re considering working with a freelancer or freelance team, look at a contract that allows you to end the engagement easily. That way you can test out what it’s like to get this kind of fresh thinking in real life. Which is, of course, the only true way to know anything for sure.