Consumers and intermediaries are demanding more from financial brands. They want useful and entertaining content. In a world where brands are reacting faster than ever before to changes in the marketplace, do agencies need to change how they work with clients, to allow them to keep up?
Phil Naughton, Marketing Manager at AXA Insurance says, “Marketing is all about relationships really, and when you’re working in an industry that’s really focused on targeting the customer, it can be quite easy to underestimate how crucial internal relationships are. We started looking for new ways to overcome those challenges and better serve our client’s needs. That’s why I was really intrigued by the OLIVER model.”
OLIVER turns the traditional agency approach on its head by creating dedicated agencies for each of our clients. This allows them to be more closely aligned to the strategy and environment of the client, delivering better creative work, faster.
Naughton says, “We have a dedicated on-site team working right next to AXA people, designing a whole manner of things like HTML emails, tender responses, apps, infographics, photography and film and animation. By virtue of their proximity they’ve got a brilliant understanding of our internal relationships. Briefing and amends are very, very simple to do, it’s just a quick conversation.”
Creating better work by being closer
By being closer to brands, OLIVER is able to create more effective campaigns. Knowledge is instantly shared by dedicated teams that sit at the heart of your business. And, as a result of being closer to your brand, these teams are simply faster, smarter and more productive.
“OLIVER produces better work because they’re completely immersed in our brand. It’s not your typical agency-client relationship; it’s definitely much stronger than that. There’s a real sense of team spirit because the team is really dedicated to AXA, so the work is always on brand. They really understand what we’re about, as well as the challenges of the financial services marketplace. And I think that really shines through in the work that they produce.”
Getting around the challenge of real-time communications
Real-time communications can also present a challenge for traditional thinking. Marketers simply don’t have the time to relay information to people who are not in ‘their world’. They need people who have proximity to their challenges, their brand and their thinking. And a way of working that is flexible enough to accommodate busier, critical periods.
Naughton says, “So when new projects come in that fall outside of the on-site team’s capabilities, or places demand on the resource, we can call on OLIVER’s central pool of talent that puts all the skills right there when we need it. From strategic planning to artworkers to designers, we have the knowledge that we can bring people in who can hit the ground running and that is a massive benefit for us.
“So I think marketing has changed. Brokers want to see AXA as a helpful, insightful company. And by improving our speed to market and increasing the quality of our output, the OLIVER team has definitely played a huge part in helping us achieve that. So, now they’re a part of our worlds, I really wouldn’t want to go back to a more traditional agency model. “
If you want to talk to us about how we might help you become more reactive to a changing world, don’t hesitate to get in touch.