New research from LinkedIn shows that B2B leaders are increasingly looking at the full funnel as they design their brands and campaigns. For any marketing organization interested in taking this more holistic approach, messaging and content are best developed with a copy agency of record: it’s more cost-effective, requires less ramping up, and provides greater consistency across messages.
A copy agency of record is different from a content vendor. The main difference is the focus on partnership. Here’s how that plays out in a number of ways:
A copy agency of record gets to know you.
Siloes between people, teams, and agencies create all kinds of content problems: mixed messages, too many cooks, politics around who wrote what, misaligned strategies, and so forth. It’s amazing how easy it is for a content initiative to come to a screeching halt. Or mired in its own mud.
A copy agency of record cuts through siloes to connect people, create synergies, and crystallize thinking across teams and projects. By uniting the disciplines of copywriting, messaging, UX writing, marketing strategy, product marketing, and brand personality under one verbal roof, a copy agency of record acts as the glue that holds everything—and everyone—together.
*A content vendor mentality isn’t about people. It’s about stuff: meeting quota and checking boxes. Essential, but not enough.
A copy agency of record has your back.
When the time is right, a partner steps in and speaks up. Something is off: a message, an idea, a strategy. A partner is a sounding board; someone you trust to bounce ideas off, someone who “gets” your business and ambitions and can help you think your way out of tricky situations.
Your company’s reputation (ie: your brand) is among your company’s most valuable assets. At MarketSmiths, we consider it our responsibility to help you build and maintain it to the utmost.
*A content vendor isn’t invested in your reputation. The main concern is getting through this project—and onto the next. It’s a transactional arrangement, so there’s no reason (for either party) to go above and beyond for the other.
A copy agency of record drives a dialogue.
Deadlines, projects, feedback, revisions, new research, old research, red fish, two fish—you get the point. When it comes to content development there’s a lot to talk about. Therefore, a partner is someone with whom you communicate regularly. It’s not a once-every-six months kind of thing; more like a bi-weekly thing in the slow seasons, or when there’s no project at hand.
The point is, you have to stay in touch with each other over an extended period of time to get anything meaningful accomplished. So, that’s what we do at MarketSmiths: open and nurture a dialogue that gets things done.
*A content vendor line of thought doesn’t lend itself to leaning in.
A copy agency of record sticks around.
A true partner begins a working relationship in a different state of mind than an average vendor. Partnership is not about one-and-done projects. The day-to-day details are important, but they come later. First and far more important is the big commitment to each others’ mutual best interest.
Meaning, a partner stays cool, calm, and committed even when things heat up: A rush project. A sudden strategy pivot. A changing of the guard. You need a steady hand to help you weather the ups and downs of changing business conditions—and all the communication and marketing challenges that accompany them.
This is especially valuable in our current climate of mergers and acquisitions. At MarketSmiths, we evolve our strategies as our partner organizations grow and change: knowing their history lets us adapt to their future.
That’s what having a copy agency of record is all about.
We don’t have clients. We have partners.
If you’d like to discuss a partnership, get in touch.
