
Time to think different to solve our industry’s trust problem
This is the second part of a 2-part series on the trust issue in our industry. You can find the beginning of the series here.
The crux of the trust issue I have discussed in this series stems from:
- How we budget
- How much we focus on customer engagement
In budgeting for media, for example, we often default to:
- $X of total budget
- %Y of which goes to “fees”
- With the rest being active dollars.
In turn, creative agencies often provide solutions based on a fixed scope of work that’s derived from the number of hours needed.
But success in the online space — the space that allows viewers to escape in a heartbeat and provides infinite tempting avenues to do so — ultimately demands a good experience for the audience. So many of the tired practices our industry follows are based on old models: the printed newspaper the consumer had to page through, the TV ads they had to sit through.
Which means:
- We have to be more considerate to the consumer to achieve advertising goals
- To create that better consumer experience, we need to align everyone in our marketing ecosystem to the business objectives
- And that starts — trust me on this one — with smart compensation models and partnership agreements that make sure everyone a vested interest in success, because that’s where the action begins.
How do you ensure success with your agency and client partners?

