Tip #7 ∞ The Approval Process and Who's Responsible ∞

This post is #7 in a series of 21 posts (one per working day in August, 2009), to help you get the most from your advertising or marketing agency. This post follows on the article posted yesterday, about giving your agency one point of contact within your company.

That client point-of-contact should provide one written approval, called a "proof" in agency lingo, from some responsible individual at the client, for every project completed with the marketing/advertising agency.

The person who secures the approval (or proof) from you should be the agency account executive.

Approval of a project is a scary thing if you're the one signing off: Once your name is on that approval form or email, that's IT: It's now YOUR responsibility and you can no longer hold your agency liable for

-typos
-mistakes
-color problems
-errors in judgement
-miscalculations of message or delivery
-or any other problem with that project.

A smart agency, will document in writing the approval of every single project and file it away for future reference.

Some companies insist on having clients fill out cumbersome forms to document approval, but I think a simple reply to an email is sufficient. I simply open all the emails up involved in the approval process so they're visible on my screen, take a screen grab picture of the approvals and the final, and file the picture and all the accompanying emails away in the project folder as an approval.

If you find a mistake or a problem or just want to change something with a project after you've given your approval, you must understand that your agency will need to open the project up, rev it up, generate another round – no matter how tiny the change is – and secure another written approval.

So if you really, really want to change that dash to a colon, after you've already given your approval, think long and hard about it. You're looking at lots of additional time and expense after the approval process is complete. Pick your battles before the war is over.

Now once the approval is given, it is like a guide for the agency in the production phase. Let's say you've approved a file for printing that has a bright green border. That color is all important.

Now when the agency takes the files to the printer, sign-maker, or whoever is going to manufacture your project, they will use your approved proof as a guide to get the color right.

This is where you can hold your agency accountable. If your green border turns out yellow, then you can yell at your agency: Obviously SOMEONE wasn't paying attention.

On the other hand, a smart agency AE will get your approval on the printed material too, so there are no surprises. Usually you will go through multiple approval processes for every stage of the production of your project to make sure there are no mistakes.

You may get tired of seeing the same old thing over and over: first the content approval, then the design approval, then the production approval, then the printing approval, and finally the final! But that is the way it goes> Advertising and marketing is an exciting field, but like any job, there are tedious moments.

Now if you decide to complete your own production with the agency's art files, then you need to use your own proof as your guide. If you don't know much about production, or aren't a good detail person, then you probably should let your agency handle the production phase of the project, too, or you've really got no one to blame but yourself if it doesn't turn out like you'd expected.

Check in tomorrow for Tip #8 to learn about "The anatomy of an ad" - the lingo used in communications agencies - at least in my experience!