1.
SODA GMM 2014
12 interesting insights for agency owners
Once a year the founders, MD’s and CD’s of the earth’s best and bravest agencies
gather to share insights, thoughts and fun.This year the Global Member Meeting was
held in Barcelona. Energize’s Richard de Jong (CD) and Klaas Weima (MD) were there.

2.
#1
BECOME A STORYTELLERYou can tell the client’s story eyes closed. But how about your own story? Make sure
you have your own brand story lined up, offline as well as online. Clients choose an
agency for their work and fall in love with their people and story.

3.
#2
SMART CITIES
Barcelona is full of sensors; on containers, parking spots, buss stops. It shows a clear
trend:The Internet of Things is coming.You better believe the hype, the future is
smart and connected.

4.
#3
TOOL TALK
Crafts men need the right tools.Which tools do you use in your agency to
enhance quality and save time? Nifty tools: 10,000 feet,Trello, Hubplanner, Float
Schedule (Resource Planning), Xero, OpenWater, QuickBook (Finance). Harvest
& Forecast is indispensable for time tracking and planning.

5.
#4
AGILE APPROACH
How agile is your agency? In times where clients have more knowledge and want to
be in the driving seat an agile approach has many advantages. Involvement, flexibility,
and better scope definition.

6.
#5
NPS & INFOGRAPHICS
It might involve numbers, brrrr… But! Infographics are short and
communicate your message fast. No more 30+ slide decks that will bore
your audience to death.After the project: check the NPS score and evaluate.

7.
#6 QUALIFY
Don’t underestimate the importance of selecting a new client, its the future of your
agency. Is it a match made in heaven? Before getting into a pitch ask 5 questions:
what’s the budget, is it approved, who is the DMU, when is it due and why? Always
meet in person; you are not a vendor, you are a trusted advisor.

8.
#7
MITTSOW
A lawyer once told me: don’t negotiate about your new relationship until your
relationship is over again. Just start working on the terms you do agree on.
Still things to discus? Move It To The Scope of Work.

9.
#8
PLATOONS
Think outside the traditional team.The triangle; strategy, creation, account
is a thing of the past. It’s much smarter to work in platoons; small hybrid
teams with people from different backgrounds instead of departments.

10.
#9
BITS BECOME ATOMS
The digital world is becoming physical.Think: 3D printing and laser cutters in
design and architecture. Barcelona’s Fablab is a great example where talent
from many disciplines meet and ideas and tools are shared in an open source
environment.

11.
#10
SERVICES TO PRODUCTS
Digital agencies move from digital services to physical products. Some recent product
initiatives from SoDA agencies:
Boomf: print your own marshmallow print (boomf.com)
Projecteo: your own mini projector for your Instagram pics. Brilliant!
(getprojecteo.com)

12.
#11
VALUE BASED MODELS
More and more agencies choose for value based models. If you create succes
for a client you will also share this success financially.Agencies are more
committed, clients get more value for money. Make sure to control the
metrics and agree on an uplift when you ’kill’ it. It makes your work better
and everyone is more focused on results.

13.
#12
HIRE A TALENT MANAGER
Your agency is made of people, cherish them.And cherry pick from the
best talent around. Have a talent manager in your team. Someone for
resource planning, internally and externally. Oh and nurture free lancers!
You might need them now and then.