I worked for a small creative agency who was part of a large global advertising group. When our Group CEO heard that I had attracted the interest of a large alcohol brand, he demanded I also secure a meeting for the group’s flagship agency brand, straight after our meeting, one floor below. Awkward, but the client obliged.
When it came to booking a meeting room for our creds presentation, all of our meeting room requests were denied. Every single room in the building had been block booked by the flagship agency. We were being sabotaged by the group that owned us.
Rather than waste time with company politics, I played to our strengths; our size and our people. Instead of booking a meeting room I invited the client into our office workspace on the 5th floor.
The group’s flagship agency held their meeting in the main board room; a soulless white room with a long wooden table and a huge plasma screen at the end of the room. Only Senior Directors attended their meeting.
The client appointed our agency on the basis that we understood the purpose of the meeting; chemistry. People buy people. Being small gives you a huge advantage. You can think faster, do quicker and it’s easier to outmaneuver those who are larger than you.
Copyright © Matthew Parkes 2020
