Episode 1 of the new season of Limited Supply was very good.

Moiz Ali, the founder of Native, talked about manufacturing and shipping.

I found the wisdom from Moiz easily crosses over to the creative production side as well.

Here are three nuggets of wisdom when figuring out creative partners.

1. Switching creative partners could be hurting your performance

Something that stuck out to me in the episode was when Moiz talked about switching manufacturers.

Moiz said that you can’t keep switching manufacturers because it takes time to get into a rhythm to get all of the products created properly.

Why does this matter about creative?

I think most brands see creative short-term; the second something doesn’t work, they freak out and look to switch to a new provider or new plan.

There are two major costs when switching.

Internal time spent getting the new creative provider.The time it takes the new creative partner to onboard, learn about your brand, and get started.

What if that same time is spent optimizing the content you have?

You might be one edit or revision away from a winning ad, but you always switch providers, and you never get in sync with the providers.

Instead of going deep on creative learning, you are constantly back at square one with the new provider briefing out similar information.

Our most successful clients at Goodo Studios are the ones who have worked with us for a long period of time.

Over time, we figure out together what ads work and what don’t.

We are able to make iterations and revisions to optimize the ads to get winners.

We spend less time learning about the product and onboarding and more time dedicated to success.

2. Allow for mistakes if the creative partner is honest

Moiz talked about how people will make mistakes in manufacturing or 3PL, but you want to work with providers who are proactive, own mistakes, and make them right.

This is true for creative partners.

When you are looking for a creative partner, you want to work with people who genuinely care about your business.

If the business isn’t doing well, your creative partner should feel that too and show concern.

Goodo Studios is not perfect, but we will reshoot or do anything we can to make things right.

Be okay with mistakes, but find creative partners who will care about your business and are honest.

3. Make Payment a win-win for everyone

Ogilvy famously said:

“Ask what the agency charges. If it is 15 %, insist on paying 16 %. The extra one % won’t kill you, but it will double the agency’s normal profit, and you will get better service… Insist on a five-year contract. This will delight the agency – and protect you from being resigned if one of your competitors ever tries to seduce them with a bigger budget.”

Now, I don’t think you need to go this far, but the truth is, if you treat your external providers well, they will go above and beyond for you.

Moiz talked about getting discounts with manufacturers, but he warned everyone that they are still a business too.

The provider needs to make money, or else mistakes will be made.

If you want creative partners that can really help you scale, make sure that the agreement is a win-win!

If you take one thing away from this newsletter, it is that you need to vet your creative partners more.

Take time to build a relationship with them and see if they are the right fit for you in your current state of the business.

Understand how they can work with you to build performance.

You want creative partners who collaborate and walk alongside your marketing.