What the Mob Can Teach You About Marketing

Why Marketers Should Hire Consiglieres

Posted by Tom Martin on 08.12.09 @ 02:15 PM


Tom Martin

I'm a big fan of the mob. Seriously. You have to respect an organization that can literally get away with murder. OK, so I'm sort of kidding. But in a way I'm not. Here is an organization that has been around in the United States since the early 1900s, operates at a level of secrecy that would make Steve Jobs proud and was allowing its workers to telecommute way before that became in vogue. But as impressive as that is, the part of their setup that has always been something I found intriguing was the consigliere.

In the mafia, and not totally unlike corporate America today, you just don't question the boss unless you'd like to experience the latest in concrete footwear. And while this creates a necessary command and control structure, loyalty and efficiency, it can create blinders. And if you look around in today's companies and agencies for that matter, you see this same dynamic -- even more so since the economy went south.

But here again, the mafia is smarter than the rest of us. Understanding that no one man can have all the answers, they created the consigliere, a person in the organization who can, and is expected to, challenge the boss. He is the one the boss turns to for advice, counsel and insight based on which the boss will ultimately make his decision.

Now think of the consigliere role in the agency/client context. Sounds like a pretty good gig, doesn't it? Nice relationship to have with your client, wouldn't you agree? But look around at your clients and the clients of other agencies. Read the trades and blogs and ask yourself: Are you really your client's consigliere? Do you see any clients that truly have a consigliere? Honestly, I don't see a lot of these types of relationships these days. Sure, plenty of agency folks will say they have that, but if you read the client survey research, it tells a very different story. So this morning I asked myself, "Why is this?" Here is what I came up with.

Clients: Sure, you say you want a consigliere-type person/relationship. But do you really? Because that is not a cheap investment. Smart people cost big bucks. Smart people have to have the luxury of investing huge amounts of time consuming vast amounts of information and then making sense of it. And a true consigliere has to be able to put it all into context and present it to you when and in the form that it truly helps you make smarter decisions. Pretty tough hire, wouldn't you agree? But most of all, he has to have absolute confidence that he can say, "The emperor has no clothes," and you won't kick him to the curb over "strategic or creative differences."

Agencies: I'm not sure we always deserve this role. We've slacked off. We don't invest nearly enough in our people and resources to ensure we are actually ahead of our clients and in a position to look around the corner and see what's coming. We have a serious talent gap in our senior-management ranks, and we've (by and large) forfeited sound strategy in favor of cheap production tricks and cute one-liners that will line our shelves with awards but not necessarily our clients' shelves with dollar bills.

So what's a boy to do?

Clients: If you're serious, go find a consigliere. My rants aside, they're out there. I know and compete against more than a few. But skip the RFP. Instead spend a few hours on the internet and read great blogs, articles and agency white papers. Then call or email the authors. Interview a few of those smart folks you found and see if they're interested in getting together for coffee. Then see if you trust them. If you do, hire them. I'm guessing most agencies will gladly sell their services to you.

Agencies: Be worthy of being found by the clients above. And when they call you, live up to their expectations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Martin is president of Zehnder Communications, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La. He can be reached at Tom.Martin@z-comm.com. Or follow him at @TomMartin.

18 Comments

By SingularityDesign | Philadelphia, PA August 12, 2009 04:44:57 pm:

This is a great discourse on the type of relationship that we aspire to. It's all about trust. Trust that the consigliere's advice is relevant, smart and earnest, and trust that a frank delivery of the unvarnished advice won't result in a swift departure for the consigliere.

Those aspects of trust can certainly come over into an agency/client relationship. The part of the analogy that's a little trickier is that a consigliere is part of the family. He is as tied to it as any other member, and his loyalty is (supposedly) 100% there. At the same time, the don has only one consigliere, and he doesn't hold "reviews" every year or two to evaluate possible replacements.

I say let's focus on being trustworthy, frank, forthcoming and aligned with the client's goal. That's what will make us worthy of the comparison.

Jeff Greenhouse
President, Singularity Design
http://www.SingularityDesign.com
http://Twitter.com/SingularityDsgn

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By William | East Rockaway, NY August 12, 2009 08:59:46 pm:

To Tom Martin ... What a great and fun article! But I must say, agencies don't appreciate or want "consiglieres". They are considered old (because they're usually over 50), redundant (because current top management ostensibly knows everything), and disruptive (which, of course, is the definition of the job).

As an agency new business development specialist, I have been playing the "Devil's advocate" for almost 15 years at the agencies I've worked for. In the beginning, they all love it. Untold observations, perspectives and recommendations they never heard before, because nobody ever had the balls to just tell them. But this is a very short-lived honeymoon. Soon enough (about 24 months according to Spencer Stuart's latest CMO research) you will be fired (or, as we prefer to say in the agency business, layed-off ... same thing!).

At least in the mob they still have a thing called "respect". bcrandallnyc@aol.com

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By MarcoP123 | Philadelphia, PA August 13, 2009 12:16:06 am:

Actually, agencies should go further back in time and model a position after medieval times where the King had a court jester. Although we think of a court jester as just a clown, in medieval times the jester was sort of an advisor. It was improper for anyone to dare to question the king, but a jester's comments were tolerated because they didn't come from a rational person being impudent - they came from a "fool" (except the fool imparted wisdom in his rantings).

Imagine offering this service to clients.

Marc
http://domusinc.blogspot.com
http://www.domusinc.com

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By stevenstark | Fairfield, CT August 13, 2009 09:17:30 am:

You've touched on something very true here: that clients need advocates and agencies need devil's advocates. It's a role I've always strived to fill, despite the resistance it creates. But like William points out in his response, after awhile, most agencies simply don't want to hear it. I understand that it's tough to be continually challenged—but it's necessary for an ultimately satisfying and productive client-agency relationship.

A great, thought provoking article Tom, as always. And keep those mob metaphors coming!

www.stevenstark.net
www.beneaththebrand.com
www.twitter.com/stevenstark

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By tobyb | Atlanta, GA August 13, 2009 09:36:31 am:

What does this say about the agency biz when a consigliere is needed to look out for a client's best interest? Should this not be part of the client-agency relationship "service?" If it's not shame on the both the agency and the client for putting up with what is not a "court jester" but a "puppeteer" model where the strings are being manipulated for the greater good of the agency not the client.

Toby Bloomberg
www.divamarketingblog.com

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By Tom Martin | NEW ORLEANS, LA August 13, 2009 09:52:15 am:

Toby

Think you're adding a logic jump that isn't resident in this post. I never said or suggested that anyone (agencies) was 'manipulating anything for the greater good of the agency" and to suggest that agencies are actively doing that (without any offered proof) seems antagonistic to me and frankly a comment without merit.

All I was suggesting is that the consigliere model is what both agency/client will "say" they want but that neither party is really "doing" what you need to do for that model to work.
@TomMartin

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By Grant ONeal | Raleigh, NC August 13, 2009 09:53:16 am:

Great article. The idea of the "trusted advisor" role is one that is beneficial to both parties - or, at least it should be. But you also discussed the fact that agencies have not been investing in the people who are qualified to take on that responsibility. The worst thing you could do is slide someone into that role with a client only to have them provide inane and uninformed counsel. There goes the trust - and probably the opportunity. On the other side, the CMO/CEO need to be open-minded and receptive to objective and perhaps provocative thinking. And finally, there needs to be mutual respect. If the client thinks all agency people are idiots, and the agency thinks all clients don't have a clue - neither will enter the relationship with productive attitude.

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By allyhindman | Conshohocken, PA August 13, 2009 10:53:39 am:

Tom, great article. Glad that you examined this topic from both a client and agency perspective. Having moved into a business development role in the agency world, I see a lot of truth in the comments provided by both William and Steven. The "devil's advocate" is undoubtedly a love/hate role, a necessary component of the relationship between agencies and their clients.

Clients need a touchpoint that they trust to go to bat for them and to advise them, whether they're told what they want to hear or not. Agencies need someone on the front line who can command both internal and external relationships, deliver reliability and results to a client, and report back with valuable insight, whether the agency likes what they're hearing or not.

Time and money are the obvious investments here for both parties, as are (to Grant's point) receptiveness and respect. Short of these elements, the chances for a successful, lasting story between agencies and their clients, are slim.

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By SparksheetDan | Montreal, QC August 13, 2009 10:58:29 am:

I think this goes beyond the need for a designated person to play "devil's advocate" or consigliere. It's about fostering a culture of debate, questioning, and diversity of views in the board room. One of the reasons Google's "Don't be Evil" maxim is so effective is that it gives people an opening or a premise on which to base differing opinions or to challenge concensus. The ability and mechanism for employees to say, "Wait, but isn't that sort of evil?" or "Hold on, is this really in the client's best interest?" must be built into a compnay's culture and values. Maybe this is where agencies diverge from the Mob-- we can all be consiglieries, and not have to worry about cement slippers.

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By SparksheetDan | Montreal, QC August 13, 2009 10:59:45 am:

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By craigcooper | craigcooper.com, NY August 13, 2009 11:03:47 am:

"Understanding that no one man can have all the answers..."

Here is the real rub. If you -- man or woman - don't recognise this fact you will fail.

Hitler lost the war because he didn't listen to his generals; Stalin won because he did.

Mobster, dictator or client/agency, if you don't listen to others, you are toast.

But rather than involve some third party, why not start by listening to each other?

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By unc08clay | Carrboro, NC August 13, 2009 12:38:29 pm:

Tom,

Great answer. Plays right into the concept of inbound marketing and bringing in new clients through compelling content.

Many of our largest agency partners and clients have found us by us first engaging them in a more neutral environment whether it be whitepapers, our blog, or just calls for advice.

By making yourself and your thoughts readily available to clients, they're able to get an accurate image of your depth of knowledge and how you can help them solve their specific problems.

Love the comparison to consiglieres and it's always great to see agencies recognizing that content and earnest advice can be more valuable than flash and panache.

Thanks!

Clay
http://newmediacampaigns.com
blog: http://newmediacampaigns.com/blog/
twitter: http://twitter.com/newmediaclay

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By rpruitt | Port St Lucie, FL August 13, 2009 01:00:46 pm:

I throughly enjoyed Mr. Martin's article, along with his rebuttal to Toby, who didn't bother to really read Mr. Martin's thesis. My take is this – Mr. Martin is proposing a return to yesteryear – the late 60s, 70's and 80's – when agencies were truly marketing partners (a consigliere if you will) – not marketing lackeys The great agencies of that era – – O&M, Y&R, DDB, McCann, etc., stood their ground with clients, often at the risk of losing the business. But, sadly, those agencies have all been swallowed up into conglomerates. I was heartened when Weiden & Kennedy stood its ground with Nike, weathered the storm, and guess what, regained the business.

If I had a product or service worth advertising and promotion, I'd definitely want to have a cup of coffee with Tom Martin.

Thanks for publishing his article.

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By tobyb | Atlanta, GA August 13, 2009 01:40:01 pm:

@tom - Perhaps I did take your post too seriously. Okay .. I'll "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

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By Mark Allen Roberts | scottsdale, AZ August 13, 2009 02:21:31 pm:

I like this post and I have been struggling for a name of what accounts really need versus what they ask for and I like the "consigliore" description as I refer to what they need in my blog as a "heretic" http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/want-to-add-value-to-your-bottom-line-quicklyhire-a-heretic/ . A heretic really does not care "the way you have always done things around here" and they are more focused on connecting to market urgent problems and helping your customers understand how you solve them.
I really enjoy Ad Age's content and I give ad firms advice in my post: 88% of Those Surveyed Said Advertising Services Have Become Commoditized? Ad Firms Heal Thy Self! http://nosmokeandmirrors.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/88-of-those-surveyed-said-advertising-services-have-become-commoditized-ad-firms-heal-thy-self/ .

If you call them a Heretic or consigliore I really do not care, but as you identified what they must do is "put it all into context and present it to you when and in the form that it truly helps you make smarter decisions"
Again, I enjoyed your content,

Mark Allen Roberts

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By Tom Martin | NEW ORLEANS, LA August 13, 2009 02:27:17 pm:

Toby

No worries. We can discuss it over beers at SocialSouth next week. I see you too are speaking at the event. http://www.socialsouth.org for anyone that wants to attend. Incredible line-up.
@TomMartin

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By tobyb | Atlanta, GA August 13, 2009 02:42:37 pm:

okay .. first beer is on me!

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By tkmiller67 | Greensboro, NC August 17, 2009 01:24:19 pm:

It really does come down to mutual trust and openness. Too often egos get in the way but it takes a stronger man to put aside his own ego for the greater good which is that of the client. Don't misunderstand me. Clients need to look out for the agency but both of them need to work toward the same goal which ultimately supports them both and that is the success of the client and/or sales of the product or service. So many people think they know it all these days (clients and agencies alike) that they fail to really LISTEN. Worth re-posting:

Six most important words: I admit I made a mistake
Five most important words: I am proud of you
Four most important words: what is your opinion?
Three most important words: If you please
Two most important words: Thank you
One most important word: We
Least important word: I - Anonymous

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