Reloaded: Rupert Howell co-founder of HHCL on creating the agency of the decade
Jan 2, 2025
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Rupert Howell, co-founder of HHCL & Partners, shares insights from his groundbreaking advertising career. He emphasizes the significance of honesty, trust, and clear communication in client relationships. Rupert reveals how HHCL achieved a remarkable 65% strike rate for new business by separating pitch processes from day-to-day management. He discusses the transformative content behind the successful Tango campaign and the importance of cultivating genuine relationships in advertising. Join him for an engaging discussion on the balance of growth and maintaining agency ethos.
Rupert Howell emphasizes the critical importance of honesty and trust in forging strong client relationships, shaping agency success.
The significance of designating a dedicated role for new business development is highlighted as essential for maximizing growth opportunities.
Effective pitching relies on understanding client needs through active engagement and insightful questioning rather than merely offering solutions.
Personal chemistry in business plays a vital role in successful collaborations, often outweighing professional qualifications and formal titles.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Advertising Agencies
The discussion highlights the transition of advertising agencies over the decades, particularly focusing on the rise of creatives and planners at the expense of client service roles. While creative ideas are the backbone of advertising, the significance of client relationships and effective account handlers is emphasized as crucial for agency success. Rupert Howe points out that honesty and trust are essential in building these client relationships, sharing a personal anecdote about addressing a typo in a press ad which, while embarrassing, strengthened trust with the client. This foundational relationship enables agencies to effectively present their ideas and navigate the complexities of client expectations.
New Business Development Strategies
Rupert discusses the importance of dedicating specific roles to new business development within advertising agencies. He explains how having a focused director for new business allows for better results, as existing client tasks can distract from pursuing new opportunities. He recounts his own experience as a new business director, emphasizing the need to prioritize reaching out to potential clients consistently. By isolating the new business role from regular client duties, agencies can enhance their ability to grow and secure new accounts more effectively.
Winning Pitches: The Importance of Understanding Clients
The episode delves deep into the art of pitching, underscoring that winning is often about understanding the client's needs and developing a partnership rather than just presenting a solution. Rupert Howe highlights that a strong pitch begins with actively engaging with the client, discussing their concerns, and developing a deeper understanding of their business issues. He shares insights on the significance of asking insightful questions during initial discussions to gain a clearer view of what will resonate with clients. This approach paves the way for a more collaborative and ultimately successful pitch process.
Building Relationships Beyond the Formal Structure
Rupert reflects on the necessity of personal connections in business, emphasizing that successful relationships are not confined to formal titles or roles. Drawing from his experiences, he underscores that personal chemistry can often influence business decisions, noting that clients prefer to work with individuals they trust. This notion of 'mates who understand their business' serves as a guiding principle in forming successful collaborations. Rupert's consistent approach to nurturing relationships demonstrates that personal rapport is just as critical as professional competencies.
Navigating Challenges in Advertising
The conversation touches on the difficulties and controversies faced in the advertising world, particularly regarding creative freedom and the boundaries of appropriate marketing. Rupert discusses the fine line between creative expression and societal perceptions, using examples from his career where specific campaigns received backlash for exceeding public comfort levels. He explains the process agencies go through in balancing creative ideas with potential risk, advocating for strong internal debates and transparency with clients about the implications of bold advertising. This perspective highlights the importance of risk assessment in the quest for groundbreaking creative work.
The Role of Founders in Business Growth
The discourse examines the complexity of leader transitions within agencies, particularly the challenges faced when a founder's departure leads to a change in corporate culture. Rupert reflects on how the effectiveness of agency operations often hinges on the ability of successors to maintain the original vision while adapting to new market demands. He acknowledges that while it’s important for founders to step back eventually, the timing and context of this transition play vital roles in determining the success of the next leadership phase. This emphasizes the need for thoughtful succession planning to preserve valuable company culture.
Media Landscape and Its Impact on Society
Rupert discusses the evolving media landscape, emphasizing the profound implications of sensationalism in journalism and advertising. Drawing attention to the consequences of prioritizing clicks and viewer engagement over accuracy and ethics, he reflects on how this shift has diluted the quality of news consumed by the public. The negative mental health effects associated with pervasive sensationalist media are noted, leading to a call for a resurgence of responsible journalism that prioritizes meaningful content. Through this analysis, Rupert advocates for a conscious approach to media consumption and the need for a balance between profitable journalism and ethical reporting.
Uncensored CMO Reloaded. This episode was first published in May 2021.
Rupert Howell is one of the founders of the iconic advertising agency HHCL & Partners. This is a bumper 2 hour episode, but I promise you it's worth it. We spend a lot of time actually talking about new business and the importance of winning pitches and growing customers. We also look at the campaigns that the HHCL created, where the ideas came from that inspired such iconic and effective work. And I think you'll find that quite revealing also how relationships are basically underpinned all of Rupert's success. Enjoy.
We covered so much ground in this bumper 2 hour episode, so here's the list of what we touched upon:
How Rupert made HHCL the best agency of the 90’s
Ruperts New Business Mantra – Honesty. Respect. Trust.
Why saying ‘I don’t know’ and ‘we got it wrong’ is so important
How the agency’s sole focus is Advertising but the Clients sole focus is the business
Why new business should always be separate to the day to day account management
How Rupert became ‘the finest new business director of all time’
How to win a pitch even after you have lost it
Why the pitch process begins with the phone call and only ends when its announced in Campaign
The sole purpose of the pitch is to win and not to solve the clients business problem
Why HHCL had a strike rate of 65% for new business
What the company annual report can tell you for the pitch process
Why you should try and get your customer promoted
How Carling Black Label inspired the most successful Tango Advertising of all time
How Tango destroyed Fanta and forced Coke to withdraw it from the market
How a call from a Surgeon led to the Tango Slap commercial being withdraw from market
Why the ‘4th Emergency Service’ transformed The AA and how the bold idea was sold in
How spending time with an AA team out on a call led to the idea
The importance of winning your internal teams and why they matter as much as your customers
Interrogating the product until ‘it confesses its strength’
Why the harder you practice the luckier you get is just as true for an agency
The real hard yards of the start-up phase that meant not taking a day off in 3 years
How tabloids create controversy and how to respond to it
Why relationships are the secret to really succeeding in business
Turning down offers to sell the agency including a £1million bribe
Why HHCL accepted an offer from Chime with the support from Sir Martin Sorrell
Why so few agencies ever succeed after being acquired by a network
Why HHCL was never the same after Rupert left and why he would never go back
The importance of timing for Founders handing over to the next generation
Dealing with bullies, bribary and negotiating an exit from McCann with a boat & DB9 as consolation
Which celebrities are still speaking to Rupert after he left ITV
Why social media is driven by click bait and negative headlines
Why you should give up the news, except perhaps local news
The Pros and Cons of a British free press
How to get a non-exec role
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