Audit Your Efficiency. Align Your Interaction. Accelerate Your Outputs.
To achieve an effective and efficient operating structure between you and your agency requires more than a contract, it requires an intentional Operating Model.
When marketing relationships stall, it is rarely due to a lack of talent. It is almost always due to sub-optimal processes, “hidden” friction in the workflow, and a lack of clear interaction standards. At TrinityP3, we conduct in-depth operational reviews that go beyond the surface to reveal the structural truths of your partnership.
Why Conduct an Operational Review?
Traditional reviews often focus on “what” was delivered. We focus on “how” it was delivered. By uncovering the real challenges underneath the surface, we help you achieve:
- Higher-Performing Teams: Removing the administrative hurdles that demotivate top talent.
- Operational Velocity: Streamlining the “brief-to-broadcast” timeline.
- Commercial Clarity: Ensuring your fees are buying creative value, not just managing inefficiency.
- Radical Alignment: Bridging the perception gap between how the agency thinks they are performing and how the marketing team feels.
Our Diagnostic Approach: Beyond the Report Card
We use a blend of quantitative data and qualitative “Radical Candour” to assess the health of your operations.
1. Stakeholder Depth-Interviews
We speak to the people on the front lines. Through independent, confidential interviews, we identify the friction points—like poor briefing, endless revision cycles, or “phantom” approval layers—that stakeholders are often too polite (or too busy) to mention.
2. Workflow & WoW Mapping
We audit your current Ways of Working (WoW). We look at the actual tools, templates, and meeting structures used daily to see if they are enabling agility or creating bottlenecks.
3. Output & Value Assessment
We review the quality of the outputs against the resources invested. Are you getting senior strategic thinking, or are you paying for junior execution at senior rates?
The Result: From Insights to Engagement Agreements
An Operational Review is only as good as the plan that follows it. Our findings serve as the foundation for a formal Engagement Agreement. Instead of a list of complaints, we provide:
- A Remediation Roadmap: Specific steps to fix identified process gaps.
- Capability Mapping: Identifying if you have the right agency talent in the right seats.
- Revised Engagement Charters: Formalizing new “Ways of Working” that hold both client and agency accountable for the health of the interaction.
When is it time for an Operational Review?
- Roster Fatigue: When multiple agencies are “stepping on each other’s toes.”
- Velocity Issues: When projects are consistently taking too long or costing too much in “re-work.”
- Leadership Change: When a new CMO or Agency Lead wants to reset the relationship for success.
- Pre-Tender Diligence: Before you go to pitch, see if the problem is the agency or the process. Fixing the process is always cheaper than a pitch.
FAQs
A Commercial Review focuses on the “Price” (rates, overheads, and fees). An Operational Review focuses on the “Value” (process, structure, and interaction). We often perform both simultaneously to provide a holistic view of the relationship.
We guarantee anonymity. We use a “red-thread” methodology to report on consistent themes without attributing them to individuals. This creates a safe space for the “radical candour” required to solve deep-seated issues.
An in-depth report and presentation to leadership, followed by a workshop to translate findings into a new Engagement Agreement or Ways of Working Manual.
We assess structure, process, commercial agreements, operations, state of relationship, capabilities and outputs.
Approximately 2-4 weeks, depending on scope.
We uncover such challenges via in-depth stakeholder interviews, run individually (in other words, without the other party in the room). We reassure all stakeholders that their words will not be attributed directly to them. We use information gleaned in interviews to map gaps in perception and ‘red-thread’ issues arising consistently; and when we report back to you, we practice radical candour. If what we have to say is sensitive, we will inform you in advance to allow only the appropriate personnel to be present for our report.
We use shared drive technology to store information with access limited only to the consultants directly involved in the project. We reassure all participants in briefing about how their commentary will be used. And we are happy to sign NDA’s.
The deliverable is an in depth report, which we will discuss at length with you. The report is tailored by the process; things we find in discovery will shape the frameworks we use to comment, provide insights and recommendations. We are also willing to tailor to audience, based on your brief (for example, Executive Summary versions for your C-Suite, or similar).
We cannot release sensitive information about other projects. The best way to see validation of our work is to view the Testimonials page of our website, and read the case studies on our blog.
Related Reading
In our unique role of identifying and solving the big challenges facing marketing management we create a huge catalogue of insights and build our knowledge and wisdom, which we share with the industry.
In the complex world of media, we wanted to ensure we ran a strong, competitive tender that would allow us to reach the best decision for our business in a timely fashion. Our internal expertise had gaps and so, we met with TrinityP3 to shape an engagement that augmented our own processes and helped along each step. With their critical IP and Ellie’s immense expertise, this engagement has delivered great value for us at each step. Ellie helped us run a comprehensive and fair process that respected the participants, allowed us to gather the information we needed, understand market insights and ultimately end up with a great partner. I would be happy to recommend Trinity P3 and gladly engage them again for future tenders.
We have a long-standing and productive relationship with our media agency, but after several changes on the agency side and looking to provide due diligence before continuing the relationship, we approached TrinityP3 to provide an independent market-based assessment of the current arrangement and relationship. Their commercial review approach provided us not only with the assessment we needed to continue comfortably, but also gave us a list of issues and actions to address both within our team and process and for the agency to provide improved media value and performance. It meant we could avoid the costly disruption of a tender process, and at the same time provide the organisation with robust evidence for the case of maintaining the status quo.
TrinityP3’s approach works because it connects marketers and agencies in the most important way: through shared value and values. The team managing these connections understand the multiplier that is chemistry, and it’s this appreciation plus their experience that gives us the confidence to invest.
We wanted to thank you again Anton for the consultation sessions. Your insights and guidance were truly invaluable. They’ve inspired us all to think outside the box and approach our upcoming brand refresh with a renewed sense of purpose. Thanks to your expert input, we now feel confident that we’re on the right track to refine our positioning and keep true to our unique offering.
Darren’s advice to us when we started Pembleton was invaluable. Straight up, honest and insightful – his wisdom was just what we needed when it came to refining our pitch story. Always generous with his time and encouragement, Darren’s contribution to the industry, and making it as good as can be, is really something.
Darren was our go to for creds advice as his grasp on where the industry is at and what clients are interested in is second to none. We immediately actioned his no nonsense, constructive feedback, so far so good!
The TrinityP3 team’s insights were invaluable. They helped us refine our pitch, condense its structure, and chisel our storytelling to make it more impactful. Their extensive experience working with so many brands and agencies in this market for years puts their guidance in a league of its own.
We’ve had a couple of interactions with the team at Trinity P3 and have been impressed. Anton ran an excellent process, with clarity and transparency. More importantly, the process was designed specifically to measure our relevant capabilities and our chemistry with the client (the criteria that should actually be applied in a pitch, but which are often ignored). It is always a pleasure to work with TrinityP3.
I have worked with Trinity P3 on several projects, the most recent being a full commercial review of an incumbent media partner. As a university we review large commercial contracts systematically, however, we needed to ensure we could do this without the disruption of a full pitch. We approached Trinity, because of the confidence we have in their knowledge and expertise in market. Within 6 weeks a full market review was carried out with written recommendations. The process created minimal disruption to the team and provided critical benchmarks and evaluations, which ultimately gave us confidence to negotiate and renew our partnership.
I enlisted the services of Trinity P3 to perform a financial benchmark on an advertising agency. Prior to this, I had already engaged the agency for a strategic project. Instead of going through a lengthy pitch process involving multiple agencies for the creative execution, I approached Nick and his team to conduct a cost benchmark. The resulting report and analysis were impressively thorough, providing valuable insights that helped me make well-informed decisions during negotiations. I wholeheartedly endorse Trinity P3 for their professionalism and dedication to delivering actionable results promptly.
Customer satisfaction is the goal with every project. Below are just some of the things clients have had to say about working with TrinityP3. Click here to read more Client Testimonials. And because positive client and agency relationships are integral to what we do, make sure you also read our Agency Testimonials.
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Defining Minimum Spend Thresholds for Marketing Effectiveness – Case study
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