The Finance Team - Unsung Heroes Of Creative Agencies
Creative agencies play an incredibly important part in the marketing world.
They produce innovative work that differentiates their clients, push the boundaries of advertising creativity, and ultimately help businesses achieve their goals.
However, creative agencies can’t survive on good ideas and awards trophies alone. They need an effective business strategy for long-term success, a stable platform to maintain profitability, and the vision to foresee (and avoid) potential roadblocks.
And that’s where the finance department shines.
Finance professionals aren’t just number crunchers working behind the scenes in the creative world. They’re fundamental to business success, and provide agencies with the expertise, leadership, and direction they need to thrive.
We think it’s time to give these hard-working finance teams the recognition they deserve, so let’s explore a few of the pivotal roles that finance experts play in creative agencies.
The critical role of finance professionals in creative agencies
Finance teams are often criminally overlooked in creative agencies, but behind every successful business, there’s a finance department working diligently to drive growth, generate revenue, and make key strategic decisions.
Below are just a few of the vital roles that finance experts play in creative agencies.
1. Budgeting, Resource Allocation, And Strategic Planning
The advertising landscape is extremely competitive, and finance teams are crucial for agencies looking to avoid pitfalls, identify opportunities, and drive consistent growth.
For example, finance experts will help creative agencies set effective budgets by analysing historical data and monitoring market trends. This enables agencies to pursue new projects with complete confidence, knowing they have enough budget to cover their overheads - as well as funds set aside for emergencies.
Finance teams will also advise leadership on resource allocation. Not only will they optimise employee hours to maximise productivity, but they’ll also ensure that staff aren’t being overworked or burnt out - something that’s vital in the high-pressure marketing world.
Finance departments aren’t just crucial for day-to-day business management, either.
They’ll also contribute directly to strategic planning, helping agencies establish their business goals and build realistic roadmaps to achieve them. Finance leaders have the most in-depth understanding of an agency’s costs, objectives, and resources, meaning they hold the key to long-term success and profitability.
Without an effective finance team in place, creative agencies might as well be operating blindfolded!
2. Maintaining Client/Project Profitability
Creative agencies need to come up with big, innovative, and effective ideas - but more importantly, they need to make money.
Unsurprisingly, this is where finance teams are essential.
While every client brief presents a revenue opportunity, there are also plenty of associated costs to consider - for example, hiring freelance creative support, setting up production, and pursuing/declining different projects.
Finance teams will thoroughly analyse each new brief that comes through the door to determine which is going to be the most fruitful for an agency.
They’ll look at account expenses, time requirements, and resource availability to steer agencies in the right direction. While it can be tempting for creative agencies to accept every job that’s available, the finance department will help businesses focus on the right opportunities to maximise profits.
As part of this role, finance experts will also monitor and manage cash flow to ensure that agencies can meet their financial objectives.
Creative agencies are constantly walking a tightrope between covering costs (i.e. salaries, overheads, production) and exploring new opportunities. Finance teams deliver balance here, optimising both the inflow and outflow of cash to keep agencies profitable and focused on growth.
3. Investing In Technology And Driving Innovation
Finance professionals are often the driving force behind creative agency innovation.
How, you ask?
While they might not be involved with brainstorming creative ideas, finance teams will look at how they can streamline, optimise, and refine operations to put agencies ahead of the market.
For example, a finance department will often implement ideas (e.g. new software, faster processes) that save a considerable amount of time for staff across the business. This can help agencies to spend less time on manual tasks, and more time on servicing clients.
However, finance teams can also spearhead much bigger changes that have a lasting impact on agencies.
They can develop new business models, pricing structures, and client packages that allow agencies to unlock valuable revenue opportunities. Once again, since finance experts have an in-depth understanding of an agency’s inner workings, they’re in a strong position to drive consistent innovation across the business.
4. Overseeing Employee Compensation (And Improving Retention)
If creative agencies want to produce award-winning work, they need to retain top-tier talent - and once again, finance teams can invaluable in this department.
An agency’s finance team will be responsible for setting competitive salaries, establishing employee benefits, and offering bonuses that appeal to promising candidates. More importantly, they’ll also monitor market trends to ensure they’re not falling behind competitors in terms of compensation, which is absolutely crucial for staff retention.
While agencies may earn fame for their creativity, it’s the finance team that help them to hold onto their best talent and maintain job satisfaction.
The finance department is the beating heart of any successful creative agency.
Bold ad campaigns might make the industry headlines, but it’s finance experts that help agencies achieve long-term growth, drive innovation, skyrocket efficiency, and retain creative talent.
The next time you see a creative agency accepting an award, remember the vital contribution of their finance department!
If you’re a creative agency looking for support with key hires in finance, HR, operations, or client services, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with Jack Watson ([email protected]) to discuss your options.