Embracing Agile In Marketing

Project Management isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires balancing competing priorities, managing tight deadlines, navigating unforeseen obstacles, and effectively coordinating diverse teams to achieve project goals. As a Senior Project Manager, I’ve observed firsthand how exclusively using traditional project management approaches, mostly defined by rigid planning and process, are unable to keep up with a rapidly changing marketing world. This led to my interest, and ultimate adoption, of Agile project management which emphasizes flexibility, collaboration and creativity in marketing management.

Embracing Agility

The Agile Manifesto (and agile methodology) was introduced to the tech industry in 2001 to allow for flexibility in projects. This was necessary because new technologies were being introduced so frequently that projects often underwent significant changes in application, scope or style from the time they were initiated to the time they were completed. The traditional style of waterfall project management did not work for such a rapidly changing environment. 

This is not unlike 2024, where new AI tools pop up every day and can change a project or process overnight. This time of innovation provides an opening for the application of agile in marketing, traditionally used for software development, because rigidity in planning will quickly make your agency obsolete. 

A Brief Introduction to Agile

The Agile Manifesto provides a playbook for keeping projects and teams running effectively. If agile is a whole new world to you, or you’re just looking for an easy way to work through it, the metaphor of building a sandcastle on beach day can help break it down. Get your shovels and buckets ready!

1. Individuals and Interactions Over Processes and Tools: Instead of adhering strictly to an instruction manual for building a sandcastle, or relying on a plan so rigid that it limits you to using only existing shovels and buckets, you turn to your team of fellow builders and their expertise. Perhaps someone specializes in understanding sand consistency, while another is knowledgeable about water flow. By pooling everyone’s ideas and skills, you create a collective vision. Additionally, you ensure open communication and regular check-ins to confirm that each team member has the necessary resources and support to fulfill their role in constructing the castle.
2. Working Deliverable Over Comprehensive Documentation: Agile prioritizes starting the sandcastle construction immediately rather than spending extra time on detailed planning or inventorying tools. This allows for real-time adjustments and improvements, such as identifying more effective tools or incorporating unexpected expertise (like someone skilled in seashell placement).
3. Customer Collaboration Over Contract Negotiation: This principle is best exemplified when parents request a sandcastle. Rather than adhering to a fixed idea based solely on the initial conversation with your parents, there’s ongoing dialogue throughout the process. This approach enables the incorporation of new ideas that may arise, such as a style preference your parents noticed while walking down the beach or the addition of decorative elements like a beautiful seashell you discovered. Instead of sticking to the plan you had when you started hours ago, you’re able to adapt to make your parents happier.
4. Responding to Change Over Following a Plan: While there’s a general plan for the sandcastle, being open to change and new information is important to having the best sandcastle around. For example, finding an exceptional collection of seashells or a more efficient shovel should lead to updates in the design and build, instead of sticking with “how it’s always been done.” This flexibility avoids the need to completely demolish what you have whenever new opportunities or tools appear because, like an agile manager, when you kicked off this build, you had flexibility and change in mind.

Overall, agile is looking for flexibility, adapting to change and challenge, and dependency on your team and relationship with your partners to build the best and most up-to-date final product or deliverable as possible. 

Best Practices for Implementing Agile Project Management in Marketing Agencies:

1. Providing plenty of opportunities for team discussion and feedback to improve your process, “kaizen” or continuous improvement approach to the agency- all the time.

Potential Applications:

1. All Staff Meetings
2. All Team Meetings, regularly (every day, or every other day)
3. Check-in Sheets- what projects are you working on? What’s in your way? What’s the status?
4. Clients should be partners in their advertising. Discussions around short-term, long-term and reach goals should happen regularly. Active participation in a marketing plan is crucial to a strong relationship, team, and successful work. 
5. Long-term viewpoint of workflow by project management including predictable busy times and slower times to ensure your team has a positive workflow, positive experience, and ability to take the time they need and want away from work.
6. Conversations as a team, deferring to expertise of the team, to help manage projects. Get to know how they approach their work and work your management around that. 

Tips on Understanding

1. Short interviews with each team or team member to discuss “how they work” and what they like to work on the most to best understand how you can support them
2. Subscribe to newsletters/RSS feeds/etc that apply to your team to stay aware of on-going conversations in the field, even if isn’t your work
3. Google information on your team’s work, terms they use if you aren’t sure, and ask questions to understand projects more thoroughly
4. Take time to observe how the individuals organize themselves, and how the teams work together
5. Review past work of the practitioners and agency to identify styles and experiences of individuals
6. Have regular check-ins in a form that works for your organization to ensure obstacles aren’t in the way of your team doing their best work. 

Questions to ask for each project:

1. Does the team have the information they need?
2. If questions arise or feedback is needed, is there a clear way and regular opportunity for the team to ask for and receive that feedback?
3. Does the process in place support the kickoff and completion of the project in a way that best serves the partner and the team? 
4. Does the team have a clear understanding of the partner’s brand, ideas and goals?
5. What constraints do we have for this project?
6. Share knowledge within the agency about agile- with a common understanding of best practices and application of agile, the team is able to participate in discussions and provide feedback in a way to continuously improve the agency.

At Digital Relativity, our work moves fast in all directions — from visitor guides to video spots to websites to rack cards. In an effort to make the best possible outcome for our team, our partners and our process-Agile project management has been a critical component of keeping projects rolling, processes clean, the team with a healthy work-life balance and most importantly creating a community of continuous improvement.