Valentine’s Day is all about red roses. Passion. Love. Desire.
But to stand out in the day, some prescribe presenting the yellow roses. They, too, communicate the same feeling of friendship, warmth, and joy- but they help the person stand out. It is a differentiative memory device. It says the bond is more than a typical romance.
Not anymore.
In the frenzy of grand gestures, very few buyers and confident suitors present yellow roses. Everyone gyrates to the mundane, done-to-death red roses.
The Advertising Agency and Client Relationships are no different.
Agencies and clients once shared a beautiful, almost platonic relationship filled with trust, collaboration, and creative excitement. They were partners. In their relationship, roses did not matter. And if there were roses, they were all yellow- blue- purple- black but not red.
Today, that’s rare. The relationships have faltered. It is strained and stretched wherever it exists.
Services have been commoditized.
The pitches sound identical. Campaigns look the same.
Everyone is shouting the same solutions.
Purpose led. Sustainability. Equality. Sale-sale-sale.
Strategies that promise the moon but fall short of execution.
Everyone is a storyteller.
And Everyone offers 360-degree solutions.
Everyone claims data-driven insights.
Yet, expectations and reality rarely match.
The joy of collaboration? Lost.
Clients demand more for less.
Agencies overpromise to win accounts.
Both end up disillusioned.
The spark is gone.
Deadlines are tighter. Budgets are thinner.
The churn is relentless.
Once, an agency’s strength was its relationship with the client.
A partnership built over time, where ideas were nurtured, risks were taken, and brands flourished.
Now? It’s transactional.
It is not even entity-centric. It is a loop of choices.
If you are with one, 15 suitors are waiting.
And there does not have to be a real reason for the breakups.
In the past, too, every client and agency gave each other a reason to break – but they always questioned- if it was big enough to take the call.
Today, they start with the thought of multiple partners and that the relationships are too much of an investment. They will break sooner than later.
And no one worries about it. It has been normalised.
The yellow rose- also a symbol of passionate romance—the symbol of a healthy, thriving relationship—has withered.
Scepticism has replaced trust.
Creativity by templates. And templates succumbed to AI.
But it doesn’t have to stay this way.
Great campaigns are still built on great relationships.
The best work happens when agencies and clients truly collaborate, not just exchange deliverables.
The yellow rose needs a comeback.
It starts with honesty. Agencies must promise only what they can deliver.
Clients must value long-term vision over short-term metrics.
It thrives on respect. Creative talent isn’t a factory.
Good work takes time, effort, and fair compensation.
It blossoms with shared wins.
When agencies and clients celebrate success together, not just demand results, the magic returns.
Red roses will most likely always rule Valentine’s Day.
However, in the advertising world, the client-agency relationship needs the yellow roses to bloom again.
The best romantic or professional relationships aren’t built on fleeting passion.
They are built on trust, collaboration, and mutual respect.
Agencies and clients, it’s time to bring back the yellow rose.
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