Bridging the Gap: Making the Most of the Differences Between Agency and Enterprise
Summary
Melinda will talk about the ways culture, tools and skills differ between enterprise and agency teams, and how those differences manifest themselves in the working relationship. She’ll also discuss ways agencies and enterprises can bridge the gap by using their differences to equal advantage.
Key Insights
-
•
The agency-enterprise relationship mirrors the left brain (enterprise) and right brain (agency) dynamic, balancing business rigor with creativity.
-
•
Kate Middleton symbolizes the enterprise: tradition, institutional knowledge, and protecting the status quo.
-
•
Megan Markle symbolizes the agency: outsider mindset, disruption, and driving change.
-
•
Tool incompatibilities, such as enterprises blocking Dropbox or Google Docs, create collaboration challenges that require proactive bridging.
-
•
Enterprises often want agency work done efficiently with minimal internal involvement, but this can limit the quality of output.
-
•
Agencies want access to robust information and guidance to do their best work and build long-term relationships.
-
•
Well-crafted briefs and clearly defined roles on both sides are critical to successful agency-enterprise collaboration.
-
•
Regular, aligned feedback sessions reduce misunderstandings and rework, preventing burnout and turnover (e.g., agency creatives quitting).
-
•
The culture and tooling shape workflows deeply; understanding these helps agencies and enterprises adapt to each other better.
-
•
Viewing the agency-enterprise partnership as a relationship requiring nurturing and attention is key to managing tensions productively.
Notable Quotes
"We are two sides of the same coin, even though it might feel like a different currency from an entirely different country at times."
"Kate Middleton has been doing this for a hot minute, invested in maintaining the status quo because if it ain't broke, why fix it?"
"Megan Markle brings a different approach that can be quite valuable because she’s a non-conformist and a catalyst for change."
"If you send me a Dropbox link on my work laptop, I will not be able to open that."
"The enterprise wants agencies to do the work as efficiently and independently as possible."
"If you don’t get good guidance and feedback from your enterprise partner, you’re not going to do the best work possible."
"Jennifer quit because the feedback loop was too fragmented and overwhelming."
"A little extra work goes a long way, sometimes you just have to spend time to save time."
"It’s not about setting and forgetting; you have to nurture your agency-enterprise relationship like an actual relationship."
"Inside every challenge is an opportunity, and letting your partners challenge your assumptions is necessary."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A lot of our work still happens in spreadsheets, because they’re flexible and dynamic."
Isaac HeyveldExpand DesignOps Leadership as a Chief of Staff
September 8, 2022
"Trust the user and trust the model are the two lessons I’m getting over time."
Peter Van DijckHands on AI #3: Claude Code for UX people
October 22, 2025
"Change only happens in the present moment, not the past or future."
Dave GrayLiminal Thinking: Sense-making for systems in large organizations
May 14, 2015
"If we are designing experiences that don’t work for everyone today, we’re designing experiences that in a couple of years will exclude ourselves."
Sam ProulxAccessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
June 8, 2022
"Design education is ungatekeeping design – it’s inclusion, bringing everyone along the journey."
Wendy JohanssonAn Education on Design Education for Orgs
June 10, 2021
"This is the same conference in so many good ways — good ways are that it’s resilient and there’s a certain steadiness."
Bria Alexander Louis RosenfeldWelcome
January 8, 2024
"Organizational culture and values have been essential to ensuring successful delivery."
Stephen PollardClosing Keynote: Getting giants to dance - what can we learn from designing large and complex public infrastructure?
November 7, 2017
"Mass production is here to stay; how do we make it more humanistic?"
Uday Gajendar Adam RichardsonFrom AI to Zeitgeist: Theory as the design antidote to AI hype
March 27, 2025
"This networked micro economy in medical marijuana transformed the world once recreational use was legalized."
Leah BuleyClosing Plenary: The Crisis of Digital
March 31, 2020
