Awkwardness Taxes

I was wondering about whether we could all improve the quality of work we do by reducing the chaos that often arises when clients brief in jobs with excruciatingly short deadlines.

A deadline rate could be the first step on that path. A universal charge that all agencies have to try and push clients to brief with adequate timescales.

Maybe even better, we could have charges for other common client mishaps and irritations. So a useless brief, or changing a key component halfway through a project, etc, would all cause a financial pentaly. By making these part of all agency contracts we would force clients into better timescales...!

So essentially:

• Any brief with a deadline of less than 2 weeks = 10% mark up
• Any brief with a deadline of less than a week = 30% mark up
• Any brief with a deadline of less than 48 hours = 60% mark up
• Small project with no client brief = 5% mark up
• Major project with no client brief = 20% mark up
• Client brief - badly written and confusing = 50% mark up
• Changes to client brief = 5% mark up per change x number of weeks after initial brief
• Client only accepting their own copy = 1% mark up per word
• Filling blank space = 10% mark up per space filled
• Client sends urgent brief and is then completely unavailable for the next week = 20% mark up 

However, it would only be fair if we then introduced similar discounts for agency mishaps; to ensure we all work to our best with the better timescales.

• Agency presents creative execution that is a million miles off brief for no justifiable reason = 5% discount per execution
• Agency strategy ignores business problem = 20% discount
• Agency strategy ignores customer = 50% discount
• Agency turns up their nose at DM brief = 10% discount
• Agency steal execution idea from music video or online sensation = 20% discount
• Agency design is so minimalist that no-one can read it = 20% discount
• Agency strategy includes any mention or reference to "being so annoying that people will remember it" = 50% discount
• Agency suggests taking a well loved song and changing the words to the brand name = 50% discount

 This is good news for accountants! It also might help nudge* us all in the right direction.

*In the literal sense, not the behavioural economics sense.

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