F
romhumblebeginningsasa directmarketingagencyin 1997 to
becominga fully-f ledgedCXagencywith 75 people,andnewin-house
andtechofferingsonthetable,theteamatCXLavenderhasremained
drivenbytwoforces:thecustomerandcollaboration.
Whileonlyre-positioningitselfasa CXagencyin2015,CXLavender
hashadthecustomerinfocusfromdaydot.Puttingthecustomerfirstmay
soundlikeanotheragencyclichébutforco-founderandCEOWillLavender
andhisteam,it reallydoesinf luenceeveryiotaofwhattheydo.
Thiscustomer-firstapproach,Lavendersays,hasledtoa uniquebusi-
nessmodelthatdoesn’tfollowinthefootstepsoftraditionalagency
set-ups.Thisis onefactorheattributestoCXLavender’slongevity.
“Thecentralphilosophyoftheagencyis thatthecustomeris ourtrue
north,”Lavendersays.
“Whatwe’vedonesuccessfullyforthepast 22 yearsis – withoutstif ling
creativitybutactuallyworkingina differentway– we’veheldthisline.
“Tobecustomer-centricmeansthatyou’vegottocontinuallypull
yourselfintounderstandingwhatthecustomersfeel,andthat’swhatwe
dohere.It is different,it doesleadtoa slightlydifferentculture.”
HeexplainsthatthismodelseesCXLavendersittingsomewherebetween
anagencyandconsultancy,witha culturedrivenbycollaboration.
Thisculturereignsthroughitsinteractionswithclientsaswell.Over
thepast 12 months,it haslauncheda newofferingCXInsituwhichsees
theagencysetupin-houseforclients.
LindaO’Grady,BusinessPartnerandDataStrategyPartner,saysthe
offeringwasformedinthewakeofchangingclientneeds.
“Throughconversationsanddifferentskillswehaveinthebusiness,
westartedtospenda lotmoretimetalkingtoclientsabouttheirbusiness
problems,notjusttheirmarketingproblems,”O’Gradysays.
“Weendedupheadingintoinnovationlabsandworkingwiththem
onproductdesignandthatkindofthingaswell.”
Sheexplainstheofferinginitiallybeganwith“pop-upagile”teams
but has developed over time to mould into the most beneficial formulaFINDING
TRUE NORTH
Whilemanyinadlandstrivetowin
awards,CXLavenderhascontinuedto
pointthecompasstoits“truenorth”–customer-centricity.AdNewsspokewith
CXLavender’sleadershipteamabout
howcollaborationandthecustomerare
at the heart of everything they do.PAIGE MURPHYWORDS BYMeet the Team