Tell me about a time you had to deal with an external agency that was consistently missing deadlines or delivering work that didn't meet your brief. How did you handle it?

Situation

In my previous role as Marketing Lead for a retail chain, we hired a creative agency to develop assets for a major sale campaign. The agency repeatedly submitted concepts late and the designs were off-brief, missing key product highlights we had specified.

Task

My task was to get the campaign back on track without damaging the relationship, ensuring timely delivery of on-brand materials for the launch.

Action

I requested a face-to-face meeting with their account manager and creative team. I presented a clear comparison of the original brief versus their submissions, highlighting the gaps. We jointly created a revised timeline with daily check-ins and assigned a dedicated point person from my team for faster approvals. I also established a penalty clause for further delays, while offering positive reinforcement for early submissions.

Result

The agency improved their turnaround time by 50% and delivered designs that met our brief. The campaign launched on schedule and achieved a 20% higher engagement rate than previous campaigns.