AdVerbs

15 ways to get outstanding work from your agency.

A new biography of David Ogilvy, "The King of Madison Avenue," got us thinking back to the "Mad Men" days of advertising.It wasn't  all scotch, cigarettes, and starched white shirts. Those guys were savvy businessmen who lived and breathed advertising.

Ogilvy, who actually created the concept of branding, had some very definite ideas of how clients should behave. These rules may seem self-serving, but these days getting your resources to work harder makes good economic sense. And when you think about it, it just comes down to respect.

How To Be A Good Client:

1. Emancipate your agency from fear.
2. Select the right agency in the first place.
3. Brief your agency very thoroughly indeed.
4. Do not compete with your agency in the creative area.
5. Coddle the goose who lays the golden egg. (provide enough time and resources to do the job well.)
6. Don’t strain your advertising through too many layers.
7. Make sure your agency makes a profit.
8. Don’t haggle with your agency.
9. Be candid and encourage candor.
10. Set high standards.
11. Test everything.
12. Hurry. (Profit is a function of time.)
13. Don’t waste time on problem babies (Back your successes and abandon your losses.)
14. Tolerate genius.
15. Don’t under spend. (The surest way to overspend on advertising is not to spend enough to do the job properly.)

Predictions for the new year: Who the heck knows?

This is the traditional time to reflect on the future and make a profound pronouncement about what 2010 holds in store for marketing and advertising. The reality is that even the people who should know often don't. Case in point: Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, said in 1943:

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

(For a list of other off-the-mark predictions, click here.)

That's not to imply we shouldn't try to look ahead and plan our marketing and advertising accordingly. We definitely should. But the great advantage of new media is that we don't have to get our binoculars out and peer way into the third quarter of next year. The short turn-around times and immediacy of social and electronic media give us more accuracy in responding to what's happening at the moment. That means the messages in January 2010 may be radically different from what we need to tell customers in July. It lets us make messages more relevant. But it also demands stronger branding. If the message changes more, the brand has to stand unwavering throughout otherwise there's no continuity and lots of confusion. 

We will make one prediction, though: Clients who take  the "30,000-foot-view" of their marketing, invest in building their brand, and focus on keeping a conversation going with customers will do great in 2010.

7 New Year's Resolutions for Clients

As we ponder possibly calmer economic waters for 2010, how can we help our clients chart the right course for recovery? Maybe social media isn't a panacea for every marketing challenge. Maybe newspaper ads aren't dead. Maybe budgets need to rebound before sales can. Here are some excellent thoughts that we heartily endorse from Dana Severson who writes "Small Agency Diary" for Ad Age:

1. Social networking is only a good idea if you are going to be social.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a social media "guru" by any stretch of my imagination. However, it's obvious to anyone who has a Facebook account that unless you're having conversations, you're not being social.

2. Just because newspapers are failing doesn't mean that print media is dead.

Numerous studies have proven it. That said, forget the research. If you want real proof that print media is still alive, just look at the collection of magazines on coffee tables and in bathrooms at your next get-together. Or, better yet, consider your own relationship with your favorite magazine. Magazines are shuttering because advertisers are spending less. It's not, I repeat, NOT because readers stopped reading them.

3. For the reasons I just mentioned, do not eliminate print from your advertising plans.

I'm generalizing here, but for the most part, rates are cheaper and there's less competition for the reader's attention between the covers. In other words, your ROI is going to be much greater.

4. The over-analysis of online advertising is detrimental to the concept of branding.

Keep in mind, the measurement of success from your online advertising efforts doesn't always have to come in the form of clicks. Don't worry Mr. Client, it's not your fault, you've been misled. Ad networks have trained you to believe that the only value in online advertising is conversions. This is not true.

5. With that in mind, banner advertising is becoming increasing less effective (both in terms of brand exposure and conversions).

Focus on online campaigns that engage, entertain and inform. In other words, branded content is an idea you should be exploring. And, by branded content, I don't mean sponsored blog posts. Those are nothing more than a banner ad made of words. Rather, think of engaging/entertaining the reader first, advertising second.

6. For once, green-light the third concept.

You know, the one that's outside your comfort zone. This is the campaign that will more than likely drive the greatest results. Why? Because we know what we are doing and we just want you to trust our judgment on this -- just once. You won't be sorry.

7. And lastly, for god's sake, NO MORE BUDGET CUTS. OK, that was just some wishful thinking, but please do consider it.