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.

Back to the future.

This week, our agency started its 25th year in business. That got us all nostalgic. Back in 1985, when Floyd and Stanich opened its doors as DJ Floyd and Partners:

No one here used a computer. It was so cool that we had an IBM Selectric.

Faxes and FedEx were still state-of-the-art. People stood around and actually marveled over electronic transfer of images.

We had to hand-deliver TV commercials to the station on 3/4" tape and radio spots were on reels.

There was no Internet. Ditto email.

We used resources called typesetters. Typography was an art, not a computer program.

The tool we couldn't live without was an Xacto knife, not an iPhone.

Having outlasted virtually all the agencies around at the time, we still love to experience the things that got us into the business in the first place:

Being privileged to peek into all kinds of business. We've picked sweet corn with an ag client, worn a rabbit suit for a car dealer commercial, learned to operate a packaging machine, and seen how cool convertibles are created.

We get to work with talented, educated, entertaining people.

And we get to be creative and put strategies to work for clients every single day.

How to outsmart, not outspend, your competition

In the outstanding new book, Juicing the Orange, by the legendary founders of Fallon, the agency that changed the advertising world (from Minneapolis, of all places), creativity is vital. Not to win awards, but to give your clients a competitive edge. As they say, "Imagination is the last legal means of gaining an unfair advantage over the competition." We agree.

Not many clients these days (none of ours, to be sure) have the unlimited dollars needed to dominate the marketplace. But they don't need to. Smart strategy, compelling ideas, and unique media placement can boost a brand without busting the budget. Here are a few creative ideas that connect with customers without major marketing muscle:

1. Get social.

Today more than ever before, grassroots word-of-mouth marketing is effective and inexpensive. Make full use of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email. Just be sure it melds with your marketing and supports your brand.

2. Pay for great ideas.

Good creative can multiply the effects of a limited media schedule. Though you have to get enough frequency in print or broadcast, you don't have to saturate. One client of ours pumped up profits 45% as easy as one, two, three: One well-crafted radio spot on two strategic stations in three months.

3. Look for "legs"

Great ideas have staying power or "legs." Lots of money is wasted because the agency or the client gets tired of a campaign long before the audience has. Remember, it takes at least three to four viewings before a concept even registers with a prospect. Put the money into compelling creative and then use the heck out of it.

Where will your ads be in 2024?

Fifteen years ago today the first ever banner ad ran on the internet. Boy, how things have changed since then. Today, we're using media that we couldn't even dream of back in the olden days of 1994. Just a few years ago, we wouldn't even have known what an iPhone was. Now Volkswagen is getting ready to launch its new GTI exclusively on an iPhone app. If media continues to morph as quickly and as profoundly, who knows what we'll be using to carry our marketing messages by 2024?  

What doesn't change, though, is good strategy and clear communication. Take a lesson from Volkswagen. In the 60s, they cut through the clutter of big-car advertising with a clear objective (take a perceived negative--small size-- and make it a positive) and cool content ("Think small"). Now, they're cutting through the clutter of print and broadcast with a clear objective (reach 50 milllion tech-savvy, social-media users and tap into viral pass-along PR) and cool content (download the Real Racing game and drive the new GTI).

Great strategy. Compelling copy. Some things never change.

Global is good for Indiana manufacturers

The fourth annual Indiana manufacturing survey, "The Gear and Fulcrum," is now available and shows that Hoosier manufacturers expect steady or improved results in 2010. The report published by Indianapolis-based accounting firm Katz, Sapper and Miller also found Indiana companies with a greater focus on globalization tend to be more successful than those who only focus on the U.S. market.The key word here is "focus." With the web dominating marketing efforts and easily erasing international boundaries, it's important to address a larger audience more than ever before. Take a look at your advertising and marketing materials. Do they reflect a company with a broad outlook or do they limit your opportunities? Whether one does business internationally or not, the impression you make can help position you for new opportunities-- even ones that are just around the corner.

Be prepared to catch the economic wave

Surfers don't wait on the beach to catch that perfect wave; they paddle out and position themselves so they're ready when they see it coming. Great analogy for what seems to be happening in the business world. According to John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Bank, who we heard speak last week here in Indianapolis, important economic transitions have already begun. The global economy and corporate operating profits will likely continue to gain momentum. Is your brand positioned to catch the wave of new possibilities? This fourth quarter could be key in capturing market share from those who are still "standing on the beach." Get paddling.

Make your logo mean more.

I was reading a design blog this morning that reminded me of one of my favorite parts of the advertising business-- graphic communications. Though branding is much more than a logo, but a well-designed identity goes a long way in communicating in a snap what a company is all about. The best ones have what we call "layers." The longer you look, the more meaning you see.

Since Floyd and Stanich has been involved in quite a few re-branding projects this year, I thought I'd share both some of the logos we've done-- and some we wish we had.

1. Have to admit that I saw the smile, but didn't get the "A to Z" aspect at first.

 

2. What do you do when you're the Big Ten, but now there are eleven teams? How about design a cool logo that says both the word Ten, but shows the number 11?

 

3. It's amazing how this logo is virtually everywhere, but not everyone sees the arrow that adds so much to the meaning of the brand.

 

Here are some of the logos we've created that have that same kind of "aha" factor.

1. Besides communicating a more contemporary feel, the logo for regional apartment builder, Gene B. Glick Company, uses the initial G to underscore its brand position, "Built to be home."

2. When the Beethoven Society became the American Pianists Association, the identity neatly combined the concepts of American and pianists in a single, powerful image.

3. In addition to naming this new upscale downtown Indianapolis residence, Floyd and Stanich designed this signature identity for Six Over Meridian.

 

3 simple ways to mess up your agency relationship.

A recent article in Ad Age had the former VP-marketing and advertising at GM blasting the company for stifling all passion and creativity in its ad agencies. How can a client suck the life out of some of the best creative minds in the country? By having a “PowerPoint culture” and a bureaucracy of meetings.

We’ve found there are a couple of seemingly innocuous signs that don’t bode well for a great client-agency creative collaboration:
1. The client refers to the agency as a “Vendor.” This immediately sets up the idea that one of you is trying to sell something to the other and that this is an inequitable relationship from the get-go.
2. The meeting room is set up with two facing tables where the agency sits on one side facing the client on the other. We call this the “parole board hearing” scenario.
3. The client says, “Boy, I’d never want to be in your business.” While on the face of it, this is meant as a compliment (“What you guys do is difficult”), it’s really and perhaps subconsciously critical meaning “Wow, I’m glad I’ve got a real job.”

Lucky for us, we get to choose who we work with—wonderful clients who push us to create our very best work. Here are some of the tips we’ve learned from them on how to get the most out of your agency meetings:
1. Create a feeling of camaraderie. Things as simple as mixing up the seating, offering drinks, and using “us” and “we” words go a long way to establishing a meeting of equals.
2. You’re both on the same side. Avoid adversarial attitudes. Know that your ad agency wants the same things you do—outstanding creative, improved sales, and happy clients.
3. Be open to creative thinking. The old joke—how many creative directors does it take to change a light bulb? Does it have to be a light bulb?”—has some truth to it. As agency people, we’re always thinking about other ways to accomplish your goals. Too often both client and agency come to a meeting with a solution already in mind. “We need to have an email newsletter! You need a blog!” While constantly questioning the method may be irritating, it’s also the way to get some very good, very creative, very effective work from your agency partners.
4. Make a decision. Even if it’s “we’re not going to make a decision now.” Every meeting should result in some sort of action. And that means making sure there’s someone in the room who has the authority to actually move a project forward.

What are some of the ways you’ve created a better meeting of the minds with your agency or client?