Advertising agencies are marketing industry specialists. Being a marketing specialist, they can easily learn and understand the industry which they have to “communicate” and in today’s environment, engage in. Advertising is about marketing. Marketing is about; 1) asking the same questions, regardless of industry… 2) listening to the answers those questions garner, 3) respect them… and 4) develop, create and design accordingly. Whenever I read an RFP (Request for Proposal) that states that only agencies with “industry-specific” experience need apply… I have to ask myself why…? Isn’t partnering with an advertising agency suppose to round out the “marketing team”, providing expertise that is not in-house?
An agency’s role is steeped in marketing and as such, marketing is the specialty, regardless of industry. Agency traits such as creative, marketing, campaign development, media strategies is what an ad agency should be measured by… industry knowledge can be acquired and taught. The client is truly the industry expert providing industry knowledge outlining the key parameters and the industry challenges. That doesn’t give leave to the advertising agency not to do their due diligence and gain knowledge. Don’t get me wrong… a marketing ad agency can and often do become industry specialist… however, they can only keep their nimbleness, their creative edge, their ability to push the envelope if they continue to work in many industries, across the various medium, and cross platforms. It’s just the nature of the advertising industry and its basic positioning and premise… staying fresh, current and more importantly, providing creative competitive edge.
I do get it… Industry specific agencies don’t have the learning curve of industry knowledge. However, ad agencies that are non-industry specific are used to learning quickly and becoming subject-matter experts in a very short timeline. It’s the nature of the ad business. Industry specific agencies don’t see the “industry” in a new light, and therefore do not push the envelope… Non-industry specific agencies think that what hasn’t been done is possible… and if they do their homework, they understand how they can make it work within the guidelines of the industry regulations.
Isn’t an ad agency’s whole “reason of being” (raison d’être) about providing their clients with a marketing competitive edge?… in positioning their product/service/business, or generating more visits to the website, increasing brand awareness, generating greater ROI, increasing sales traffic…? How are all these initiatives industry-specific rather than marketing specific?
I believe hiring industry specific agencies is flawed. Even if they know the industry, they are often confined to their non-disclosure agreements and even if they’re not, their integrity shouldn’t allow them to share the knowledge.
Selecting a marketing specialized advertising agency, provides greater agility in the creative approach which will add a new perspective in brand, branding, advertising campaigns, media strategies, conceptual development. A marketing specialized ad agency will provide added depth of knowledge and strategies. They aren’t complacent…. they’re never bored… or become defeated because they work in different industries, different media, different campaigns. Their depth of strategies are cross-industry and some of those initiatives can often be tweaked and adapted to another industry….which provides that industry with an innovative approach!
If you’re looking for a doctor… you’ll definitely want a field specialist!… When looking for an advertising agency that is relied upon to provide businesses and products with the creative edge, seek out ad agency that specializes… well…. in advertising!
Last week there was much talk about the Super Bowl and specifically, of the Super Bowl TV commercials, which is the reason for this post. Over the years, the Super Bowl TV advertisements have been conceptualized beautifully and superbly executed. They have made us laugh, made us talk about them around the “water cooler” and now they have made us “share” them.
The best advertising campaigns are those that show the brand’s features by illustrating the benefits into a memorable 30 second TV commercial, print advertisement, radio advertising, or an online/social media initiative. In short, the ads must be developed to have a one track mind: Brand Recall. Has the creative raised the Brand to be the ultimate star or did the storyline and the execution or special effects become the star? If there are too many creative elements; creative, copy, special effects, design, or information which intrude on the “space”, then you may not necessarily lose your target audience… but you will lose the opportunity of making sure your ad builds brand awareness and recall. This is true of a 30 second TV commercial, billboard campaign, print campaign or online initiative.
Developing campaigns is part of the marketing process, so it’s important that advertising strategies are in line with the marketing plan. It is an extension of the Brand. It must communicate the marketing message though Brand’s persona and its reason to believe. It must without any exception make the brand memorable… not the ad. The objective of any creative commercial advertisement is to Brand Recall. A couple that come to mind are:
Almond Joy and Mounds Ads created an advertising jingle that became their slogan. “Feel Like a Nut” 1980
In all of these the creative integration of the features, the promise and the benefits and concept all in one. The Brand is totally integrated.
Next time you are involved in assessing a brand campaign for any media… ask yourself if the proposed concept asks of its audience to do too much to get to the creative message and to your Brand. Here’s a quick checklist:
Is your Brand Logo and Brand Name prominently featured?
You really don’t want your target audience to say….what was that ad for?
Does it speak to your Brand’s persona?
Is it too funny? Is it too casual? Is the ad fresh, innovative within the context of your brand?Does it use the right colours?
Does the creative premise take the product’s features as the main theme?
What is your brand’s competitive edge…its unique selling point and does the advertisement speak to it.
Does the ad have a single focused message?
You really can’t say it all. Make sure there aren’t too many messages vying for attention. Equally important, is the ad taking off on a creative track that has nothing to do with the intended message. Does the ad show the benefit/experience/promise. Don’t forget, what’s in it for the our intended audience and their psychographics.
Is the message on brief?
Don’t get caught up in the beauty of the copy or the cleverness of the ad. If it’s not on brief. Then it’s off.
Share with me what you feel is the best advertising campaign (TV, Radio, Social Media, Billboard or Print) you’ve seen that show fabulous creative concept with strong brand recall.
January has come…and almost gone, and with it, all the heartfelt declaration of personal and business resolutions. I totally understand personal resolutions, it’s the onslaught of “business resolutions” and more specifically brand resolutions that have been making their way into my inbox that I really don’t get.
I’m the first to state that Brand is a living organism. I stand by that adage. However, saying that doesn’t mean that brand gets to act like an individual! All good intentions and no follow through! That’s really my point. It comes back to the basic question of what defines a marketing plan and what is branding?
Brand needs to be guided with a marketing plan with defined marketing strategies in hand and established on-going protocols for measuring the success and failure of initiatives and the next step forward. Resolutions, especially when referred to within the business arena, in my humble opinion, implies that strategies and tactics that should of been implemented were somehow lost sight of. Not a good sign! Afterall, my newly formed annual resolution of losing 10 pounds has come about because I haven’t exercised as I said I would (followed through on my plan and implemented my tactics) and quite frankly, I have been eating way more than I should (not measuring ROI)! Sorry, I am human! 😉
A brand should always follow its exercise routine (marketing strategies) in order to reach its ideal form (objective). In order to do that, it needs to show discipline and track results (post-initiative analysis) at specific points in time. If that isn’t done routinely…. then you’ve set up your brand to fail.
So this year’s business resolutions aside… exercise your brand all year around… every day…with intent… with follow through. That way you know your brand fitness level. If you do that, no matter what time of the year it is and what business challenges your brand faces…. trust me, nothing will sneak up on you like 10 pounds does… and you definitely won’t need a resolution!
The 3H Communications team was tasked to create an environment for the viewer that does not exist. Create the illusion that the viewer is in mid winter, under extreme cold, when actually it was mid fall – all the while looking great and conveying the message effectively.
Most of you have no idea how much effort and time goes in to making a 30 second commercial, so this post is to highlight some of the tasks involved from the start to the finish line of a 30 second TV commercial.
Today has been declared Random Acts of Kindness Day (RAK) and is being spearheaded by the Oakville Community Foundation. The concept is much like the concept that was made into a movie – Pay It Forward (a great movie featuring Kevin Spacey).
Special “Random Acts of Kindness Day” cards have been printed to help celebrate this event and are available at numerous locations such as Oakville Place Shopping Centre, the Town of Oakville Recreation Centres, the Town Hall, Branch of the Bank of Montreal, Sheridan Institute, Whole Foods, Studio Ph Hair Design and at many other locations. If you can not get to any of those but would still like to participate you can download the card from the Oakville Community Foundation and print it yourself.
Enjoy the fact that there is kindness in all of us and celebrate every day, that it is in you to give away.
