Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Selecting Advertising Agencies in Cincinnati
by Jay Conrad Levinson
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #1--
Be certain that the Cincinnati
Advertising Agency realizes that advertising is only a small
portion of marketing. The Cincinnati advertising agency must
demonstrate that it knows there are many other marketing weapons
and that it is capable of using (or directing the use of) all
the appropriate ones in your potential marketing arsenal. Guerrilla
businesses deserve guerrilla advertising agencies. Don't settle
for less.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #2 --
Ascertain that your account
will be considered special and deserving of the Cincinnati advertising
agency's top talent. Be sure that you meet and talk to the people
who will actually be doing your advertising - creative, media,
research, the whole works. See what else the creative people
have created. Ask about the results. Avoid agency figureheads
and get to know the troops who will be serving on your front
line. Is the chemistry right between you? Don't underestimate
the immense power of good chemistry.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #3 --
Be sure that your Cincinnati
advertising agency understands your company's objectives and
considers them reasonable. This understanding will be reflected
in the marketing and advertising strategy that the agency creates
for you. If it's missing, look elsewhere.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #4 --
Check to see that the people
who will be working on your account have the right credentials,
experience, and attitude. See if they are good listeners. If
they haven't worked on a business just like yours, don't worry.
Just make sure that they understand the critical relationship
between profitability and creativity. If it doesn't help you
earn profits, it's not creative.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #5 --
Be positive that the people
you will work with have a knowledge of your business, an interest
in your business, and a knowledge of the competitive situation.
If they've done their homework by the time they present to you,
they'll have these things. If not, you're not interested.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #6 --
Look at the ads and other marketing
materials they have created: theme lines, logos, signs, telemarketing
scripts, brochures, videos, catalogs, newsletters, Web sites,
direct mail letters, postcards, posters, and even postcard mailers.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #7 --
The best Cincinnati advertising
agencies have grown from the growth of their clients and those
clients' ever-increasing marketing investments. That is a better
benchmark than growth coming from new clients. Such agencies
are hard to find. But the search will be worth your time.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #8 --
When selecting Advertising
Agencies in Cincinnati, ask people from the agency to make a
presentation to you, but don't ask them to spend a lot of money
doing so. Listen to their words, hoping they will talk more about
you than about themselves. Be aware of the emphasis they place
on the importance of a strategy, for that strategy is crucial
to you. See if they know how advertising fits into the overall
marketing mix. Be wary if they speak only of advertising and
nothing about marketing.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #9 --
You must do everything in your
power to know the difference between clever advertising and effective
advertising. Be careful if the agency relies too much on the
use of humor, for humor is often the enemy of effective advertising.
Advertising gains power through repetition, but humor becomes
weaker with repetition. If you're marketing candy or chewing
gum, humor may help. But if you're marketing high-priced offerings,
humor rarely leads to beautiful profit-and-loss statements.
Advertising Agencies Cincinnati
Tip #10 -- Be sure
that your Cincinnati advertising agency understands the crucial
necessity for follow-up, that they are abreast of the growth
of online marketing, and that they are up-to-date but not too
far in advance of society.
Cincinnati Advertising Agencies
Tip #11 --
You can learn about agencies,
not only by their presentations, but also by walking around the
agencies themselves. Look at their work in progress for other
clients, and see for yourself their staff's passion and enthusiasm
for creating advertising that works.
Cincinnati Advertising Agencies
Tip #12 --
Be especially aware of advertising
the agency has created that has run for a long time. That's a
sure sign that it is successful. Be sure that the creative people
are willing to experiment and test, to create materials that
are timeless. Watch out if they create "vampire" advertising
- the kind where cleverness, jokes, and special effects draw
attention away from your offering.
Cincinnati Advertising Agencies
Tip #13 --
The key to great advertising
is to forget the advertising and be certain that the product
or service is the star. Great advertising agencies produce advertising
that creates a desire to buy. It is not supposed to make people
say, "What wonderful advertising!" Instead, it is supposed
to make people say, "I want that product."
Cincinnati Advertising Agencies
Tip #14 --
Advertising creativity comes
from knowledge. The more knowledge the agency's people possess,
the more creative they can be. That means a powerful agency asks
questions, listens to answers, engages in tireless research,
and never stops learning.
Cincinnati Advertising Agencies
Tip #15 --
Can your Cincinnati Advertising
Agency help you engage in fusion marketing arrangements with
others - where you combine marketing efforts to reach more people,
but save money because you are sharing the cost? A top agency
is able to use technology to the utmost but not rely too much
on it. Its advertising begins with your offering and the reason
you are in business in the first place - not with a snappy jingle
or dazzling graphic approach.
Copyright © Jay Conrad Levinson 2000m |
