Thursday, November 29, 2012

Selecting an Advertising Agency (Recon Thursday/Process)



Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™.  Today is Recon Thursday and we are continuing our series looking at outsourcing marketing support for your company and today we are focusing on Advertising Agencies.

Not everyone has had personal experience with an advertising agency so let me talk a little bit about what advertising agencies do for your company.  They will begin by creating your branding and marketing and may act as your media buyer.  Through branding they are creating your brand positioning and developing target audiences.  Under the marketing umbrella the agency will develop your message, design ads and may even produce the TV commercial or radio spot.

The agency will also implement the marketing campaign for you.  That means that they will place your ad on television or on the radio (that is the media buying) and in the current environment expect that they will suggest adding social media marketing as well.

Once you have made the decision to seek out an advertising agency there are numerous aspects to consider in selecting one that is a good fit for your company.  Some agencies are large and some small.  Look at their experience; review their portfolio to ensure you like their work.  Meet the individuals that are part of the organization.  Find out how connected they are to the community and to the media outlets such as local papers, television stations and radio stations.

Other elements to review are the approach they will take to mount your advertising campaign and the associated costs.  The agency should let you know the metrics they will provide to measure the success of the advertising campaign.

Then you want to discuss fees.  Every agency will be different; they may be project based, hourly or retainer.  Lastly, make sure agency you chose has media buying clout.  If they are going to represent you to place your ads on television, in print or on the radio you want to know that they have the ability to obtain the most favorable pricing.

Another important consideration of utilizing an advertising agency is that you are going to be committing financial resources to them sufficient to design and implement an effective marketing campaign on your behalf.

Additionally, once you begin using an advertising agency to push your content and message out into the market place you are now branding.  The ad campaign is creating an image of your brand in the mind of potential customers.  It’s up to you to make sure that what the agency does on your behalf meets your goals and expectations.

That concludes Recon Thursday.  Join us tomorrow for Digital Friday.  To discuss an online or onsite service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™ and we’ll see you next time.

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