Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Barq Asks What You Think “ad Agencies” Do Best?

Posted by Anonymous on 4/20/2007 at 6:03 PM ET 1000 Points
Today, with 6,142 Expert Points, and 8,400 Question Points, I broke the top 100 MarketingProfs expert list threshold. To celebrate, I will be transferring at least 2500 of my Expert Points to ONE of you by 5/4/07. The rest of the question points will be distributed evenly among all respondents.

QUESTION:
More and more, office managers, administrative assistants, product managers, sales professionals, (insert just about any title) are required to create sales literature – sell sheets, product bulletins, press releases, newsletters, web pages, white papers, email promotions and PowerPoint presentations. Microsoft has given you myriad templates to use in creating MarComm materials. At what point do you feel that you should be able to call in a marketing or advertising professional? When do you honestly think that your company would be better served by someone trained, educated and experienced in influencing the behavior and perception of your potential customers?

[This is one in a series of 6 questions I am posing to those who are not advertising or marketing AGENCY staffers, but who are responsible for selling or marketing a product or service for your company. I will also consider comments from agency people, as long as you speak from a strong position of the marketing buyer’s insight. The questions will be posted in several MarketingProfs subject categories, so if you wish to respond to all questions (and qualify for the points), please click on my “Posted by” name (BARQ) and choose from my “Recent Questions” list. The last question will be posted by 4/30/07 in the “Just For Fun” category.]

BARQ
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Ali Mustafa on 4/22/2007 at 3:51 AM Accepted
    Hi

    From the client side when we realize that we are lacking some sort of expertise in the field of advertising, brand or product development, or think that in house designers are not capable to handle big projects then definitely we need outside assistance of professional marketers or advertising agency’s who are willing to help us with our challenges and most of the professionals comes in through references. And yes ofcource there are lot of templates available now a days but hardly these above said manager use it in their day to day activities as business are unique in their own way .
    Hope it helps

    Best regards
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 4/22/2007 at 1:22 PM Accepted
    Hi Barq,

    hope you're having a great day & a wondeful life!

    So you want to know

    Barq> At what point do you feel that you should be able to call in a marketing or advertising professional?

    Deremiah, *CPE> Hi barq I call in marketing and advertising professionals all the time but they're people who have courted me for my business and have taken out time to get to know me outside of business circles.

    Those who partner with me in any arena are people who I have taken out time to build relationships with. Not sure how others do it but I've got to talk with you over the phone at least a few times. Recieve some literature from you sometime...get some emails from you every now and then to feel like we even have anything in common. I just don't work with people who don't believe in the relationship building aspects of business...That's it, That's all!

    Barq> When do you honestly think that your company would be better served by someone trained, educated and experienced in influencing the behavior and perception of your potential customers?

    Deremiah, *CPE> All the time. I can think about many instances where in my own personal projects and the projects of my company and the projects of my friends that we need to be SERVED by someone with the talent you describe above.

    Thanks again Barq for asking such a wonderful question. You don’t have to give me any points at all because I participate for the love of the experience. I like making people happy. Now if there is anything I can do for you or anything I can do to make you happy please feel free to contact me. REMEMBER... our only real problem in life is our failure to be "MORE Creative" than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL most definitely create your future. I'm only an email away from you if you need my help Steve. Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Your Servant,

    Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

    *Caring Promotes Exuberance
  • Posted on 4/23/2007 at 6:29 AM Accepted
    Hi Barq,

    I personally need the ad agency when planning a heavy budget campaign/ promotion particularly artwork, copy, scripts and outdoor ad placements. Sometimes you need a helicopter view of what happens within your organisation and you can only get and objective view from someone from without not from within.

    This work is very time consuming especially if its not the only one you have. So why not pay someone to concentrate on it and do a good job.

    Its also better to deal with one company doing various work than with various companies doing various work.

    And I beleive in marketing we all have strenthgs and weaknesses I personally feel creatives, copy etc is not my cup of tea.. I know good work when I see it but coming up with it is another story.

    However if you have marketing activitities of less than 500,000$ a month you are better off doing most of the work yourself.
    EK


  • Posted by Ali Mustafa on 4/23/2007 at 7:18 AM Member
    Hi Barq

    absolutely not the volume of work as i have mentioned in one of my posts that there are few projects that the inhouse designers cant do suppose handling a tradeshow where as the designers are good in the designing area but organising a tradeshow is out of question and barq when you work togeather with your co-workers you will get to know about there strengths and weakness so you can judge yourself that which project has to be done inhouse or it should be given to outside professional, hope i'm making sense here,
    gudluck

    mustafa
  • Posted by telemoxie on 4/23/2007 at 7:49 AM Accepted
    I believe that, in reality, there are three primary situations:

    1) a company who does NOT traditionally use an agency is overwhelmed with work. Due to a trade show, merger, explosive growth, new product introduction, or other compelling event, they no longer have sufficient "in-house" capabilities, and need to outsource specific projects.

    2) a company which DOES make use of agencies has been working with an agency for 3 or more years, and feels they have outgrown their current agency, or feel their product needs a fresh start.

    3) A new VP Marketing / Marketing Communications Manager / Product Marketing manager wants to throw out the old agency, to bring in someone who will be loyal to them.
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 4/23/2007 at 4:10 PM Member
    Hi Barq,

    Was: Networking

    Is: LIFE STYLE CONNECTIONS


    WE'RE ALL CONNECTED

    Barq, you're Right ON! Aren't you tired of people hiding behind all these rustic facades. What are we trying to protect. Either we want more valuable business relationships or we want to do like the dinosaur corporations.

    I guess the question you're really asking is "Do I have to beg for your relationship when you know your business opportunities need some work or do you want to get right down to "I need some help"?

    Well Barq I'm not going to lie to you man...I'm LOOKing for some PASSIONATE, HOTT, INtelligent, Go-getters who can help me bust down some corporate intelligencia secretary *GK's...*Gate Keepers that would like keep me away from the corporate giggs. And I'm also looking for some good ole fashioned BENJAMIN FRANKLIN style "NEW JUNTA" group dudes and dudettes that are not afraid to pull the covers off this thang.

    So what I'm saying is that I'm liken' your questions dude...and how can we further this communication thing into some Motivation Move THE NATION. Because in our generation some are gonna keep talking and some are gonna KEEP DOING. In a nutshell I get paid to Jump Start the Dead Beat dreary corporations that can't figure out why their dead approach isn't workin' any more. i GET excited inspiring the educational derelects of the world who need a FRESH approach because the old one has grown stale...I get to move the uninspired child who doesn't get that their life potential is never ending and today is all they got. And if you want to change the future you've got to "DO IT NOW". So can we rapp because I think together we can inspire each other to make some changes, grow and get on with the people who want to GET ON!...So ARE YOU READY BARQ!!!

    Because here is what you can do for me...send me your stuff or a way I can peruse what you do. I think I'd like to open a whole web page just devoted to promoting what you do...Let me Evangelize Customers for you. YOU don't need to pull teeth to get people to see that you're committed to playin' the game so that others can win. I'd like to lay my cards out on the table and here what you think you can help me do. I've already told you what I do best....I'm an EVANGELIZER...A Customer PASSIONATE EVANGELIST!

    Is there anything I can do for you? Just let me do one thing to show you I'm committed to people just like you! Everybody else can watch or gettin on board. Again do you need me to do anything else for you?

    Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

    Caring Promotes Exuberance
  • Posted on 4/25/2007 at 4:09 AM Accepted
    Hi BARQ,
    # At what point do you feel that you should be able to call in a marketing or advertising professional?

    Almost all external marcomm jobs are executed by advertising professionals. So once the idea is frozen or the need identified we call them in. however, there are actually gradations in my office on the quality of advertising professionals we bring in. For a print campaign which has a decent budget and will run for a month promoting something specific we will call in the good advertisers. This would interest them and we would get good creative.
    For posters, danglers , marketing collateral for business-as-usual we call in the small fry- they give us great turn around time and they appreciate our biz. The big guys sneer down on work like this.

    #When do you honestly think that your company would be better served by someone trained, educated and experienced in influencing the behavior and perception of your potential customers?
    I would love to get serviced by such a person- unfortunately- where are they? I need to push advertising professionals to visit the market and talk to customers and NOT talk down to them.
    Frankly in my 8 years of work exp am yet to meet any advertising professional who got it right by his own methods and not by constant spoon feeding. Shd some such person actually come up- I will change agencies to accomodate for such a person.
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