Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Breaking In To An Ad Agency

Posted by Anonymous on 10/28/2011 at 5:24 PM ET 125 Points
I work for an association that puts on a rather large event each year , that draws over 500,000 people.
I was hired to call on “lifestyle” type companies for advertising/brand marketing/sponsorships during this week long event. My challenge has been A) contacting the right agency, or sub-agency, that deals with any or all of these factors for their client B) finding out who to contact and then C) having someone call/email me back. When I was with a TV station, I had a National Account Rep Firm that did nothing but call on agencies on my behalf. I would also make calls with some of the Rep as well. Now, I don’t have that kind of connections and its almost impossible to “break-in” to any agency. Any advice on my ABC delima’s??
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 10/31/2011 at 8:21 PM Accepted
    First I would start by going to some strategic networking events. You will meet the right people and the right places.

    Next I would friend people you meet at networking events on LinkedIn.
    Then you go to LinkedIn and see other people you would be interested in talking to and sending them a message to have coffee or lunch.

    Next I would be getting involved in some organizations and going to some talks and getting a Twitter account. Use social media while you are at events and you can find out who is there.

    There are a lot of things you can do to break in and get the right connections.

    If you need some great referrals to agencies will to take on clients let me know. I have a lot of great agencies that I would be happy to refer you too. If you are looking for a great tool to use for viral campaigns I would checkout CoupSmart.com

    They white label which is a huge help with implementation. You will just have to come up with criteria and they will do the rest.

    Erica
  • Posted by telemoxie on 11/1/2011 at 10:39 PM Accepted
    if this were my project, I would contact companies directly, rather than relying on ad agencies. I would attempt to get sponsorships for this year, but I would also try to get companies to send representatives to the trade show so that they can budget for a sponsorship next year. I would attempt to get somebody (anybody) on the telephone in target organizations, who could forward my material to the right people internally.

    Re: making telephone calls: you need to carefully prequalify your target companies. For example, you might want to focus on companies who are are we spending money on related trade shows. Good luck.
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