The Marketing Agency Talk

“You ad agencies don’t practice what you preach. If advertising works, then why don’t ad agencies advertise?”

This is what one client told us recently. I was taken aback. True, not many ad agencies advertise in off and on-line media but we surely do lots of marketing to make sure we are the most viable logical solution to the clients. Most ad agencies do some forms of direct marketing. And yes, we depend on words-of-mouth advertising. Such referrals are very important to us. It’s like winning half the battle without even venturing near the war zone.

Let’s just see why some advertising agencies don’t advertise and why some don’t even bother to promote themselves. This is a real world where we have to fight head on with many challenges. Currently,the sub prime crisis is looming over many people’s head. Many ad agencies are beginning to cut costs, oust people and freeze salaries as the dark clouds of recession seems imminent. They are doing all these right now as everyone in the industry knows that one of the first budget for a client to cut in trying times, is advertising.

Yet, advertising folks would cajoled and convinced the clients that THIS is the time to actually beef up their advertising budgets. “Advertising in a down economy is even more important than advertising during the good times, says Joyce Gioia, president of the Herman Group, a firm of strategic business futurists in Greensboro, N.C. “That’s when you can build market share. That’s when you have less competition for share of mind. While others are in a cocoon, hibernating until things blow over, it’s a great time to invest in your business.”

If advertising is important for the clients during a economic or financial crisis, wouldn’t it be a great time for ad agencies to shout out loud as well? Advertising agencies should actually advertising themselves. Wow. That’s something we have to ponder about seriously.

Well, this is our opportunity to position ourselves for growth and differentiate us from the competition. At the very least, we can stand tall and be able to tell our prospective clients that we practice what we preach.

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