Top 10 Things Every Ad Agency Should Know

Posted by admin in digital media on 03 18th, 2009 | no responses

Top 10 Things Every Ad Agency Should Know To Survive

Digital Space is used for only 2 things – problem solving and entertainment. That’s it! Therefore, keep that in mind with every idea you develop, every website you create and every campaign you produce. Problem Solving – we want it EASY. Don’t make us work to solve our problem. We have no patience! This isn’t about award-winning technology. It is about becoming a “pain reliever!” Entertainment – make it entertaining to the specific niche you wish to attract. Entertainment to a 20 year old male will be very different from entertainment for a 25 year old female. Know your very specific niche and super serve them. This is where advertising agencies can become more valuable than ever before.
Society has changed – Traditional Media will NEVER return to their previous strengths. This is not about the economy. It is about societal transformation. Traditional media has its place for mass appeal and branding but it is the digital space that is rapidly growing, changing and influencing our decisions and changing our society. If your client is Kleenex, a brand very well known and established, you may survive awhile using traditional media only. If your client is less known you must find a niche to problem solve and super serve that niche. The days of marketing to the masses may be coming to an end. This opens up opportunities like never before for consumers, marketers and advertising agencies!
Marketers are not in control – the consumer is. The consumer now decides what they will consume, when and how they will consume and who they will trust. No longer does “as seen on TV” mean that it is a product to be trusted. “As discussed on Twitter” may have more credibility. Consumers seek out specific information by those they see as experts. Experts are real people who tell real stories – both good and bad. Never before has authenticity been more valued and it is becoming more about consumer to consumer, leaving much of the media out of the equation completely.
Consumers often see Traditional Media as interruptions and “anger producers.” Let’s face it. Most TV commercials are meaningless to most viewers. Many commercials may be beautifully shot and edited but consumers don’t care if the message doesn’t address their problem. Commercials are oftentimes nothing more than interruptions and consumers are no longer accepting them. They have choices. Hence, the expansion of time-shifting, growth of satellite radio and reduced newspaper circulation. Consumers will get the information they want when and how they want it and from their trusted sources. Trusted sources may no longer be the beautiful ads you create but the words they hear spontaneously from a Tweet or a blog they read from fellow enthusiasts. Advertising agencies need to reinvent themselves and learn to market to their clients in an entirely different way if they are to survive. The world is moving forward with them or without them!
Consumers are taking over the role of traditional advertising agencies by creating their own conversations. Join a conversation on LinkedIn or Twitter. That’s where you will hear from real people talking about real experiences with products and services. Consumers are more apt to trust them than some talking head telling them how great the product is. We are rapidly becoming a small world of “word of mouth.” Advertising agencies can enter this world if they are committed to learning how to earn consumer trust and patient. It is time-consuming but there are plenty of ways to monetize this activity.
Social Media is reducing the stranglehold of Search Engines. No longer are Google or Yahoo! the only method of search. Users constantly ask questions on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to learn about everything imaginable. It’s quick and easy and the information comes from a person rather than a site based on key word density. Consumers are smart and distrust anything that sniffs of modern-day trickery. What does this mean to you? While search-based marketing remains strong its impact is diminishing quickly.
You can’t be everything to everyone anymore (marketing to the masses). You end up being nothing to everyone. Our society is made up of thousands of sub-groups which open up opportunities galore. You can now develop products specifically for the tiniest niche and develop marketing plans most everyone can afford. This represents tremendous opportunities for small, medium and large advertising agencies like never before.
To stand out you have to be remarkable to the select few who care. With our short attention span today it is about “whom.” “Who” is your best customer? “Who” will have the best experience with your product? “Who” will spread the word? Where is the “who” and how do you speak to the “whom?” Clients with a willingness to honestly expose themselves and their products and services to the “whom” for scrutiny will succeed, and advertising agencies prepared to help them do that will grow and prosper. Agencies need to continuously stay current and committed to accomplish this but the revenue potential to those who do is practically unlimited.
The few who care will spread the word. Stories spread quickly – good and bad. The few who care and take the risk of trying your product or service will be your growth makers or market killers. What they say counts – what you say doesn’t. People are listening more to each other than ever before and have multiple avenues to converse. Companies who welcome conversations will win. Remember, whether you like it or not, the consumer will dictate success or failure quickly and will spread the word to an ever-increasing, listening audience.
Advertising Agencies need to recognize and commit to change if they are to survive. Conversations about your clients’ products and services are taking place. Conversations about your agency are also taking place. You must stand out amongst the clutter. Do you understand what is happening? Are you embracing the societal changes personally and professionally? Are you growing within the change? Can everyone in your agency speak the language and recognize opportunity? Are you deeply involved and committed? Are you continuously learning and providing training to your staff and clients? Have you asked yourselves, “What makes you remarkable?” If you are addressing all of this with action you will survive and grow because very few traditional advertising agencies understand and accept the world as it is and what it is rapidly becoming. There is still time to get in the game but the clock is running and you have no more time outs remaining. Call the winning play now!