How to Make an Ad Firm Work for You

When an ad firm accepts your account, they will work with you to draw up a contract that will define all of the objectives of your marketing campaign and when they will be completed. During the time you are under contract, though, you may feel like you and the ad firm are going in different directions to achieve your marketing goals. This is not a unique situation. As a matter of fact, it happens all of the time. Business owners will jump from ad firm to ad firm because they are not satisfied with the work that is being done; or, the business owner may be dissatisfied with the working relationship. Before you decide to ditch the ad firm you are working with–it is immensely difficult to start over again–you will need to try and work things out.

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Communicate Your Needs
The first thing that you will want to do is speak with the account executive. The account executive is an important person to speak to because he or she is the face of the ad firm, and he or she will do whatever is necessary to make sure you are happy with the services that are being provided. The job of the account executive is to communicate the business owner’s marketing objectives to the creative team, so the products and services can be correctly positioned in their respective markets. Often times, products and services are not marketed properly, and it is not the fault of the creative team. This problem occurs because the account executive does not correctly understand the needs of the client.

If you find it difficult to speak with the account executive because you have a personality clash or there is friction between the two of you, speak with the firm’s managers. When you speak with management, ask to have the account executive removed from your contract and have a different one assigned to you. Often times, an ad firm will do this in order to keep your business.

Ad firms are heavily criticized on all fronts. These firms receive criticism from both the public as well as the ad industry. So many people’s careers can get ruined if the wrong tag line or image is used. Because so much is at stake, ad firms will do everything they can to put forth their best efforts and produce outstanding work. As a matter of fact, ad firms thrive when their best work is put into the spotlight. If the ad firm’s work is not pleasing to you, chances are that you may be the problem. You need to do a thorough self-examination to make sure you are not getting in the way of your campaign’s success. When you do, you can ask yourself the following questions:

1. Am I a difficult person to work with and hard to please?
2. Do I feel like I know everything when in fact, I know little?
3. Do I constantly undermine the decisions made by my firm’s creative team?
4. Am I very overcritical?
5. Do I bring in my own team, even after I hired the firm to do the work?

When you bring in your own team, are difficult to work with, hard to please, are extremely overcritical, act like you know it all and constantly undermine the decisions made by your firm’s creative team, then the problem does not lie with the firm. It lies with you. If you find you are the problem, you will need to take a step back, readjust your thinking and let the ad firm’s creative team do the job you are paying them to do.

Be Creative and Think Outside of the Box
Ad firms dream of getting clients that love to exercise their creativity and want something groundbreaking in order to gain an edge on their competition. The creative teams that work at these firms love to push their creative skills to the max. All too frequently, business owners fear that ad firms are going too far and will back away. If you know that the ad firm you are working with has a flawless reputation and is known for producing outstanding quality work, then trust that the same will happen in your case. Do not get stuck on doing the same things as other business owners because if you do, your business will not stand out from your competitors. Additionally, your campaign will look the same no matter which ad firm you choose to do the work for you.

Allow for a Final Decision Maker
You and your partners may have a disagreement on what the next tag line needs to be, or you have a handful of company staff wanting to throw all of their brilliant ideas into the mix. While it is nice to have everyone working together during the collaborative process, it is important to have one final decision maker who will approve what your ads will say. If too many people have their hands in the decision making process, the quality of your ads will be lost because the focus will be on pleasing everybody.

If you want to decrease the chances of there being disagreements, you need to interview the firm first. Find out if the firm will provide exactly what you need. For instance, if you need to market products in the Denver, Colorado area, check with the firm to see if they offer Denver Marketing services. Often times, firms are specialized and will only market in specific locations. If your interview with the firm goes well, then there is a good chance your relationship with them will also. If you have done this and you are still having problems, then you can implement any of the above tips to make things better.

blue onion has been on the cutting edge of ad creation for the better part of two decades. If you need a denver advertising agency to take your service or product offering to the next level, contact blue onion today. We do everything from branding seminars to full advertising campaigns.