We are certainly walking an uneasy tightrope right now. Respectful of the times, the weariness of isolation and downtime, we are all ready for change and for the growth we desperately hope is waiting out there.
We feel the desire for shift and change in our bones and dare to be cautiously optimistic. So, we sit down to strategize a plan for re-opening.
Hot ad agencies generate a lot of attention. They always have.
Twenty-to-thirty years ago, the hottest firms tended to be the largest marketing houses. They had big hyphenated names and established themselves at elite addresses downtown. They had genius creative directors and the money to hire the coolest production teams. They generated quite a buzz. And companies flocked to them for killer ad campaigns, which gained a lot of awards.
But a funny thing happened along the way to the Addy Awards. Those large ad agencies began to lose their big clients to smaller agencies who were hungrier. The smaller ad agencies were more flexible, since they didn’t have to feed a huge staff. They were also more savvy and creative, offering more for their new clients, for less. So clients left the big firms and enjoyed being a big fish in a smaller pond.
The past ten years have seen the growth of smaller, quirkier marketing firms that specialize in things like tech, or industry, or not-for-profits. The firms are small and have colorful trendy names. They hire genius creative directors that communicate exceptionally well on social media. And they win a lot of awards. And attract a host of new clients looking for attention in a very distracted world.
The point is, there will always be a hot new ad agency generating a lot of buzz. And although it can be great fun to have your marketing done there, your company will find that it takes a lot of agency time and energy to maintain that buzz. A few clients of that agency will get great glossy, stand out work that wins eyeballs… and awards. But most of the clients will get to claim that the hot agency works for them, and get middling work. So after awhile, they will move their work to another hot ad agency. And on it goes.
Or not.
You could choose to hire an agency without a colorful name that isn’t trying to be the hottest new firm in the marketing world. A firm that provides you with solid marketing advice based on careful industry research, leading to memorable marketing directed to precisely the right eyes.
Sure, sometimes those ad campaigns will be quirky, visually stunning and even award-garnering. But not why we do the work.
At FocalPoint, we attract and keep our clients through dedication to our clients and impeccable work. That’s who we are and always will be.