by Next Wave Team | Mar 2, 2007 | Advertising, Creativity, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency
Hey, it’s good to know that The One Club (those cool cats who hand out Gold Pencils- at around $600 per entry) has discovered advertising can be done by agencies smaller than 3000 people.
Writing in their “One. a Magazine” they say:
One Club / One. a Magazine > Recent Issues/Articles
There’s a new wave of regional creative shops coming to prominence these days, in cities that have never before been associated with strong creative ads: Indianapolis, Madison, Orlando, New Orleans, and a dozen other small-to-midsized markets.
What’s driving this “second regional revolution?” Part of it seems to be the fact that clients, in an age of new media explosion and wide-open marketing possibilities, are looking for fresh thinkers who can experiment and adapt quickly—and they’re finding that, increasingly, by going off the beaten path.
The only thing they got wrong was their first line: There’s The Next Wave, a prominent agency doing strong creative in Dayton OH.
They must have missed that part about you can say anything you want about us- just get the name right…
Now- to be totally serious- the article is a step in the right direction. Great advertising can come from anywhere. Many small agencies would rather invest in their people, instead of high dollar award show entry fees.
by Next Wave Team | Feb 20, 2007 | Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Creativity, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Search and Business, Secrets of Great Advertising, Web strategy
Good content brings good business. At least for The Next Wave. Chief Creative Officer, David Esrati was just interviewed for an hour by Inc. Magazine for their “Smart Questions” column for the May issue.
Our section of this site called “How to select an ad agency” pops up at the top of Google and apparently our insight was more interesting than other results.
There is no magic formula for selecting an ad agency for small to medium sized (Inc. sized) businesses- but there are some do’s and dont’s. Some advice worth taking (as shared with Inc.):
- Read at least a few books on advertising to establish common ground (our booklist should help.)
- Realize advertising is not a silver bullet solution to business problems and that great work takes time to gestate.
- Have a high level of trust and respect for your agency partner.
- Look for passion for your product- David Ogilvy always used his clients products.
- You get what you pay for. “Saving money” by buying your own media, print, trash and trinkets (promotional items) when not specifically spelled out in your retainer agreement might not end up saving your relationship.
- Don’t ever ask for a campaign that “looks just like” your competitors.
- Remember, advertising takes time to get results. Nike has had the same agency from the start (Wieden + Kennedy) - and it took a long time to get from the first ads to “there is no finish line” to “just do it.”
- Make sure both client and agency have shared expectations for the brand/campaign.
- Great advertising can be shown to your mother- without excuses or explaination.
- Don’t separate internet, media buying and creative if you want a consistent brand voice.
There was a lot more, but this is a quick recap. There was no simple answer on what agency compensation should be, we’re still trying to find a balanced solution like every other agency. Look to the May issue of Inc. Magazine to see what made it in.
by Next Wave Team | Feb 12, 2007 | Advertising, Change the world, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Low Budget Advertising, Marketing & the Web, Media, Practical Marketing 101, Search and Business, Web strategy
A friend in the indy newspaper business sent me this from Editor & Publisher and asked my opinion. She knew I’d have one.
My initial response is that the gene pool needs thinning.
Although most major ad agencies still don’t understand delivery of online ads, or how to build searchable site content- it’s apparent that very few of them understand web statistics- a whopping 84% of advertisers and agencies seem to think you need a third party auditing firm to tell you who hits your own server!
We can save you a bunch of money on online advertising- let us show you how to analyze your results, and continue to build traffic, without having to buy keywords from Google. Organic results are worth more, cost less, and are so easy to attain- if you understand the basics of how this whole thing works.
ABC Study: Advertisers Don’t Believe Online Ads Are Measured Accurately
By E&P Staff
Published: February 08, 2007 5:10 PM ET
NEW YORK Few advertisers and agencies have confidence that their online ad impressions are measured and reported accurately, according to a new study sponsored by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
In the survey, 84% of respondents say they believe that verification of online advertising activity by an independent third-party auditing firm will become increasingly important over the next three years.
On behalf of ABC, NSON Opinion Research surveyed 270 professionals involved in the buying or planning of online advertising in a Web-based poll conducted between Oct. 24 and Dec. 31, 2006.
“Just as publishers and print advertisers require accuracy and credibility in traditional media information, we’re seeing increased demand for transparency and accountability online,” Michael Lavery, ABC president and managing director, said in a statement.
Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said it’s important to audit ad impressions and delivery while 89% want to see the verification of online traffic.
Other findings in the study: 83% of respondents plan to increase online ad spending in 2007, more than half expect double-digit budget increases.
The age of respondents played a role in the results aswell. The younger the respondent, the more blasé they were about the data. Participants under 25 — 75% of those surveyed — said they trust metrics provided by online publishers while 22% of those 55-to-64 said the same thing.
read more here:ABC Study: Advertisers Don’t Believe Online Ads Are Measured Accurately
The reason online campaigns, advertising and even the good old company website are so valuable is that there is an absolute way to measure what brings the customer to your business, what they looked at, how long they spent with your brand. The intimacy of the connection is up to you to nurture- but, it’s almost as good as having a feed directly from a helmet cam as they walked through your store- after completing an interview about what brought them in.
These stats, when analyzed by a brand manager, can tell you everything a focus group can, only better- since the customers have no idea they are being observed. The key to maximize effectiveness is to have content on your site that includes your competition- so you can also find out what customers thing of your them too.
There are a lot of stupid things being done online right now. Google is laughing all the way to the bank. If you want to keep them happy, don’t pay attention to what we are telling you- the Chief Marketing Officer and Advertising agency gene pool needs thinning too.
by Next Wave Team | Jan 23, 2007 | Ad Agenices in Dayton, OH, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, How To Select An Ad Agency, Search and Business, Web strategy
Some local Dayton Ad agencies are starting to get a clue to what we do- and here is an example of one copying our list of Dayton Ad agencies- and posting it on their site.
Call it e-marketing, call it online marketing and communications- but, online is only one part of your complete marketing solution. The ability to build relationships with your customers isn’t just HTML- but here’s an example of what a copy job looks like:
Dayton Ad Agencies and BrainWave Emarketing
Need an ad agency? Get an ad agency. Need online marketing and communications? Get BrainWave.
Some agencies specialize in direct mail, some excel in public relations and some claim to be full service and do it all. BrainWave specializes in what we know - emarketing. And as you know, businesses that specialize in one category will outperform the departments in the one stop shops.
Some ad agencies can build websites. BrainWave builds a marketing tool that works for your business 24X7 and takes your online properties to the next level, making it an integrated part of your marketing communications and a true business value to your company.
We have provided a list of Dayton ad agencies. Call and discuss their online marketing capabilities before or after you have had a chance to chat with BrainWave.
Dayton Ohio Advertising Agencies
There is also another local agency that has a blog- although the integration with their main site is poor- and the content is focused on their own hip factor.
If you are looking for an ad agency in Dayton OH, Columbus Ohio or Cincinnati Ohio you’ve come to the right place- at least if you are looking to research- see our page: Agencies that aren’t The Next Wave.
by Next Wave Team | Jan 12, 2007 | Advertising, BMW Advertising, Brand Relevancy, Creativity, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, Future of advertising, Great Ad Agencies, How To Select An Ad Agency, Minorities in Advertising, Secrets of Great Advertising
Ad Age is looking for innovative strategies for the next advertising agency model. In their first article, “How Toyota got in touch with the heartland” they look at how mega-agency Saatchi & Saatchi partnered with 4 small agencies and 5 freelance creative consultants to work on the new Toyota Tundra campaign.
Now why would Saatchi do that? And why would Toyota agree? It’s called diversity- maybe not in the traditional sense of minority hiring, or Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business- but in diversity of ideas. Big agencies, in big cities are sometimes insulated from the reality of the rest of the country. As Ad Age points out- the difference between calling that thing under the back bumper a “tow hitch” or a “receiving hitch” would escape most creatives in LA.
It’s also a form of creative out-sourcing- not in a bad way, but in a forward thinking way like the way Eli Lilly and Company went Open Source in their search for answers to create new drugs. Saatchi can hire an agency where 80% of the employees actually own pick-ups(Brothers & Co) as opposed to the yuppie-mobile favored by people in LA. The perspective on the consumer is different out here in the “fly-over” states.
A recent trip to NYC gave me insight on the BMW motorcycle account. Walking around NYC I saw BMW’s everywhere. The agency is in NY, the client in NJ- this is what they see. The only time you see more BMW’s than Harley’s in the Midwest is when the weather sucks- and we BMW riders are the only ones on the road. Our reality is that the dealers are going under left and right- from lack of interest generated by advertising created in an alternate reality- where BMW’s rule, and dealerships are plentiful.
Saatchi also doesn’t have to carry as many people by using this strategy. Why buy the cow, when you only need the milk? The cost of a creative team is more than just salaries and benefits- overhead for office space, computers, support personnel all add up.
Is this the model of the future? Is this the beginning of the end of the Mega-agency and a return to small creative shops? Are there creatives outside the spheres of advertising that can do good work? Whoever heard of creative in Minneapolis, Portland or Miami before Fallon, Wieden + Kennedy and Crispin Porter + Bogusky?
The best soliders in the US Army, a megalithic organization, aren’t operating in the huge units- they work in teams of 12 on a Special Forces team. Maybe the ad world is starting to see that big isn’t always beautiful. After all is said and done, most “Big Ideas” come from a creative team of two.
Maybe the return of the creative team is the next big thing.
Ad Age lists the team for the Tundra campaign:
Saatchi & Saatchi LA
Agency partners:
Brothers & Co. Tulsa
Pocket Hercules, Minneapolis
VSA Design, Fort Collins Co.
RadicalMedia LA
Freelance Creative Consultants:
Eric McClellan
Ray Johnson
Andrew Christou
Charlie Tercek
Gavin Milner
If you know the links to Eric or Gavin- let me know.
by Next Wave Team | Jan 9, 2007 | Ad Agenices in Dayton, OH, Change the world, Differentiating Your Brand, Everything You Want to Know About Advertising, How To Select An Ad Agency, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world
As ludicrous as it may seem, the Dayton Advertising Club, now known as the Greater Dayton Advertising Association, has been threatening to throw The Next Wave out of the organization if we don’t swear some sort of loyalty oath not to advertise.
That’s right- the very organization which is supposed to promote and protect advertising from restrictions and legislation- wants to restrict us from advertising our Websitetology seminar outside their seminars- on a public street.
You can read about it in this post- and see the offending flyer:
http://thenextwave.biz/tnw/?p=170
We have posted copies of the correspondence as PDF’s for you to follow along. Ours were sent on letterhead- with a signature- these are PDF’s of our Word Docs.
We believe the Greater Dayton Advertising Association would do better to endorse our seminar- and teach Ad Club members about building sites that are search friendly and easy to maintain, instead of wasting energy trying to throw us out.
Groucho Marx once said “I wouldn’t be a member of any club that would have me as a member”- and if it wasn’t for our love of the craft of advertising, we probably wouldn’t be a member of the Greater Dayton Advertising Association. Unfortunately, their love of the craft seems to be conditional.
Read the letters below: (PDF’s)
First letter from The Greater Dayton Advertising Association
Dayton Advertising Club Code of Ethics and Conduct
Dayton Advertising Club Standards for Membership
David Esrati respond to The Greater Dayton Advertising Association (July 11, 2006)
The Greater Dayton Advertising Association replies (August 4, 2006)
Letter from The Ethics Committee asking David Esrati to apologize for advertising
The Greater Dayton Advertising Association contact David a second time
The Greater Dayton Advertising Association contact David a third time
The Greater Dayton Advertising Association decide not to revoke Davids membership (January 23, 2007)
