One Minute Workshop

Tips on Finding The Advertising Agency That's Right For Your Business

By Bob Schmitt
Spring 1994

One of the most difficult decisions facing a business is to select an advertising agency to fill its needs. The promotion of a product or service can many times be the determining factor in its continuing success or failure. And, in difficult economic times, often the first area a company will trim is advertising—generally at the time when they need it the most. Without quality, effective promotion no business product or service can expect to survive among its competition. In addition, if you've got a superior product or service, no one will know it unless it's properly promoted. A competitor with an inferior product may even have better sales, simply because they have superior promotion. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you enter an agency review process.

Look at what they've done for others

A surprising number of businesses hand over the most important aspect of their business to an advertising agency without ever having viewed their previous work—often solely because the price was right. Be sure the determining factor you use in choosing an agency isn't price but rather quality and, more importantly, effectiveness of the work. Remember, everything your agency produces will be highly visible to the public and is defining your business to customers. What your agency produces often will be the only thing your customer knows about your company and they will be deciding whether or not to purchase your product or service based on how it was promoted.

Forget subjectivity

When viewing a portfolio, turn off your personal likes and dislikes. Don't respond with statements like, "We never use that type style" or "I don't like that color." Concentrate more on asking, "How effective was this promotion for your client?" or "What kind of response did this receive?" Remember, the projects in the agency's portfolio weren't done for you or your business, they were created for other clients with unique needs in varying industries. Instead judge the overall quality and effectiveness of the work. You will have plenty of opportunity on your own projects to give specific feedback

Be sure what you see is fairly current

Many agencies have work in their portfolios that is five to ten years old, leading you to ask, "What have they done lately?" If you're looking at work that is more than a few years old it's very possible the work was done by creative people who are no longer with the agency. Make certain the people doing the creative are still with the agency and haven't been replaced by less qualified people.

Another more difficult factor to determine will be whether the work you are reviewing was really done by that agency. You might be surprised at how many portfolios contain work the agency didn't do, or had only the most marginal involvement with. Recently, while attending a trade show in Los Angeles I was paging through an agency's portfolio, and found two campaigns designed and produced by myself at Jamison Bell.

Choose the size of agency that fits your business

Unless you're IBM, Coca-Cola or Nike, you're going to get better, more personalized—not to mention less expensive—service from a smaller agency. You'll find you carry much more weight as the customer of a small agency than you do at a larger one, without having to sacrifice the quality of creative services. Many of the large agencies broker the creative services to small agencies offering only the slightest input while pulling in a large retainer from their clients.

Commit yourself to an advertising budget

Don't make the common mistake of announcing to an agency, "I have a lot of ideas for promoting my business, but I don't have any money." If your business isn't committed to purchasing quality creative work, you shouldn't be talking to advertising agencies. If you are unsure how much of a budget you will need to promote your product or service effectively, most agencies are willing to guide you through this process. This takes a certain amount of trust on your part, and developing that confidence should be an important part of your evaluation process.

A feeling of trust

If you don't feel you can trust the people in your agency, you may be putting your business and livelihood into the wrong hands. If you feel you are being misled by an agency, confront them — it may just be a misunderstanding. Communication is the key, and being able to trust your agency is of the highest importance to your business.

Develop a relationship

A loyal working relationship with your agency will work wonders. Many agencies will bend over backwards for a loyal customer, giving preferential attention to clients with whom they've developed a solid relationship. Beyond that a relationship with an agency is critical in terms of creating a cohesive corporate image. The better an agency knows your business, and the more they work on your projects, the more equipped they will be able to anticipate your needs, catch things you may have missed, and produce advertising that will effectively appeal to your customers. Keep in mind that the agency you choose will also have a large stake in your success (both personally and as a business), whereas an agency working on a project-by-project basis may not feel the same sort of commitment to you or your company.

The mystification factor

Don't allow yourself to fall victim to mystification. If you don't understand the terminology or processes the agency is describing to you, ask questions. If they're not willing to explain things, or they make you feel foolish for asking, they are not the agency for you. I often wish my clients would ask more questions. I love to explain things, and doing so goes a long way toward making my job that much easier by having them understand more of the processes involved.

Don't expect an agency to do work for you on spec

Most agencies don't have the manpower or resources to do work on spec for every client they are pitching. Those that do work on spec will make up their time spent by charging for it later with inflated pricing. Remember, you almost never get anything for free. If you choose agencies which do spec work in your review, the pricing you receive from them will most certainly reflect the previously "free" work. You may even end up indirectly paying for the spec work they did for other clients they pitched but did not get.

An estimate is just an estimate

If requiring competitive estimates is part of your agency review process, keep in mind that buying creative services isn't like buying a product with a fixed price. In fact, it's like nothing you've ever bought before, and there are many intangibles that factor into the price of a project. When comparing bids with varying prices, keep in mind the best value may not be the lowest price. Again, the most important factors are quality and effectiveness of the work. Quality, because it reflects on you as a business, and effectiveness because the bottom line is sales.

Talk to them

The best way to be confident that you are selecting the right agency, is to talk with them. Tour their offices, go out to lunch, sit and chat. Let them show you what kind of people they really are. Pick the things most important to you in an agency (trust, quality of work, effectiveness of work, customer service, etc.) and rate each agency based on what you've learned.

If you're new at marketing a business or if you're very familiar with the review process, selecting an agency can be one of the most difficult decisions you'll make. It's obvious that there is no scientific method for selection. The decision will generally come down to your own judgment or a "gut feeling" — but keep in mind these concepts, it should make the decision a little easier.

Bob Schmitt is Senior Art Director for Jamison Bell Advertising, and has participated in numerous agency reviews, most of which his agency has won. His work recently received "Best Campaign for 1993" honors from the American Marketing Association, San Diego County.