Finding a Creative Agency
Guide to choosing the ideal creative agency
Finding a needle in the hay stick is what exactly refers to finding the right advertising agency for taking your business to the top of the ladder and beyond. What exactly is advertising? Put in simple words it is the dissemination of a message to the right people at the right time via the right medium. Renowned branding consultant Simon Mainwaring has rightly said, "Transforming a brand into a socially responsible leader doesn't happen overnight by simply writing new marketing and advertising strategies. It takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find credible and aligned with their values."
Be it the past, present or future, the basic purpose of advertising is the same. While there are many top players who have established their own departments for taking of branding and advertising but not everyone has the time or budget of going for this and thus the need to hire an expert firm arises. There are a slew of factors that govern the choice of the right creative agency including the budget, the target audience, the reach, scope, vision, mission and the list is exhaustive. There are many companies that have branding and advertising at the bottom of their ‘to do' list and this is where they go wrong.
Advertising is the crux of any business as it takes more than money to sway a business. You will need to have an Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics (A. I. D) degree to get by and that is exactly where the work starts. Coke has come a long way today because of Ogilvy that has created a mass brand that all reckon with, be it young or old. That is what role ingenious firms play for a brand.
First things first. Before you actually start looking for that perfect creative agency that will hold your hands and move towards a brighter future, there is one thing that needs to be pondered over. Why exactly do you need one? Are you planning to accelerate your business, strengthen your brand, redesign or relaunch your business or are you looking to broaden your horizons by exploring new territories? Once you set the priorities right, it's time to take the plunge.
So here are the steps you may follow:
Look out for a creative agency
If you search on the internet, there are hoards of big and small creative agencies that will take care of all your branding and marketing needs. But the most important question is how to choose from so many different options and what exactly to look for as if you visit the websites of any agency, the impression is great but that will surely not mean that it is a worthy option. So while finding an advertising agency, the best option is to get in touch with your business contacts and associations for references. This actually works as the agency that these people would be working with will have the same interest area and word of mouth sure is a powerful tool.
The target audience and reach will determine whether you need a local or nationalized agency as if you are a chain that has multiple stores in almost every city then a local agency would be of no use and you will need to go for someone who has a pan-India reach. If you want to rely on your own instincts, then you can probably see the campaigns and clientele of the ad agency and decide for yourself.
Call for a proposal
Once you have in front of you, the final list of around 5-10 agencies that you have shortlisted from different sources, it is time to call them and ask them to send you a proposal. The time taken by the organization to send the proposal, the concept, the thought, words and their interest are enough to give you an insight into their working and help make the right choice.
Ideas that click
‘Out of the box' ideas are what every company looks forward to in the present times. A firm that presents something that they may have done for a client in the past, should be a strict no. You cannot afford someone for whom freshness is just a word. Novelty is what sells and that is exactly what you need. No need to become a lean and mean machine and that is something that you need to keep a check on. Here again planning comes into play and it is very important that the creative entity you are looking for understands the value of fresh. The vision of an agency can also help ascertain whether they are a must have or a must not to have for you.There is a famous saying that works well in this context. "Genius is seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking what no one has thought."
Pay a visit
When it comes to gauging the creativity aspect while choosing the agency, it is imperative that you visit the place of operation. The environment that the creative guys work in also determines the scope of their work and their innovative sense. Go and check out their workplace and you are bound to find what you are looking for. Piyush Pandey is famous for giving his creative staff all the freedom that they need as if believes in the concept of creative space.
The comfort zone of the creative staff is going to pay off well in the future and if they are in love with your product, just stop searching and sign the deal. They are the ones you need.
Coming face to face with the creators
Once the proposal stage is cleared it is time for a one on one. Meeting is an important step and it will be helpful if you have done your homework well. This strategic meeting would work as an eye opener and give an understanding of all creative scope for your business and a worthy agency would go ahead and take pains of bringing a brief presentation on how they can help your business grow manifold.
It's time to do some brainstorming to get an idea on what all work would be done and it is important that you understand and work according to your priorities and not leave everything on the agency as they might at times give more focus to something that can be left behind the others. Do not expect the creative guys to do a lot of work on your brand before you are actually a client as this is seriously not possible. Make your final decision based on your budget, the potential of the agency in taking your goals forward in the right direction and someone who knows a lot about the sector in which your business falls.
To Err is Human
In the end remember one thing, no matter even if you choose the best, things may go wrong at times. Understand that. It has happened with major brands like Pepsico when they took a dig at Hrithik in one of their campaigns and that backfired. The ad man Prahlad Kakkar was the man who was at the helm of affairs there, but they worked on it and there is a constant brawl between Coca Cola and Pepsico for emerging on top and both are at that position. Choose your agency wisely. It is time consuming but then it is for your own good.
Finding a needle in the hay stick is what exactly refers to finding the right advertising agency for taking your business to the top of the ladder and beyond. What exactly is advertising? Put in simple words it is the dissemination of a message to the right people at the right time via the right medium. Renowned branding consultant Simon Mainwaring has rightly said, "Transforming a brand into a socially responsible leader doesn't happen overnight by simply writing new marketing and advertising strategies. It takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find credible and aligned with their values."
Be it the past, present or future, the basic purpose of advertising is the same. While there are many top players who have established their own departments for taking of branding and advertising but not everyone has the time or budget of going for this and thus the need to hire an expert firm arises. There are a slew of factors that govern the choice of the right creative agency including the budget, the target audience, the reach, scope, vision, mission and the list is exhaustive. There are many companies that have branding and advertising at the bottom of their ‘to do' list and this is where they go wrong.
Advertising is the crux of any business as it takes more than money to sway a business. You will need to have an Advertising, Initiative, and Dynamics (A. I. D) degree to get by and that is exactly where the work starts. Coke has come a long way today because of Ogilvy that has created a mass brand that all reckon with, be it young or old. That is what role ingenious firms play for a brand.
First things first. Before you actually start looking for that perfect creative agency that will hold your hands and move towards a brighter future, there is one thing that needs to be pondered over. Why exactly do you need one? Are you planning to accelerate your business, strengthen your brand, redesign or relaunch your business or are you looking to broaden your horizons by exploring new territories? Once you set the priorities right, it's time to take the plunge.
So here are the steps you may follow:
Look out for a creative agency
If you search on the internet, there are hoards of big and small creative agencies that will take care of all your branding and marketing needs. But the most important question is how to choose from so many different options and what exactly to look for as if you visit the websites of any agency, the impression is great but that will surely not mean that it is a worthy option. So while finding an advertising agency, the best option is to get in touch with your business contacts and associations for references. This actually works as the agency that these people would be working with will have the same interest area and word of mouth sure is a powerful tool.
The target audience and reach will determine whether you need a local or nationalized agency as if you are a chain that has multiple stores in almost every city then a local agency would be of no use and you will need to go for someone who has a pan-India reach. If you want to rely on your own instincts, then you can probably see the campaigns and clientele of the ad agency and decide for yourself.
Call for a proposal
Once you have in front of you, the final list of around 5-10 agencies that you have shortlisted from different sources, it is time to call them and ask them to send you a proposal. The time taken by the organization to send the proposal, the concept, the thought, words and their interest are enough to give you an insight into their working and help make the right choice.
Ideas that click
‘Out of the box' ideas are what every company looks forward to in the present times. A firm that presents something that they may have done for a client in the past, should be a strict no. You cannot afford someone for whom freshness is just a word. Novelty is what sells and that is exactly what you need. No need to become a lean and mean machine and that is something that you need to keep a check on. Here again planning comes into play and it is very important that the creative entity you are looking for understands the value of fresh. The vision of an agency can also help ascertain whether they are a must have or a must not to have for you.There is a famous saying that works well in this context. "Genius is seeing what everyone has seen, and thinking what no one has thought."
Pay a visit
When it comes to gauging the creativity aspect while choosing the agency, it is imperative that you visit the place of operation. The environment that the creative guys work in also determines the scope of their work and their innovative sense. Go and check out their workplace and you are bound to find what you are looking for. Piyush Pandey is famous for giving his creative staff all the freedom that they need as if believes in the concept of creative space.
The comfort zone of the creative staff is going to pay off well in the future and if they are in love with your product, just stop searching and sign the deal. They are the ones you need.
Coming face to face with the creators
Once the proposal stage is cleared it is time for a one on one. Meeting is an important step and it will be helpful if you have done your homework well. This strategic meeting would work as an eye opener and give an understanding of all creative scope for your business and a worthy agency would go ahead and take pains of bringing a brief presentation on how they can help your business grow manifold.
It's time to do some brainstorming to get an idea on what all work would be done and it is important that you understand and work according to your priorities and not leave everything on the agency as they might at times give more focus to something that can be left behind the others. Do not expect the creative guys to do a lot of work on your brand before you are actually a client as this is seriously not possible. Make your final decision based on your budget, the potential of the agency in taking your goals forward in the right direction and someone who knows a lot about the sector in which your business falls.
To Err is Human
In the end remember one thing, no matter even if you choose the best, things may go wrong at times. Understand that. It has happened with major brands like Pepsico when they took a dig at Hrithik in one of their campaigns and that backfired. The ad man Prahlad Kakkar was the man who was at the helm of affairs there, but they worked on it and there is a constant brawl between Coca Cola and Pepsico for emerging on top and both are at that position. Choose your agency wisely. It is time consuming but then it is for your own good.
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