by Charlie Van Vechten

What do you really want from a creative agency? The truthful answer to that question has a lot to do with the future effectiveness of your marketing materials.

Let me explain. It has been my experience over the past 20 years, that when many clients first engage with us, they are focused primarily on getting a single job done: be it a website, brochure, or other brand awareness project. Often an external deadline is fast approaching (in the form of a trade show, a product launch, or a new corporate initiative), and there are certain marketing elements that need to be created, updated, or revised.

Clients have a timeline to meet, and while they certainly say they want the best, the emphasis is on meeting the deadline and sticking to some existing idea about how it should look or feel, not on taking full advantage of all the design firm has to offer. They miss tapping into the insight and expertise that is available – which might have taken the project, and their brand, to a different level – and instead end up with a result that simply meets their initial objectives: to be delivered on time with the original concept intact. There are no game-changing points of view, no earth-shaking concepts, not even a jump-off-the-page layout… just clean, conventional design, delivered in a flash. In general, there is nothing wrong with that, but as professional designers, we know that truly effective design requires much more effort.

So, how do you, the client, go from getting only what you asked for to getting what you truly deserve? A good first step is to bring the designer to the table much earlier in the process. Oftentimes, clients come to us when many strategic and creative decisions have already been determined. I challenge clients to bring us into the mix much earlier – preferably as soon as an idea has been sparked. That way, we can use our training in strategy and analysis to better craft your goals and supply plans to best meet your objectives.

Bringing on the designer late in the process means that important decisions have already happened. The client feels ownership and may push back when the designer questions those ideas – and then the most common reaction is to acquiesce to the client in order to not ruffle any feathers. Too many creative companies are afraid to tell you what they really think. Instead, they are content to listen to your comments and give you exactly what you are asking for, rather than what you actually need.

Why? Because caring isn’t always easy. If you aren’t willing to see things in the same light as your client – or at least go along for the ride – there’s a good chance you’ll watch that account walk out the door. Caring about a client’s success sometimes means being brave enough to tell them what they need, and not just giving them what they want. Eventually this honesty leads to trust, and ultimately… Results.

Caring can also be an expensive habit. It is also much easier and profitable to just give clients what they are asking for. Most creative firms are paid by the project, with a certain number of edits and revisions included in the bid. Removing the research or discovery process from the equation greatly cuts the amount of creative time a firm needs to spend on a project. But really, that goes against everything a professional designer and brand strategist stands for. It is our duty as designers to question everything in order to bring about the most successful solutions – and often that means helping our clients to see something in a different way.

Does that mean there isn’t any way to get great work quickly?

There is, of course, but it means choosing the right partner. As an owner and creative director, I consider speaking my mind to be part of the job description. Going along with anything and everything to collect a fee is easy; the tougher road is to have long, frank discussions about what you are trying to accomplish in the real world and the best way to meet those goals.

In my agency, this means following a strict creative process that guides us through research, analysis, data, and then, and only then, leads to concepts and executions. It is the responsibility of a creative team to fully understand our clients and their clients. Rather than cashing your check and just agreeing with whatever you put forward, having the strength and conviction to point out weaknesses and new possibilities often leads to the best solutions.

Why bring any of this up? Because the marketplace is flooded with badly-conceived designs and marketing agendas. At a time when so many businesses are struggling, there’s no more room for creative partners who work like “yes men” (and women) with Photoshop skills. Clients need to start expecting results – and expecting their design teams to stand up for their own experience and be willing to give honest input.

Marketing, in all its forms, is too important to be rushed through. As much as it might hurt to ask a client to stop in order to go back to the drawing board, it’s something a design company absolutely should do if they care about your profitability, not to mention the future of the relationship.

If you really want your marketing materials to sing – if you’re looking for the kind of creative team that moves people and sales figures – then find a creative partner who’s willing to see beyond your initial deadline and creative ideas. It’s never easy to have your ideas challenged, but it is a whole lot more profitable.

Advertising on TV has become insanely difficult with the advent of TIVO, DVR, etc.. as consumers are just breezing through the commercials to get to the next segment of “Real Housewives” or whatever else they may be watching. Agencies are now working harder than ever to make their clients ads better and funnier. We have to make sure we STOP consumers from the dreaded “fast forward” that we all love so much. This simple “break the cycle” campaign is SO obvious that I am frankly amazed no one thought of it before. JWT (the Kotex creative agency) gets props for finally delivering to women and consumers everywhere the obvious…tampon commercials are totally ridiculous! I am posting two cohesive campaigns…the first being my absolute favorite. Enjoy and let’s applaud this level of creative in advertising. Which is your favorite?

UbyKotex: So Obnoxious

UbyKotex: Reality Check (P.S. The irony here is that they actually use a shot of butterflies from one of their other commercials….I guess they are making fun of themselves!)

“In 30- and 60-second TV spots, ‘Firsts,’ a voice over underscores the breakthrough nature of Sprint 4G’s roll out by stating that, ‘First resets everything.’ The spot’s visuals showcase a succession of inventions through time — the wheel, the train, the rotary phone, the camera — culminating in Sprint’s delivery of the nation’s first dual-mode 3G/4G phone (marketwatch.com)”

Is Sprint attempting to compare the release of this new “smart-phone” to inventions of the past that have revolutionized the way we live life now? Considering the voice and tone reflected in this commercial and which side of the “smart-phone,” battle you pledge your allegiance to, you may think Sprint has overstepped its bounds in categorizing this new product along with some of the greatest inventions in the history of human existence.

“There have been a number of notable ‘firsts’ in our country’s history and just like many of those innovations Sprint is reshaping how we live, work and play with HTC EVO 4G,” said Bill Morgan, senior vice president of Corporate Marketing, Sprint.

As mobile media continues to grow at an exponential rate, creative advertising agencies must keep a finger on the pulse of what’s new. All platforms, products and operating systems must be considered so that WE can efficiently integrate them into our client’s campaigns. At Jacob Tyler Creative Group, our experience in Web Design, Web Development and Social Media Platform integration helps your business achieve the results you need.

MEDIA: Advertisers Find Creative Ways to Extend Their Mobile, Online Reach

Marty Graham, a freelance writer for the San Diego Business Journal (SDBJ) and very nice woman I should add, wrote this oddly named article that was published on May 31 in the SDBJ printed publication. I will share it with you below but I just wanted to make a few comments. When Marty interviewed me for this article, I had really no idea of the title and what she was trying to accomplish. I asked but it was left rather vague and that she just had some questions regarding interactive advertising and really what differentiates Jacob Tyler as an agency in this space. We spoke for about 30 minutes and to be honest, I see a lot of the conversation in the body of the article. Regardless, the article doesn’t really deliver a focused strategy for the reader. Frankly I would consider it something to be read by a “C” level executive just learning social media basics. As well, I question a few of her comments… Here’s what i mean:

Marty states that Geary Interactive “impressively appears as the second listing on an organic Google search”. I am curious as to what search she is referring. We pride ourselves on our SEO capabilities and yes…while I may be biased, I think we are the best. However, I would like to know what search Geary placed second rank over Jacob Tyler. I am not saying this can’t happen, but I do feel Marty needs to be more clear to her readers. In the sentence (bolded below), she mentions the San Diego Agency “impressively appears as the second listing on an organic Google search”. I would like to know what search she is referring to. I did a search for two different key phrases and didn’t see the results she mentions. In fact, in both cases, Jacob Tyler ranks over Geary. Oh…and yes, for those of you in the know, I did make sure I was searching in a mode that ensured accurate results. Please see my blog titled “Why Google search results can be different on different computers” for more information. See the images below.

Now…keep in mind, this is NOT a slam against Geary Interactive. They are a well respected advertising agency in San Diego and frankly, I respect them. I will say though that if I set my mind to a key phrase that Jacob Tyler wants to own, we will own it and they WILL be below us in organic rankings. Don’t believe me? Search for yourselves and please feel free to comment on the string you find that we are ranked lower. Okay…but back to the point which is I really feel Marty had been more specific on the keyword string she was referring to in her article so the reader can understand. As I see it, we are impressively above them on the page…always.

Marty also mentions Geo-Targeting as it MAY be the next big thing. Really? I think a little more research would show, especially with the 100% per month growth of Four Square that mobile marketing on this level is definitely something that all agencies should be preparing for in their services répertoire.

I’m frustrated and I could really go on and on about this. Regarding the article and title, as a reader I am left disappointed. I really have no clue of an end result I am looking for and I am wondering what creative ways we are extending our mobile reach. Social Media? Mobile Marketing? Geo-targeting ads? These are all buzzwords that the novice business owner may perceive as brilliant and innovative. However, these strategies are imperative to building brands and I feel that more information should be given as to how to go about utilizing these techniques.

My suggestion for the next “interactive” and informational article is to give real-world tips for the executive and team that are in the trenches dealing with the day-to-day issues of marketing via social media, eblasts, youtube, and other viral methods.

Here is the article that was printed.

Interactive advertising, the latest iteration of promoting products and services that relies on real-time feedback, is one of the rare industries that is not only surviving but thriving in these recessionary times.

It’s thriving because it stays on top of the trends driving our lives: the newest technology, including the iPad; the explosive growth of so-called social media; and the zillions of ways that our behavior is measured, from retailer “club cards” to GPS in our phones and cars.

The challenge for advertising agencies is to stay up-to-the-moment with new ideas and fresh media as well as constantly changing consumer information. Advertisers have to be more involved with their marketing.

“Advertisers have less control over their message and have to work to control overall your brand and your company, making sure that you’re doing a good job of presenting yourself,” said John McKusick, head of business process optimization at Geary Interactive — a downtown San Diego agency that impressively appears as the second listing on an organic Google search. “It’s transitioned to social media, you find things by searching there and by your ‘friends’ letting you know. Things are viral now.”

Technology Drives New Ad Strategies

Interactive by nature, the advertising industry’s model changes constantly as technology, activity and what insiders call metrics — the measurement of what people actually do on Web sites as shoppers, friends and commentators — race ahead of them.

“Timing is everything,” said Mike ZeMans, chief experience officer of SiteLab Interactive Inc. “Some clients are very enthusiastic about shiny new objects. We explore how things correlate to the strategy — the business goals and how clients want to achieve success.”

The shiny new objects on the horizon are many – as the iPad breaks new ground with interactive advertising. Hewlett-Packard Development Co. L.P. and Dell are going to slide out their own pads soon.

The bigger screen and more wizardly technology, combined with the promise of geo-locating the user, will drive new strategies.

Charles Wiedenhoft, director of business planning and optimization at Red Door Interactive Inc., said he’s already planning for the changes coming with the technology.

“It will create a lot of opportunities in interactive advertising so ads like Wired magazine’s two-dimensional ads can be video instead of stills,” Wiedenhoft said. “Some of the iPad ads I’ve seen are very engaging, 3-D product views and live data from the Web.”

Advertising will have to be produced with efficiencies that let it work across a variety of media and platforms or it will become very expensive, Wiedenhoft noted. The continuum of mobile, iPad, computer and television platforms, banner and even print ads means a lot of shape-shifting and making buttons work across very different technologies.

Reaching Customers By Location

Geo-targeting may also be the next big thing. Imagine stepping out of a play at the Skylight Theatre in Balboa Park and finding a promotion for dessert or cocktails at the nearby The Prado restaurant on your cell phone, drawn to your phone by its location.

“The potential for tying geo-targeting with social media is enormous,” ZeMans said. “It’s a viable way of drawing and tracking people and getting them information and timely, immediately useful advertising.”

And the quest for brand presence on social media — the catchall phrase for Facebook, Twitter, photo sites like flickr.com, the business connection site LinkedIn, and a dozen other relevant sites where people connect and share information — is growing like crazy.

“It’s rumored that Facebook will be compiling and sharing a lot more information with the Open Graph plug-ins,” Wiedenhoft said. “That’s another way to provide exposure. Any activity being shared on the Web site now can be shared on Facebook.”

The sites and the technology keep changing, and as they change new and previously unknown opportunities, methods and hazards are created.

“With each new advance and iteration, we learn how to make the most of it for our clients,” said Marlene Matheson, chief executive officer of SiteLab Interactive. “We’ve been beta testing for our whole existence.”

Online Ad Strategies Change Weekly

Like other interactive media, working the search engines for top placement and best response continues to change from week to week, as Google and other search engines continually change their algorithms and strategies for selling the ads that make them money.

Search engine optimization — using key words, analysis of what people are searching for and how they are searching, and relying on a myriad of paid and unpaid methods to draw customers to a business — is a process that’s constantly being refined and everything changes, from pay-per-click costs to that secret algorithm.

“We are really a results-oriented business and we realize this is about connecting with people and measuring the impact through metrics,” said Les Kollegian, chief creative officer at Jacob Tyler Creative Group. “Now you can see if you meet your goals by analytics — where they came in and where they exit, when they convert (which means engage in some measurable way) and when they bail. And if we can see where we can improve what we’re doing, we can do it right away.”

The biggest change in advertising is in what it demands of clients. While the costs of online promotions are lower than traditional media, the advertiser is going to have to participate in selling the business every day. And the demands on advertisers to participate in their promotions will only continue to grow.

“Marketing now involves everyone in the company,” McKusick said. “What is the CEO tweeting, what groups are your CFO involved in, what are your employees putting on flickr?”

The business’s culture becomes its marketing platform and that can mean putting personality on display.

Personality in Professional Messages

For David Contois, president of BluSkye Group, that means striking a balance between personal and professional information.

“Social media is about being social, whatever that means to you,” he said. “We’re all our own publishers now and the personality is an integral piece of marketing.”

Though promoting a business’s personality and products through social media, where a lot of people fill the space with food, travel, kids, dogs and chat, seems uncomfortable at first, the interactive professionals say it’s not just the future, it’s the present.

“If you’re doing it, it will be a benefit to your whole business,” McKusick added. “If your business is not ready to participate in social media, you’re too late!”