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Archive for August 24th, 2009

Leaping To The Dark Side

I once worked on an account where every week a new rumor or thinly veiled threat floated aroundour agency stating our client wanted to pull the business; away.

We never lost the business but the fear was always there affecting everybody. And its standard operating procedure in many agencies. Read Adweek or Ad Age and youll constantly see the news: Another day another agency fired or another account in review.

I cant imagine other professional services face this turnover as muchmdash;corporations dont switch accounting firms or lawyers every 2 years to get a bigger tax refund or lawsuit judgment.

With a lack of trust in agency/client relationships profitability margins of agencies getting ever thinner and clients reviewing their accounts more and more frequently problems seem to stay pervasive. It may just be that the traditional agency model doesnt satisfy the needs of many advertisers.

So why dont more companies set up inhouse ad departments?

Many companies do have inhouse ad departmentsmdash;particularly retailers. But often times these departments are for mostly fastturnaround unglamorous work.

Maybe these companies should consider a department not just for the newspaper inserts or signagemdash;but for the whole shebang.

It strikes me as strange when I read about a client that has an inhouse ad department yet calls a review to parcel out the highprofile glory branding; assignments. It sounds as if the company has no confidence in their own people and I suppose if I were working in that kind of department Id be pissed.

Setting up an advertising department that is capable of doing highlevel creative work would take some effort. There seems to be a stigma for many ad people about the idea of working inhouse at a corporation the implication being theyre not good enough to work at an agency. I believe it can work though.

Would working in a corporate environment inhibit creativity? No more so than working in a bureaucratic ad agency run by fear. Could an inhouse agency attract the highest level of talent? If there were sufficient enough high profile assignments talent would flock there.

Given a little flexibility to be creative and removing the strains common to so many agency/client conflicts the results could be wonderful. Going inhouse would eliminate the notion that agencies only look out for their own interests not the clients. As long as companies dont perceive ad agencies as being valuable theyll continue to look for alternatives to improve their marketingmdash;be it product placement branded content PR or consulting companies.

The solution may be right in a clients own office.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Branding. Religion. Censorship. Office politics. Global politics. Sexual politics. And getting drunk during a job interview.
Since 2002 Danny G. a.k.a. Dan Goldgeier has been writing the most provocative advertising columns ever published. They’re all witty thoughtful and probing and a must read for those who want a perspective rarely seen in traditional industry publications.
An Atlantabased copywriter and ad school graduate Dan has worked at shops big and small. He reads incessantly about advertising and is a whiz at rock amp; roll trivia. Learn more about him by visiting his copywriting website or AdColumnist.com the View From The Cheap Seats Archive website. You may also find articles by Danny G at TalentZoo.com.