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Showhorse vs. Workhorse
By Mark Huesman, Creative Director |
At the end of the day, what matters in the advertising agency isn’t glamour versus grindstone; it’s the output—the ability to further the clients we serve. Large agencies have the flash; small agencies have to the focus. Here are some quick insights to how agencies justify and develop cost.
Not all of us play pool at the office.
Hollywood glamorizes this industry more than most. With Emmy Award winning shows like Madmen, it’s easy to get lost in the portrayed lifestyle. All those hours “creating” get billed. I’m not saying creatives, like me, don’t need time to develop inspired and innovative work, but there’s a hefty fee if you want your creative staff to spend four hours developing the perfect headline. On the other hand, being so budget conscious to the point where you get a half hour to create, write and design an ad can be detrimental to its success. The key is to find an agency that maintains a balance between concept and output.
The real cost when everyone puts in their two cents.
A big selling point for larger agencies versus smaller agencies like mine involves the hourly rate. In the Fargo-Moorhead market, a small agency may charge a higher hourly rate as opposed to the large local and Minneapolis agencies. However, the final bill of the large agency will most likely be much higher. Why? The large agencies tend to shower clients with more billable employees than small agencies.
Smaller agencies generally include one to three of these people in meetings:
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The Account Executive/Project Manager
- The Creative Director
- The Web Developer/Interactive Director
Large agencies may have the following:
- The Account Executive
- The Assistant Account Manager
- The Creative Director
- The Assistant Creative Director
- The Copy Director
- The Project Manager
- The Brand Manager
- The Media Buyer
- The Interactive Director
At this point, you probably understand a large agency costs more for its expertise and variety of experts, but can you justify, accept and swallow the difference in price? The last example used an even amount of time, one hour. Assume everyone in the meeting speaks for a half hour. Here’s a more accurate scope of what a meeting would cost.
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Zombies: Advertisers
After An Apocalypse
By Jason Jacobson
Let’s assume for a minute, the worst is going to happen. Glacier melting leads to floods more epic than that Kevin Costner bomb, Waterworld. Aliens invade. Volcanos erupt, while the tectonic plates slam into each other like they were in a Nirvana mosh pit circa 1993. Or, someone pushes the launch button on all the world’s nukes or a zombie epidemic breaks out. Either way, the world has been pretty much destroyed.
Miraculously, you survive.
For the sake of this article, let’s say there was a zombie attack. It’s probably the most Disney appropriate of all the previous rapture scenarios. And to be honest, zombies make for a better story. While hiding out, you discover a group of fellow survivors have come to save you, and together, you will start anew. Soon, you realize your little community has much more to worry about than severing the spinal cord of brain hungry undead.
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