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What's the most important reason for picking an outside advertising agency rather than doing the advertising yourself? Objectivity.
But having participated on the agency side in dozens of new-business presentations, I can tell you what the dilemma confronting agency people is: Do we tell the potential client what he ought to do with his advertising, or do we tell the client what we think will get us the account?
From the agency's point of view, the only answer is: You tell the prospect what you think will get you the account. That giant sucking sound you hear in all speculative presentations is objectivity going down the drain. After the advertising runs, most speculative campaigns are spectacular disasters.
On the other hand, many spectacularly successful advertising programs have been launched despite the reluctant approval of skeptical clients who put their faith in the advertising agency and not the proposed advertising.
The key to hiring any professionals, be they doctors, lawyers, or advertising people, is picking the very best you can find and then trusting their judgment. Let's suppose that you've decided to hire an outside advertising agency. How do you find the best agency for your company? What are the most important issues to consider?
Normally, a company calls its current advertising agency and announces it's putting the account up for review. It asks whether the agency wants to participate. That's big mistake number one.
If there's a chance you want to keep your current agency, ask it to present a new campaign. Then...