How To Know When You Have The Right Advertising Creative

Being in business takes a lot of chutzpah. There’s just so much to keep track of. At any point, you or someone on your staff may drop the ball, leading to a major problem. One area of business ripe with possible issues is advertising. You may have chosen to work with an advertising creative, opting to delegate this important facet of your business to the ‘pros’, as it were.

But are you sure you made the right call?

All Agencies Are NOT the Same

Clearly, you hired this agency with the expectation that they’d help you reach certain goals. You looked over their client list, checked out the results of their work with other businesses (including competitors), and bringing them onboard felt like a smart decision.

But does it STILL feel that way?

Chances are that after the last 14-16 months, your business has taken a bit of a beating. Luckily, you made it to the other side & are trying your hardest to get back on your feet like the “before times” you once knew. Is your current advertising creative ready to get you over any hump you may face? It’s not an easy question (none of these are, actually), but it’s one that needs to be asked.

Before you up & find another advertising agency, however, you really need to make sure you’ve got the right team on your side. Here are some things to look for:

Are You Getting Pitched?

Everyone in business knows a sales pitch when they hear it. They’ve either been pitched or done the pitching themselves. Either way, it means you’ve been obliterated with a ton of info about how “our way of doing things” will help your business the most. But what about your input? Are you or your team part of the plan? There has to be teamwork had between an advertising agency & their client in order for the relationship to work its best.

You Just Got Served…or did you?

Advertising creatives have more than one client. As this client list grows, it’s not weird to wonder how exactly the agency can give solid attention to everyone. Do you feel as though your ad agency is paying attention to you?

Deserving Service with Interest

So, you’re getting attention from your ad agency. Great, right? Well, not so fast. Are they actually working with you or giving you the minimal amount of work to justify their billing? A band or group on a major label can get ignored or kicked out because the reps who loved them are no longer there and no one else cares for them. When your ad agency gives you minimal effort, you have to wonder if it’s any different than no effort at all.

Are You In or Out of the Box?

Is your advertising creative nothing more than a collection of ‘Yes’ men & women? Are they working off of traditional (read: old) strategies because they’re ‘plug & play’? If your ad agency is not willing to be innovative in their approach, how can you stay on the cutting edge of your industry?

If you’re still wondering whether your advertising creative is right for you, it might come down to figuring out if they are making you happy with the direction of your business. Are you reaching your goals? Even if you’ve got a rockstar relationship with your ad agency, if you’re not hitting the right marks & moving forward, it might be time to look elsewhere.

Trying to find an advertising creative that’s about substance rather than a flashy presentation? Touch base with the folks at MindEcology, an Austin advertising agency that does one thing better than anyone — get results.