How to Start an Advertising Agency

An Advertising business opportunity on the Internet is just exploding with possibilities. This is one of the most profitable endeavors available in the field of Internet advertising. If you have advertising experience and know even the basics of Internet, you have potential to start your own advertising business on the Internet.

There are many areas of the Internet that need to be learned before starting your advertising business opportunity. Multi level marketing, or MLM, is one way of generating advertising and sales at the same time. MLM is a system that allows someone to collect commissions on their own sales as well as on people they recruit under them. This used to be known as pyramid schemes.

MLM has become very popular with product sales, helping the organization build wealth by paying commissions on multiple levels. The concept from an advertising point of view is great, the more motivation you have to recruit people to sell your product, the more your product is out there on the market. Some examples of companies that use MLM are nutritional product lines, make up product lines, and home decoration lines.

Multi level marketing has been around for years and not likely to go away anytime soon. Focus needs to be clear however on what the drive is for the company. If your focus is only on recruiting people to recruit more people, then your product sales are going to suffer. When your product sales suffer, your business as a whole suffers and then no one wants to be a part of the industry. Keep your focus when dealing with MLM with your advertising business opportunity.

Ezines are another emerging way to get a product or service out to the public. Ezines, or electronic magazines, are usually specialized to a certain areas of interest. This is very much like conventional magazines. However, advertising in ezines is low-cost and even occasionally free. Another advertising business opportunity that is wide open.

Ezines in themselves will need advertising to get their word out. A perfectly written ezine does no one any good if no one knows that it is out there to be seen. Finding an audience for your ezine may be easier than you think. Make sure when going into ezines that you know your material and that the writing is concise and accurate.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a proven method of advertising on the Internet and a field, which is very much in demand at this time. SEO is a system of writing web content that uses specific key words and phrases that will pull the page up when that keyword or phrase is typed into any of the search engines. Knowing how to effectively use keywords to get a site recognized is critical for small businesses on the web.

When you open a search engine such as 'Yahoo!' or 'Google', and type in the phrase Internet advertising, you will get a list of results. Those results are formulated by the words Internet and advertising. Sites that have those two words incorporated consistently throughout the site will come up on the list. These lists are in order by the most hit on sites at the top of this list. Of course, that is where you want your advertising business opportunity clients to be.

Educating your self on these concepts and a few more will allow you to start marketing your Internet advertising business. Becoming an Internet business advertising consultant to companies who are looking to expand their presence on the web is a first step in building your reputation and presence in this field.

You must have a well-written profile centered on your Internet advertising experience and an up to date resume'. Businesses today are being inundated with new, and sometimes bogus, advertising opportunities and you need to stand out above all those other offers. Keep your presence, online and in the field, professional at all times and make sure you can deliver what you promise. With those things in mind, you should be successful.

Future Visions of the Auto Industry and Automotive Advertising Based on What Was and What Is

Auto industry social networks all have different rules and protocols to create their unique identities in the auto industry and the inter-dependent automotive advertising industry. While there are differences in format, content and contributors they share the common goal to educate their community members by sharing best practices and insights with the concept that a rising tide floats all boats. To provide clarity and share my vision of the future of the retail auto industry and automotive advertising it must be framed it in the context of our changing geo-political and economic environment. Once the foundation of today is built on the broad picture of our world economy and politic, then the role of the Internet and related technologies can be applied to the one constant that we can all depend on -- human nature -- to help define tomorrow as I see it.

Any competitive business model must be built to accommodate tomorrow as well as today. Today is obvious. Sales volume, profit margins and inventory are down across all brands. Consumer confidence is falling as unemployment is rising even in the face of the expected temporary increase when the million plus census workers and various government employees -- such as the sixteen thousand IRS agents to police our new health care system -- are artificially added to the equation. Wholesale and retail credit lines are restricted by both natural business cycles and government intervention. Our economy is directly linked to the world economy along both monetary and political lines and the United States as well as our European trading partners are faced with excessive debt and unstable monetary systems. Our monetization of our debt -- basically the fact that we loaned ourselves the money we needed to fund our growing debt by printing more money, since no one else would lend it to us -- has insured the inevitable inflation of our dollar or some similar correction to our monetary system. This anticipated correction is already supported when observing the situation maturing in Greece, Portugal, Spain and other European Countries tied to the Euro and the International Monetary Fund, (IMF). No one has a crystal ball, so the only way to plan for tomorrow is to recap today's critical issues that didn't exist yesterday. It is these changes in -- what was -- vs. -- what is -- that will likely define -- what will be and the actions that auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies must take to remain profitable and competitive in unchartered waters.

The current administration was voted in on a platform of hope and change with the expectation that the promised transformation of America would take place within the confines of our constitution and in consideration of our established belief in a free marketplace. The redistribution of wealth was understood by most to reflect the giving nature of the American people as a moral and sharing society. Unfortunately, the transformation began in ways that could not have been imagined by the majority that voted for it with an agenda that is only now coming to light. The inherited financial burdens on our banking system that justified the need for change were matured across Republican and Democratic party lines -- as evidenced by the contributions of Fannie May and Freddie Mac to our mortgage crisis and the preferred treatment enjoyed by the unions, Goldman Sachs, AIG and other entities on Wall Street supported by the progressive political movement that is represented within both parties.

By way of disclaimer, I recognize that approximately 30% of our population believes in the collective -- We the people -- and the associated movement for the -- workers of the world to unite -- vs. the framers of the constitution that defined it as the individual -- We The People -- and the rights of the individual as a contributing member of the whole. That said, as the President has clearly stated, elections have consequences and I will attempt to limit my comments and future visions to only those actions that have or will have a direct impact on the auto industry and the automotive advertising agencies that are engaged to serve it.

The empowerment of the unions in the formation of Government Motors is already impacting the marketplace even while it is being challenged in the courts. The mandated consolidation of the retail distribution channels for General Motors and Chrysler preserved the interest of the unions over the guaranteed bond holders and independent dealers contrary to established rules of law. This precedence diluted expectations of both investors and corporations to rely on binding contracts and individual rights in favor of the collective we that our evolving society is expected to serve. Recent adjustments to the language in a variety of Federal powers have impacted previously accepted State and individual rights which must also be considered when projecting the future of the auto industry and automotive advertising -- if not our country as a whole.

For example, the change in the definition of eminent domain from taking personal property -- for public use -- to the new definition -- for public good -- has already resulted in private and commercial property being taken at distressed market values and given to other individuals that promised a higher tax base to the governing authority based on their position that the additional tax revenue was for the public good. Similarly, the ownership of water rights in the United States has been changed from the previous Federal ownership of all -- navigable waterways -- to include -- all waterways -- such as ponds, surface streams and basically any water that the government determines can be used for the public good. The potential impact on the farming industry and our food supplies evidence a shift in government control of society that must be considered when projecting the future of any industry -- including our beloved auto industry.

Given the government takeover of the banking industry, General Motors, Chrysler, Health Care and Student Loans that are now part of our history, the point becomes self evident. These single word changes and government takeover of entire industries for the public good dilute individual and corporate rights in favor of the rights of the collective. This is a basic step in the process of redistributing the wealth in accordance with Socialistic and Marxist principles. I am not judging the validity of any of these differing political philosophies since it would risk my ability to remain unbiased in my evaluation of present and pending opportunities in the auto industry. My intent is not to defend our previous constitutional republic over the shift to a Socialistic or Marxist democratic society, but rather to apply them when preparing a business model moving forward for my auto dealer / vendor clients and affiliated automotive advertising agencies.

For example, the recess appointment of Craig Becker as member of the five seat body of the National Labor Relations Board, (NLRB), suggests the intent of the administration to resume its push for the Card Check Regulation that is designed to facilitate unionizing all businesses in the United States. Recess appointments are an accepted practice used by previous administrations to bypass the Congress and the Senate to fill cabinet positions with individuals that are often blocked by partisan agendas. However, Mr. Becker was challenged in a bi-partisan manner based on his role as a senior attorney for the Unions including the CIO and the Service Employees International Union, (S.E.I.U), just before his appointment. The NLRB decides cases involving workers' rights which directly impacts larger issues between Democrats and their labor allies vs. stated Republican party interests and those of the corporate world When coupled with the intent of Card Check regulation to eliminate the right of workers to a private vote to determine if a business can be unionized, the likelihood that retail auto dealerships will be forced to become union shops becomes a real possibility. The regulation also allows the government to intervene in the event that an employer challenges a union take over with a Federal administrator enforcing the union proposals as to wage and other terms and conditions of employment pending a final determination. Based on reduced sales volume, profit margins and increased costs of doing business the inevitability of these privately held dealerships collapsing under the financial weight of union demands is painfully obvious to any auto dealer that understands his cost of sales line items and their impact on his shrinking bottom line.

Similarly, the administration's success in manipulating the processes in the Congress to pass its version of Health Care reform will increase expenses to auto dealers regarding insurance costs for their employees either in the form of forced coverage or penalties which must now be factored into projected operational expenses. These expenses may pale in comparison to other increases in the cost of doing business if the administrations' next stated goal to enforce Cap and Trade regulations are passed. This legislation promises to raise the cost of electricity and other costs of goods in America on many energy related fronts.

For those not familiar with Cap and Trade regulations, think of it as a tax on carbon emissions that would be collected by yet another government controlled body to pay restitution to third world countries who have been breathing our pollution and suffering from its impact on global warming. Of course the same scientists that collected the evidence that global warming exists which supported this legislation have since reversed their position while confessing that they manipulated the data. However, that revelation has not slowed the administrations' desire to move forward. In fact, they have empowered the Environment Protection Agency, (E.P.A.), to intercede and impose carbon taxes by claiming that carbon is a poisonous gas which they are authorized to restrict. Either way, the taxes will be imposed on American industry while other industrialized countries have already reversed their positions on imposing these same fees. This inequity in manufacturing costs will further reduce the ability for American manufacturers to compete in the world economy and will likely force the exit of many carbon producing industries to countries that do not impose these additional costs while taking their jobs with them.

Itemizing -- what is -- vs. -- what was -- has little value other than to cause panic when people realize that there is little that they can do to reverse the changes that they voted in. However, if properly framed in a problem solution format it can provide an opportunity for those that accept -- what is, forget -- what was, and work towards -- what can be. Now comes the good news!

The solution to surviving the promised redistribution of wealth from the perspective of auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies lies in their use of technology to reduce and even eliminate certain fixed and semi-variable expenses. Brick and mortar facilities are often financed with mortgage terms and/or rent factors that were based on now dated real estate values and anticipated sales volume and profit margins to carry the debt service. The commercial real estate bubble of over one trillion dollars coming due over the next eighteen months with no current resource of funds to replace maturing commercial mortgages promise to exasperate already reduced equity positions for auto dealers. The related unsustainable debt service demands a change in the ways that vehicles are sold in the United States; can you say Internet!

Similarly, current staffing needs are often related to processes that are labor intensive. The associated human resource expense and exposure is based on a business model that is antiquated in the face of potential union intervention and government controls; can you say Technology!

Tax consequences resulting from LIFO credits that impacted auto dealerships who could not maintain inventory levels projected in their annual computations due to issues beyond their control are eliminating annual profits. As a direct result of all of these cumulative issues, even captive lenders are balking on maintaining floor plan credit lines or real estate mortgages. Minimum working capital requirements for auto dealers faced with reduced sales, profits and equity to present as collateral for much needed financing has severely limited dealer options to acquire funds to maintain operations.

As already hinted, the solution lies in shifting the focus form brick and mortar facilities to new online virtual showrooms and other Internet based applications that provide more efficient selling processes. Of course real world facilities for sales and service are still part of the projected solution as are the people that will be required to staff them. All processes start and end with people and human nature has and will survive on the Internet. However, the allocation of these resources and the associated expenses must be reduced in the face of the changes already in place as well as those being contemplated to accommodate our new role in a world economy.

Today's car sales person must be educated to use new technologies and Internet based selling systems much like previous generations needed to be trained with the skills of a mechanized society versus an agricultural one. Computers are already an integral part of our culture so the transition shouldn't be as hard as some may perceive. Similarly, large central distribution channels that used to provide efficiencies for manufacturing and retail outlets have been replaced by more cost effective online linked resources across the World Wide Web that reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses in a shared manner that didn't exist before the Internet Super Highway.

Consumers have already been empowered by the Internet to bypass the auto dealer in both the real and the virtual world as the source for the information that they need to purchase a vehicle. Seeking the path of least resistance to satisfy a need is an established element in human nature. An auto dealers ability to accommodate their customers preference to be in charge of their vehicle purchase will be the key to their survival now and in the future. Online customer interaction platforms already allow a dealer to accommodate a two way video communication with real time interaction with the online shopper/buyer sourced from data on the auto dealer's DMS and linked to their CRM. The transparency of this negotiation process allows the dealer to crash through the glass wall of the Internet with the ability to push and pull the same material that they can at their dealership. The result is the opportunity to accommodate an online transaction with the inevitable ability to reduce staff and facility needs in the real world along with the associated expenses and increased profits.

Social networking is another technology based solution that capitalizes on human nature which promises to change the face of the auto industry and the resources available to automotive advertising agencies to help their auto dealers sell more for less in the future. Consumer centric inventory based marketing platforms fueled by social networking communities that provide word of mouth advertising to virally extend the auto dealer's branding and marketing messages represent the next generation of applied social media. C2C marketing messaging to social networking communities from the inside out vs. the now dated attempts to market to online communities with B2C messages from the outside in builds on established protocols in social media. Next generation platforms promise to monetize social media for automotive advertising agencies with integrated Ask-A-Friend / Tell-A-Friend features that allow online shoppers to solicit opinions from friends and family. Customer driven posts on their Face Book page drags the dealership and their vehicle into the conversation with the obvious advantage of the increased exposure and the associated viral coefficient to extend their message and online footprint for potential customers linked to the initial online shopper. Google agrees as evidenced by their weighted consideration of real time social media which quantifies the R.O.I. for the dealer with improved S.E.O. for the sourcing dealer's expanding virtual showroom.

Other technology based solutions that improve online marketing processes converts the pictures on an auto dealer's web site to professional quality videos with human voice placed on the auto dealer's site, all third party marketing sites and even the search engines through a dedicated API with You Tube -- further evidence the ability of auto dealers to expand beyond the limitations of their brick and mortar facilities and in-house support staff. Extended social networking platforms which allow an auto dealer to empower their sales staff to develop their own websites to market to their spheres of influence with management controls to moderate content and monitor use to prevent employee abuse exist today with the promise to be more widely used tomorrow to build the vision of what will be in the face of a challenging economy.

To extend my vision for the auto industry beyond the technologies that exist today requires a similar understanding that expenses and staff need to be consolidated beyond current expectations. Limited resources for consumers to purchase, finance and/or lease their vehicles won't eliminate their need for transportation. Future financial instruments that are a hybrid of a lease and a rental agreement could allow consumers access to a pool of vehicles in a convenient central location where their Drivers License could act as a key and a charge card to apply charges against pre-paid transportation credits deducted by their employers and controlled by the government to track personal activities and location along with socially accepted consumption of our limited resources. I recognize that the big brother flavor of that vision may seem foreign in the context of what was and is, but we are talking about what will be based on the new collective society that our country has moved towards.

As for the role of the OEM and the auto dealer in the future, it would be reasonable to accept that the government's existing control of the auto and banking industry will extend into the energy industry which will set the stage for the government determining which vehicles could be manufactured and/or imported and placed into the transportation pools with the locations determined by public transportation hubs that link to local distribution centers. The government currently owns 51 % of all real estate in the country through their mortgage interests in Fannie May and Freddie Mack and the pending commercial real estate bubble promises to shift a great deal more to public control. In addition. the government has recently changed the funding available to both organizations to be considered unlimited with the full faith and backing of the United States Treasury. That action coupled with the previously stated changes in eminent domain and the fact that millions of acres of resource rich land was recently acquired by the government to build additional -- national monuments -- suggests that land will be made available as needed to accomplish this community transportation system for the public good. Of course government employees will be needed to manage and staff these transportation hubs which would likely represent the auto dealer of the future.

Simply put, my future visions of the auto industry and automotive advertising is built on the past and the present with a recognition of what will be if we continue on the path that we have already chosen. I assume the constant of human nature and the role of technology in our evolution to date with the expectation that neither will change. Of course, there are consequences to elections so I suppose that I should update my projections after November, 2010 and the presidential election in 2012. In any case, the movement from the real to the virtual world has already started and will surely continue so that part of the vision should remain clear.

Highly Confidential Report: What Advertising Agencies Don't Want You to Know

The other day a business associate emailed me a revealing report, 'What advertising agencies don't want you to know.'

To be candidly honest, I read a lot of academic reports, industry-specific white papers, case studies and other data-driven material because there is a lot of stuff about business I really don't know even though I am very successful.

Ideas grow stale fast, especially when you deal with the same people in the same industry for years and years. Everybody reads the same stuff, markets the same way, has the same sales literature, etc. But every now and then when I come across those 'golden nuggets' I hold on to them, just like the advertising gurus who rely on those invaluable 'swipe files' when they are at a loss for words.

With that in mind, allow me to introduce...

5 shocking yet 'golden nuggets' direct from my personal vault

When it comes to advertising, most people THROW THEIR MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN. The sad part is they don't even realize they are operating from a pre-conditioned response they acquired in the past. Even worse, they unconsciously rely on a shotgun approach to advertising. This way of thinking can put people out of business - FAST. The first, and perhaps most important step, is for people to realize what they are doing and then admit to it.
I personally know people who have sabotaged their own success because of the unconscious decisions they were making. For example, a lot of people run radio spot ads during the morning and afternoon rush hour. Some agencies tell their clients it is an advertising must. For some it works, but for most it doesn't. So-called business professionals continue to throw their hard-earned money at these radio ads without considering more viable options or the facts.

America is the No. 1 consumer of coffee in the world. As such, there are a lot of caffeine-induced people driving around with short-attention spans. I don't know about you, but I haven't paid attention to a radio ad since 1987 - and I don't need coffee to function. From the remote control to TiVo to Google, everything these days is built to appease our extremely short attention spans.

Every day on my commute to work I pass a series of billboards on I-95. I never look at billboards, although they are in my peripheral. One day I decided to actually pay attention to those $3,000 ads. There was a billboard for a local news station (news is too sensationalized), a billboard for a swimsuit company (not interested), pest control (no bugs), the circus (no children) and so on. Yes, billboards receive tremendous amounts of impressions - and happen to cost the least per impression of any advertising medium available. But that doesn't mean the people who are looking at them need what is being sold.
Is the competition advertising on television? If they are, is it a large multinational or a local brick and mortar? Local programming can set a business back thousands of dollars; prime time is six figures. Do you watch T.V. just for the ads? The only time of the year people go out of their way to watch T.V. ads is during the Super Bowl.
Do you know which media category generates sales upwards of $19 billion annually, making it the HIGHEST GROSSING ADVERTISING CATEGORY known to man? The answer is promotional products.

Let me put that into perspective. Sally, our guinea pig, barely has time to watch the morning news while preparing breakfast and a snack for lunch. Before she leaves the house she pours some coffee into a branded promotional tumbler. Oops...she was in such a rush she forgot her iPod, which she listens to religiously every morning to work. Sally puts on the radio and quickly rediscovers why she hasn't turned it on since she graduated college. She decides some low background noise is better than none as she takes another sip from that branded tumbler.

During the 20-minute commute to work she passes numerous billboards, none of which cause her to pick up the phone. By the time she pulls into her space she must have looked at the company name branded right smack on the front of that tastefully done tumbler about 18 times. Figuring Sally works five days a week, she must carry around that branded promo product 260 days out of the year. That means the company, which sells a nutritional supplement she likes, registered 4,680 impressions. Assuming Sally cleans her tumbler, feel free to add to that number.

P.S. Most people don't consider promotional items as a viable choice in any advertising campaign, much less consider it one of the most powerful ways you can promote your business. If you are not offering branded promotional items to your current customer base either as giveaways or along with your other advertising streams I'll let you in on a little secret: your competition already does!

Internet Advertising Agency

High profile clients are the backbone of an ad agency. This list includes businessmen, corporate persons, owner of non-profit organizations and many more. Some agencies are open to all kinds of services and facilities known as multifaceted advertising agencies, whereas some are restricted to their services. Some agencies only offer media planning service.

There are some clients who prefer to select those agencies which have limited services. It is basically related to some advertising planning and intense co-ordination. So, the advertisers go for the strategic planning of their own advertising function. It gives greater prospect of business to both the clients and the agencies. The types of agencies are discussed in details below:

1) Special Advertising Service: These kinds of agencies deal with sectors such as recruitment, retail, classifieds, yellow pages, investment, industrial, medical, travel, help wanted, direct response oriented and many more. This agency provides full-fledged service without restricting to any specific sector.

2) Interactive Services: It is possible to differentiate these services by their offer of mix web design, internet marketing, search engine marketing and also e-commerce consultant. Actually, these services came in the world of Internet even before the advertising agencies started to emerge.

3) Search Engine Service: After PPC management started emerging in the market, the search engine services have been doing good business with the customers.

4) Social Media Service: These are specialized in promotion of brands in various social platforms such as social networking sites, blogs, discussion forums, Question & answer sites, microblogs and many more.

5) Social Media: This is a kind of legal communication services built on the reputation and the work is delivered through print format, video, mobile and web communications.

6) Healthcare Communications: These agencies are specialized in strategic communications for all Healthcare industries. The pharmaceutical companies and the life science centers are the main clients in this case.

7) Medical Education Service: Internet advertising agency providing this service is specialized in promotional education as well as medicinal education. This service is taken by the medical professionals as well as students.

8) Technical Service: This is about the technical aspects of all the web-related contents. The designing and promotion are also done by these agencies.

Advertising Agencies Need for Search Engine Skills

The search engine marketing industry has developed into a billion dollar industry and clients expect their agencies to get them involved. Ad agencies are now chasing the increased revenue generated by search engines.

In the past advertising agencies tended to ignore organic SEO as it was seen as a complicated system with results that were difficult to measure as part of an overall media campaign. This changed when they realized the potential of Pay per Click (PPC). This made sense to the agencies because its results were easily measurable and the results were impressive.

Ad agencies need to track and manage advertising results for their clients and there is a constant need to measure value and ROI. Thus the lack of tools for measuring the effectiveness of an SEO campaign was seen as a major draw back. In the present day this is no longer an issue as there is a large choice of measuring options out there. However ad agencies often make use of the SEO firm's expertise in using these tools and analyzing the results.

To meet their client's demands many ad agencies have had to dive straight into SEO. Their clients have become knowledgeable of what search engines can offer them. In fact they often have a greater knowledge of it than the agencies. So the agencies have had to learn quickly or risk losing some of their client base. They often chose to outsource to the SEO experts who have the skilled staff and the ongoing commitment to dedicate their resources and energies to SEO.

We are now at the point where advertising agencies are beginning to integrate search engine strategies into their traditional advertising media mix. They are often doing this with the help of SEO experts. This enables them to retain their traditional role of campaign management while outsourcing to the SEO firm. This is often a win-win situation for both sides as they each retain their areas of expertise while expanding their combined market share.

The Four Camps Of Advertising Agencies

Who decides what constitutes great advertising strategy? Is it the brand that pays for
it, the agency that creates it, the panel that judges it, or the market that buys into
it?

Of course, the answer is the market, but you'd be surprised how few in the
advertising industry actually create advertising for the buying public.

It is paramount to understand that buyers render the most decisive judgment about
what constitutes great advertising especially if the goal is to steal share. How can we
steal share unless we have focused our advertising on the audience? Their dollars
are the share we are trying to steal.

However, it is our experience at Stealing Share(TM) that most advertising is aimed at
everyone but the buyer. Ads are created to catch the eyes of potential awards show
judges, for example, or to impress the internal audience of the brand's employees,
or to boost the agency's self-esteem. When brands perform internally, they go
nowhere. Agencies need to focus on the buying public when creating advertising.

Many advertising agencies will take great pains to discuss the target audience. They
will even nail the characteristics and personality of that audience. Most often,
however, the actual execution of their insights will miss the mark. The brands, or
more accurately the brand managers, will get the blame. They will watch their
business suffer and actually lose market share.

We at Stealing Share(TM) tell our clients to think of the advertising agency market as
including the following four camps:

Camp 1 - The Safe Agency. They usually say the right things
and keep clients for years on end. The target audience they serve is not the
customer, rather it is the brand manager. They work to please one person. These
agencies keep clients for a long time simply because they never challenge clients to
know the actual audience as well as they know themselves.

Camp 2 - The Of-The-Moment Agency. This agency wins all of
the creative awards. Their work is flashy, fun and memorable. You know their names
from the pages of ADWEEK and AdAge. They talk the talk about the target audience
but create advertising for themselves and their peers. They are only inspired by
advertising that is different rather than different, better and targeted toward the
minds of the buying public. This is the agency that produces the spot that makes
you go, "Wow," but doesn't make the customer commit.

Camp 3 - The Big Agency. Think Camp 1, only larger in size.
This agency pays homage to the "creative process" because they once believed in it.
They even have an impressive TV reel to prove prior loyalty, but they have become
so big that they now attract huge clients who feel their brand is already complete.
It's finished. These brands do not need new thinking. They just need the agency
with its own brand name to complete the picture. This agency has long ago
abandoned considering the consumer. It thinks of its own brand and VIP client list.

Camp 4 - The Thinking Agency. Here's the agency you want to
seek, and they are out there in good number. They are agencies that tell clients the
truth and get permission from the brand to create advertising that is different,
better and strategic. They are closer to Camp 2 than Camp 1 because they do value
creativity as an important element in successful messaging. This firm differs in that
they truly focus on the consumer and never confuse their agency or the client with
the buyer.

Their work is varied. It is not all funny, all testimonial or all serious. Their work
changes to reflect the most strategic way to influence the target audience by
thinking of why the audience chooses. They will not use industry awards as a proof
of their success. They want to influence and change behavior.

If your advertising is designed to steal market share, then it needs to acknowledge
the basic beliefs of the target audience that create brand loyalty. (For our clients at
Stealing Share(TM), we call those beliefs "precepts.") It needs to be about the consumer
and not about your marketing department or the creative director who conceived of
it.

We know from experience that purchase decisions are usually not cognitive; they are
emotional. Emotional decisions are more difficult to understand but easier to
change. You need to demand that your advertising leverages the "precepts" that
govern the lives of your target audience and gives your audience a reason to choose
your brand. The target audience needs to see that your advertising speaks only to
them, and that the call to action is not about buying the product, but about buying
(being) the brand.

Where do you and your agency fit into all this? That evaluation is the first step in
beating your competitors. If you really want to win, then you need to clear all of the
big egos out of the room -- even your own.

Promote Your Brand Widely Through An Online Advertising Agency

The web is a global medium! It was helpful for exchanging information but now it is far more than it used to be. One can do shopping, social interactions, listen to music and watch videos. Seeing this growing trend of internet, we consider it from an organization's point of view. The organizations offer products and services, which they wish to sell through online and offline medium. All such products and services require online advertising agency for making promotion.

An online advertisement agency is helpful in creating awareness about advertiser's brand through banner ads and other online promotional methods. The banner ads are very attractive graphical images, which are designed for the target audience. These ads are displayed at various web pages. These web pages can belong to a banner network taken into collaboration by the online advertising agency. Such banner network comprises of publisher websites that work in accordance with the agency.

Promoting the brand through banner network is useful due to the vastness of this channel to spread the buzzword. The contextual ads are poised for popularity due to the internet traffic. In India alone, there are over 46 million internet users, as reported by IAMAI. So, the target audience and opportunities are large. To exploit these wonderful opportunities, there is a need of seeking solutions from online advertising agency. More and more business organizations are getting aware about this need.