Promote Your Ad Agency Through the Recession

By Michael Gass

Let me preface this post by saying that small to midsize agencies have a once in a lifetime opportunity to grow their agency during the current, turbulent financial crisis. Now is the time to step up your advertising agency's new business efforts.

Promote your ad agency through the recession by expanding your agency's "online footprint."

In 2008, four things have taken place that particularly impacts small and midsize agency new business:

1. In a 2008 CMO survey, 80% of decision makers say they found the vendor, not the other way around.


2. CMO Council's Marketing Outlook study states that Marketing 2.0 is by no means a brand new idea, but this year it becomes mainstream with the general public.


3. Tim Williams, founder of Ignition Consulting Group , and author of the book, Take a Stand for Your Brand, declares in 2008 that it's "The End of Cold Calling."


4. The current economic crisis that is impacting advertising budgets and will greatly accelerate Web 2.0. Following this recession, there will not be a return to business as usual.

How does this impact ad agency new business? According to current research and trends, traditional media and methods will no longer generate sustainable leads for your agency's new business. The new business paradigm that we are witnessing is positioning small and midsize advertising agencies online to be found their best target audiences. Agencies should develop an appealing point of differentiation and use Web 2.0 tools to greatly expand their agency's "online footprint" to be easily found by their best prospective clients.

As a first step, I would suggest subscribing your agency to the following online services. It doesn't matter if you don't use them all immediately, but it is important to get a general understanding of them. Sign up for:

• Facebook/Myspace


• LinkedIn


• Twitter


• Digg


• Technorati


• Feedburner


• GoogleAnalytics


• YouTube


• Flickr


• Wikipedia entry

Secondly, agency principals and staff subscribe to relevant online professional networks and professional online forums. You and your staff should immediately link to one another, then to clients, friends and prospective clients. Everyone becomes an agency ambassador. Experience the new media tools for yourself and build your staff's capabilities and utilize the cost effectiveness of new media to promote your agency. For success, you'll need to understand that motive matters, these tools need to be used correctly. Also they wont be effective unless they are used consistently.

Thirdly, create an agency blog, specific to a particular target audience. Provide useful information and resources. Build relationships and trust along with being positioned as an expert among your target group.

Fourth, continue expanding your agency's online footprint using other new media tools such as eNewsletters, online surveys/polls, PR, presentations (SlideShare), downloadable whitepapers, PPC (AdWords), Ebooks and article marketing (EzineArticles). When other agencies are cutting back, there is no better opportunity to pick up new clients, increase your agency's profile and market share. You can do more online with a fraction of the cost.

Michael Gass is an agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies. Michael works with marketing communications firms to create a more clearly defined focus and differentiating business strategy that will give them a competitive advantage for new business, a higher-profile reputation, and an improved ability to attract and win the clients they really want. For additional information please visit Michael's website at http://www.michaelgass.com - his blog site at http://www.fuelingnewbusiness.com - or call toll free 877.695.6466