So why do you tell your ad agency how to make better advertising? I actually know the answer. Advertising is more accessible than dentistry or law, or accounting or information technology or OSHA. Everyone has an opinion and because advertising is part art and part science (some think more art than science), who knows which is right?
But here’s the deal. Your ad agency people went to specialized school to study their trade, just like the dentist. Many have learnt at the school of hard knocks tutored by icons who just know. If they are in copy they probably have read more Shakespeare, Naipaul or Wordsworth than you. They have gone to courses on ideation and with the university that is the internet, they read everyday about how they can sharpen their saw. (the good ones do) Ditto the artists, account service, media, digital and production folks. Everyday they look at other people’s work for inspiration or as a guide of mistakes to avoid.
If you keep telling them what to do, then you get ‘paint by numbers’ work. When you give them the room and the trust to do work for you, something special happens. They fall in love with your brand. They do great work.
So let your ad agency loose. If you think they are no good for your brand, fire them. But don’t play dentist.
(Photo courtesy: affordabledentalcenter.com)
