You're a Client? Then be afraid – very afraid!

Apr 26
09:44

2007

Paul Ashby

Paul Ashby

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Advertising Agencies are making mediocrity their number one business aim. Our once mighty Advertising Agencies are now uninspiring. Merely "One-trick-Ponies", churning out boring predicable 30 Second TV commercials that cannot sell a thing. Increasingly they are produced by twenty somethings who have no idea about the reality of selling your products and, frankly, couldn't care less! All they want is their show reel man, that is the only reality that they want.

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Because they are spending your money the wrong way,You're a Client? Then be afraid – very afraid! Articles the advertising industry is shattering all our illusions, one by one the marketing institutions once considered bastions of integrity appear to be falling into a mire of sleaze and mediocrity.

Firstly consider this, has your agency ever once come to you with evidence that the highly expensive advertising campaign you have just concluded has produced sufficient sales to justify the huge investment you have just made?

And they keep on saying "Advertising Works", hmmm well I guess it does, it works very well in removing huge sums of money from you with virtually nothing in return.

Then there is the television industry. The increasingly tacky gimmicks of voyeuristic shows such as Big Brother, the hoodwinking of viewers who try and take part in phone quizzes, and more, has created widespread mistrust.

Please remember that it is your money they're after to fund all these tawdry scams, however your money is slowly becoming debased. TV viewers are quickly becoming bored to tears by the diet of scams, tricks and instantly forgettable programmes. And just to make this a little bit more uncomfortable for you, they are avoiding your advertisements!

Advertising Agencies are making mediocrity their number one business aim. Our once mighty Advertising Agencies are now uninspiring. Merely "One-trick-Ponies", churning out boring predicable 30 Second TV commercials that cannot sell a thing. Increasingly they are produced by twenty somethings who have no idea about the reality of selling your products and, frankly, couldn't care less! All they want is their show reel man, that is the only reality that they want.

However there is one thing that they are very good at, and that is burying the good ideas that could do something for your products, and that is because of the "not invented here" syndrome. And we thought that advertising agencies are a service industry constantly on the look out for new and original ideas for their clients! Not so!

No I do not want to demolish the status quo. However in too many areas of marketing it appears that the only important thing that matters is the making of a fast buck…not the selling of your product.. Just in making a fast buck! Preferably yours!

As I said, be afraid…be very afraid because the feeling among your customers is that we are constantly being ripped off. More importantly is that virtually nobody is delivering what they promise. And the sad thing is…you’re the one they blame!

And there is another, far more disturbing element which appears to be getting buried so that nobody really acknowledges that it exists. However your customers are becoming more and more savvy about life and, as a result are becoming more and more disenchanted with the whole ethos of advertising and marketing!

Every day employees and their managers plunder huge amounts of money from the owners of public companies. And, it would seem, nobody gives a dam!

We all hear stories about chief executives pocketing huge remuneration and golden parachutes despite clearly having failed at their job! well that is just the ones we hear about. What about the mammoth City bonuses for workers whose job could be handled by any number of talented individuals?

And that appears to be the way business life is going, you take all the risks and they take advantage. Do you really think that they would behave the same way if their own money were on the line?

Dishonesty is woven into the very fabric of corporate life. Subtle and pervasive and largely unrecognised for what it is. Yes Mr Client, Advertising and Marketing are totally accountable, providing you with expensive expense reports justifying the latest corporate junket, but proving that they have increased sales…nope they are just as dishonest as ever!