Job Opening

Not here in Idaho, but rather at Sullivan Higdon & Sink’s Wichita, Kansas office. The interesting part, however, is not the job, but how they chose to list it. They’ve posted the job opening on the American Copywriter blog.

So rather than listing the job on an online job site or relying only on the local newspaper, they’ve put this job listing out in front of an audience that is already interested in the industry, and as likely listeners to the American Copywriter podcast, that same audience is already familiar with the agency.

To me its a striking example of how the work that they’ve put into building both American Copywriter, and Sullivan Higdon & Sink as brands will now pay off in ways that were never originally expected. And the cost? Time, and thinking of their business as more than just a series of names on the door.

So, the question stands — how long until someone here does anything similar?

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And in contrast…

I posted about the Franklin Building Supply campaign a couple of weeks ago, which I still think is a well-done campaign overall. In contrast, however, I heard a radio spot recently for Hubble Homes that just cannot go without comment.

The entire :30 radio spot is nothing but one long cheezy jingle. Not just as an intro before the real meat of the commercial, but the entire thing! Its spots like this that will continue to drive both aided and unaided recall down, making radio as a medium that much more ineffective. I’m still a firm believer that radio can be an effective part of a good media plan, but you’ve got to give the listener something worth listening to!

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New Client Win

Congratulations to Oliver Russell for adding Weyerhaeuser as a new client, and making a point to post the news on their website.

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Let me get this straight…

Just from my own observations, it would seem that most of the agencies in Idaho are doing very little, or so the “news” sections of their websites would have you believe (if they even have a news section, that is)…

Here’s just a sample:
Stoltz Marketing Group – the last news item on their site is dated January 5, 2006. Apparently they’ve taken the rest of the winter off?
Noot Group – heck, from their site I’d guess they checked out almost a year ago!
What’s even more shocking is the number of agency websites that don’t even bother to include a news area within their own websites. Come on folks! Give people a reason to visit your site more than once every two years! How am I, as a visitor to an agency’s website, supposed to know what’s new if the whole thing looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was there. Added to your portfolio recently? Well then tell me about it. Odds are, I’ll read the news that’s there, and then go on to another section (such as a portfolio). See where this is going…

From a potential client’s point of view — give me a reason to go to your site regularly, and they’ll go back to your site regularly. The more often they visit, the better they get to know the agency. The better they know the agency, the easier time they’ll have deciding whether or not you’re the right place for them to take their business. If they never see any changes, though, the site, and consequently the company, looks stale — not the kind of place I’d take my business if it were my choice to make.

Now I’ve heard the arguments that this is a face-to-face business, and in a lot of cases, yes it is. But let’s face it (no pun intended), your website is the face of your business online. So why would you continue to have a stale, faceless site out there?

As always, there are exceptions to the rule, notably:
Oliver Russell – since the redesign of their site, they’ve done a good job of putting out bits and pieces in their “What’s Happening” section. A few stories each month/tidbits of info is all, but its enough to keep me going back to see what’s new.
Es/drake – for the past couple of months their site has been promising changes, but I’ve yet to see it happen. Jury is still out.

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At least its being discussed

The Idaho Business Review ran an article a few weeks ago on the changing focus that marketers/agencies are being faced with right now. First off, I say good for them for taking on the subject. No business wants to hear that the environment they’ve become accustom to is changing at a break-neck speed, as is the case in the marketing world today. Even here in Idaho.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that its good to be skeptical once in a while, but at the same time, being able to accept, if not embrace, change in this business will keep an agency at the top of their game. Oliver Russell gets it, I think. Es/drake is getting there too, from the sounds of it. But where is everyone else?

Here’s a PDF of the article.
(Courtesy of Oliver Russell)

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