By Yvonne Horton
yhorton@idahobusinessiq.com
Every dollar I spend for a client is scrutinized as if it were my own.
In the beginning, the first advertising agencies had no copywriters, no art directors and no account executives. The fact is that if you decided to have a career
in advertising in the late 1800’s, you were not required to have any advertising experience or insight into the product that was sold. This was because those
agencies were print brokers—they bought ad space in newspapers and periodicals and sold that space to their clients. Their motivation? To maximize the profits
of their transactions and not necessarily in the best interest of their clients.1
Times have changed. Many of the larger agencies employ several thousands—educated in the art of marketing and strategy. Their services have evolved as much as
their size. Some of the best agencies serve not only as media buyers but also as strategic partners assisting their clients increase the value of their businesses.
That strategic partnership is what has always motivated Stacie Campbell in the agency business. Eight years ago, this Idaho native returned to her roots when she
was offered a job at the NBC Affiliate, KPVI, in Pocatello. Campbell had been living in Wilmington, NC, where she had started her own advertising agency, but she
had longed to return to the Eastern Idaho/Northern Utah region where she had grown up.
Since that time, she has opened another agency in Pocatello where she feels that she can focus on what is most important, her family and her ideals.
“It is important
to me that I run my business consistently with the marketing values I try to instill in my customers,” she told IQ Idaho, “ What makes me different as a marketing
and advertising agency is that I advertise. As an industry, marketing and advertising agencies try to teach customers the importance of promotion. We convince them
to promote themselves to their target market, but most of the time, we fail to do exactly that—as an industry. I’m different that way.
”According to Campbell this
simple shift in her operations has not only helped her improve her agency’s visibility, but it has provided her a new perspective. “I have always focused on
creating the right message, targeting the right people and negotiating
the best price for my clients’ advertising campaigns. But, since I advertised and put myself into the public domain, I find that I understand my clients’ needs
even more. Every dollar I spend for a client is scrutinized as if it were my own.” IQ
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1 How Advertising Agencies Operate, http://www.marketingpower.com/content1073.php
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