Creating good advertisement is like building a house

If you want to achieve something, you have to set your aim clearly. Before you start building it is necessary to create a project. That is true no matter if it is a small or a large construction or a small or a bigger advertising campaign.

Choosing a construction company is a serious thing. A company that will be your partner - preferably for a longer period. A good company has everything available under one roof. It will provide the supply of all the material, they will not tell you "you have to find somebody for building the frame. Such a company should be able to judge the usability of your intention, advice you in the matter of the design and especially they will not leave you in the lurch when first slight problem occurs. They say in advance what costs you have to bargain for and they will comply with this price. As for choosing the advertising agency, the situation is similar. Don´t judge only according to prices. Ask about the references, find out whether the agency has experience with the complex delivery, what they are able to provide by themselves and what do they provide by subdelivery.

And because the advertisement is about communication, check if the people who communicate with each other are really able to communicate. That they just understand each other humanly.

It is always up to yourself if you want a turnkey project or to build-it-yourself. Both have some difficulties. On the first sight it seems that to do-it-yourself must be always cheaper. However in general it is true that the professional work is finished more quickly and you have time to apply yourself to the things that you can do the best - your own profession. You save a lot of time (and therefore also money) and last but not least, you have much less worries.

In advertisement you have to decide between the use of specialized (e.g. medial) agencies and full service, i.e. delivery "all-from-one-company". If you are not wel acquainted in technologies, production processes and professional terminology, the choice from many specialized agencies and the consequent cooperation with them can be a trial by fire: you will be setting the printed matters, checking the photographers, choosing from many billboard owners the best one, checking the pasting up and implementation, choosing the right seriographic color and finding out the legitimacy of the complaints of inadequate data. Surely enough, you will learn a lot through this. Maybe also that it is better to get somebody who will make it instead of you. The "somebody" will probably be the full-service agency.

It is necessary to find out which subsoil we are going to build on, eventually to modify it, as well as it is necessary to make an analysis of the current advertising works and to find out which results they have produced.

The same way as the construction conforms to the standards and regulations, also advertisement has its own but many of them are unwritten. If we are building a house, we also judge the suitability of the type of building in particular surrounding. The same way during the campaign we will first implement the marketing survey which will prove the correctness of our intention.

There are also necessary the building stones - advertisement components that we will use. Their choice also depends on our intention as well as on our financial situation. The same way as the medial components. Also in advertisement it is true that the most expensive is not always the best...

However it is not possible to save money on the quality of inputs. They have to be long-life the same way as all the cement blocks, armatures, bricks and roofing. The more superior, the better... If it happens that any of the building components won´t be high-quality in this phase, the result of all your activity will be threatened. In advertisement there will be included also logos and trademarks, well-processed graphic manual, photographs, advertisement texts, slogans and the unified corporate image.

If there are solid foundations of the building, it is later possible to build up the annex or change the design, connect the garden components... It is always cheaper than consequently demolish and re-build the foundations because of the new conception.

So you have chosen the agency and built together the framework of the whole campaign. Remember that the good agency will be constantly in contact with you and will be asking about your opinion - because after all it is you who will "live in the house", who is going to show this exterior face... Be demanding and at the same time be realists.

You have chosen the agency carefully, so trust them. Preconsider your interferences into the work of the agency´s people - they usually know what they do and why. It is not usual to build the frame instead of professionals. But let them explain everything in details for you. On the other hand - it should not happen that e.g. an artist implements his ambitions at the customer´s expenses.

One advice - don´t push the creative workers into the position of a bare performer of your commands. The disappointment could be on your side. Even if you may finally persuade the architect to design a baroque portal at a wooden cottage and pay him well, he may not want to recognize to the design. But the professional will not do it. It is true that the most expensive is not always the best.

After finishing the construction the final building approval is necessary. In advertisement it is the evaluation of the whole campaign. Before payment of the bill request the check-out of the implemented jobs and terms. From the both sides. Advertisement is among other things about the exact timing. After all, you will not lay concrete in winter as well.

Your house is ready. So enjoy it! Have a good living! There will not leak into a well-build house and it will keep fine for some time... even without maintenance. And a well-established brand is "sold by itself"...

However, if you don´t want the general repairs to come too soon, then the regular maintenance is still necessary. Also a well-done advertisement is necessary to maintain, at least because a brand new campaign is still more expensive. Besides, the frequent changes of the "outer look" are not good for the brand.

And one more advice in the end: if you get a dog, don´t bark instead of him.

If you chose an advertising agency let them work and give them time. You will not reach the outstanding results overnight. Give the direction and check if it is performed, do not substitute for the agency. Deputing tasks is the most difficult for those who is used to do everything by themselves and they know that the others will not manage it better.

Sounds good but must be certainly very expensive?

Ask for calculation in advance!

A full-service agency is paid by the provisions from media, usually 15 % from the price. And the time of its employees is usually the same price as the time of your employees who you would have to pay anyway. Only they are experts in another branch and that is why they orientate in the branch.

A good agency is actually your advertising / marketing department.

Mgr. Jana Brabcová,

executive head of Grafia, Ltd.