Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Ad Agencies Create Their Own Brands


An interesting article from the New York Times on ad agencies creating their own products or media channels.


This is an interesting concept, and I have mixed feelings on the notion. To a certain extent it seems contrived. It feels like an idea born out of a conference room, think outside the box brainstorm: "See, we're an ad agency, so we created our own media channel - get it?".


To that extent I really have no interest in hearing what some ad exec thinks of Michelle Obama's wardrobe, or eating their homemade chocolate, or buying their furniture.



I am interested however, in their creative assets: their views on marketing, what inspires them creatively, and maybe even their tee shirt lines. Ad agencies employ some very creative people, who are usually working on a screenplay, playing in a band, or writing the next great American novel. I love reading in Creativity Magazine where the leading creative minds discuss what books they are reading, what music they are listening to, the Web sites they visit.


In essence, I guess it is a fine line, between pandering and adding value. Hopefully that is another lesson these agencies have learned in their years of client marketing: make it relevant.

No comments:

Post a Comment