Give the Client What They Need, Not What They Want.

Image courtesy of Mdany

Advertising is a relatively simple process that has become inordinately complex over the years. Way back in the day, Joe Schmoe had a product. Joe wanted everyone to know how great his product was, and of course, buy it. He went to an expert, he told that person all about the product, and the expert delivered advertising. Joe got rich (if the product was any good) and the expert got paid. Simple.

The clients of today are very different. Sometimes, they don't know enough about their own product or service because they aren't intimately involved with it. They didn't design it, establish it or build it. They are hired to put an ad campaign in place, to do branding, to push public relations (PR) and generally to make the product or service successful. They are middlemen between advertisers and the actual product and its creator.

With that said, they often think they know what it will take to make the product successful. They want a specific ad campaign, with specific tactics and a strategy [link] that they believe is rock-solid. To put it another way, they are patients who like to write their own prescriptions. Occasionally, they get it right. Most of the time, they're way off. And the prescriptions they write can make things even worse.

It is important to remember why you and your advertising agency were hired in the first place, and what you bring to the table. You are the experts. You know what to do and how to do it. If a client asks for a multi-national branding campaign to run on TV stations around the world, and hands over millions of dollars, stop and think. Is this what they want, or what they need?

It could be that for a tiny percentage of that budget, you could create something viral that would actually be seen by more people, and the way it is leaked out may actually be more "on brand."

When a client wants a radio ad, ask why. Why do you need it? What problem are you trying to solve? Who are you trying to reach? What's your timeline? Never be afraid to ask questions, it is beneficial to the client and will save time and money in the process.

At the end of the day, any ad agency can take a client's money and run. That's not a smart agency, though. You should always be thinking, "is this what my client needs, or is it just what they want?" If it's the latter, regroup and talk it over with you client. A recent example of this is Crispin, Porter & Bogusky's simple but elegant solution for Domino's pizza chain.

Domino's wanted a new ad campaign. CP&B said no, you don't want that. You need to create better pizzas. Do that, scrap the old ones, admit they were bad, and tell the world about the new pizza ingredients. So they did. When I called my local Domino's chain after the ad had launched, the wait was one hour and 45 minutes. On a Wednesday.

This is advertising at its finest and most effective. It goes back to the days of Bill Bernbach and Avis. Give the client what they need, not what they want, and the customers will always respond well.