What's the big attraction in advertising?
Published on 10/05/1995 under Potpourri
A friend of mine, Jackie Dryden, senior vice president at Houston-based Sachnowitz & Company, recently characterized the appeal of advertising in an article for the HOUSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL. She said, "if you admit to getting a rush from having three people back you into a corner, stand on your chest and shout at you, you are an advertising junkie."
And while that definition may seem a bit extreme, I swear there are days when I feel I've been treated worse. My wife can't understand why we keep beating our heads against the wall. Except for the money, of course. She understands that just fine.
Advertising is such a subjective business; the only thing that separates the seasoned professional from a rank amateur is many years of knowing what is likely to work and what isn't. Do we have proof? No, not exactly, and that opens Pandora's Box for anyone and everyone to toss in their pet ideas or hare-brained schemes. It frequently comes down to my gut feel against your gut feel, and if you're the client, guess who wins?
Imagine going to your doctor, getting a complete check-up, and then refusing to accept his or her diagnosis for prescribed treatment. That's what happens with great regularity in the advertising and marketing business. Will doctors give you guarantees? No, and they usually won't even cite the probabilities for success. The doctor says, "trust me," and we do.
Another thing that drives me crazy is the expectation that advertising people will do almost anything to get a client's business, including give away free marketing analysis and planning services. How would your doctor feel about providing the complete physical (including lab costs) at no charge with the understanding that if you like what you see, you'll pay for the proposed treatment. And of course you have the right to cut the prescribed treatment costs as much as necessary to fit your budget (which you cleverly failed to reveal).
Many people would actually DIE playing out this sadistic game with their doctors, and come to think about it, that's what happens to businesspeople, too. They miss important market opportunities, wasting valuable time trying to negotiate "free" marketing or creative services which, because they are based on inadequate direction, will never be used. They will make agency selection decisions based on who is most eager, and will end up chasing away the better agencies that smell something fishy in the process.
My fish smell detector was sadly deficient late last year when we decided to respond to a company's 12-page questionnaire with a marketing communications proposal that required more than 300 manhours to prepare. We had never heard of this company despite their headquarters location only a few miles from our office. However, they were in an industry that appealed to us, so after several orientation meetings we elected to give it the full effort.
The good news is we got the account. That happens to be the bad news, too.
The first warning signal was that their "actual" budget was less than half the recommended amount. But that's okay, because half was still a pretty decent number.
The second warning was their persistent complaints about project costs. This was despite the fact that these projects were coming in almost exactly as estimated in the "free" marcom plan that we had done with limited information from the client. If anything, they should have been delighted.
Within six months, we had sunk another 200 manhours in various unbilled activities, always with the promise of additional work down the road. At this rate, it was going to take about three years to show a profit on this account. But we were resigned to try. We had to, with so much time invested.
The final straw was their revelation that they had shopped our first brochure to several freelancers and found our prices to be quite high. It's doubtful the freelancers were aware that the brochure was for a new, experimental product, one that had never been written about or portrayed visually. (We had to instruct a machine shop how to finish and paint the prototype, and prepare a see-though airbrush illustration from blueprints that were missing key component details.)
It was one of those experiences that makes you long for another career choice. If only I had taken my mother up on those piano lessons thirty years ago.
So the question remains, "What is the big attraction in advertising?"
As most recent college graduates know, starting salaries in advertising are depressingly low. Entry level jobs can be as exciting as government work, and the hours are long, real long.
If I was entering the field today, would I even be tempted? I asked several of our younger employees why they were attracted to advertising and here's what they said:
It's glamorous -- your work is seen and admired by many people. It sets the image for companies and has the attention of top management. It's exciting, with photo shoots, artsy people, graphically interesting trade magazines, etc.
It's fresh -- the array of assignments is always changing. You're continually challenged to tackle things you've never done before. Very little repetitious or monotonous work.
It's creative -- you get the rewards and satisfaction of artistic expression, even if your contribution is small.
It's fun -- the daily juxtaposition of left- and right-brain activities forces you to "lighten up" and enjoy the moment. Plus, the variety of people attracted to advertising is huge. No armies of engineers or accountants to deal with.
It's lucrative -- if you persevere and rise to the top, you can make some serious money.
Those are their expectations, and I suppose they won't be disappointed if they keep in mind that old Clint Eastwood film: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The "good" is all those things they described. The "bad" is you start working for peanuts and you work lots of hours.
The "ugly" is that people tend to back you in a corner, stand on your chest and shout at you. Other than that, it's a great life.