Simon Sinek published this article dissing ad agencies in BrandWeek:
IF ADVERTISING is so effective, why don’t ad agencies advertise? PR firms tout themselves in releases. Event planners throw their own parties. E-marketers use the Internet. These folks all believe in the effectiveness of their disciplines. Do ad agencies disagree?
Read the rest of it to really get the sense of what he’s saying: that ad agencies know that most advertising simply does not work.
OK. I mostly agree with him. I think it’s a cluetrain thing. A pinko marketing, (or conversational marketing) thing.
But here’s one thing I’d say in ad agencies defense: their product is their ad.
In other words, the work that they do for existing clients is a powerful marketing branding and marketing campaign for their company … for good or ill.
. . .
. . .