Beware of Marcom Consultants

In the latest issue of AdvertisingAge, Al Ries laments creativity in ads. He attributes the overemphasis on creativity to the following phenomenon:

"It used to be that the objective of an advertisement was to sell something to a consumer. Today, the real selling takes place in the boardroom, where the agency tries to sell the advertising to the client."

When you hire an advertising agency or marcom or brand consultant, beware of this phenomenon. Keep in mind that what matters is not whether an ad or marketing campaign appeals to you, but that it appeals to prospective customers and will make them more likely to purchase your product. Solid market research is necessary to understand the market for your product and what will appeal to it.

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