I grew up around the advertising business. My father was either the advertising manager of a company, like Cooper Tires or he had his own successful agency.
While I had a number of jobs while I was growing up from a housing framer (not too good) to a gas station attendant ( I could wash a mean windshield) to a music store salesman selling guitars, amps, and drums (pretty good), my first real job was working for my father’s agency.
Unlike many fathers, my father made sure I was one of the lowest paid people, gave me the worst tasks and was more critical of me than anyone else. While I didn’t like it at the time, I learned a lot from him.
One of the things I learned was the importance of having a role model. His role model was the famous ad man, David Ogilvy. Instead of asking himself, What would Jesus Do? He asked himself, What would David Do?
Ogilvy & Mather produced a series of ads about advertising and agencies that my father had enlarged and framed. He hung them in the office to remind us all what we should stand for.
I have very high expectations of ad agencies, and one of the keys to a great agency is the attitude of the account team. I rank attitude as more important than experience and knowledge. You can gain knowledge and experience, quickly in today’s world. With attitude, you either have it, or you don’t.
When considering a new agency for your building materials company, evaluating your current agency or a new account person, I think you’ll find the following guide from Ogilvy & Mather to be of help.
Even though this is probably over 30 years old, I find it still to be a great guide.
You may also be interested in my Directory of Building Materials Ad Agencies or my Guide to Selecting a New Building Materials Ad Agency.
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