Throughout 30 years, massive changes are inevitable for every industry, and advertising is no exception. New research, changing demographics and media landscapes and more have made the best practices of old almost unrecognizable from the best practices of today. But through it all, there are concrete and essential truths that have never changed about this industry. Here’s just a few…
Good Creative Wins
While the mediums and the platforms have drastically changed over the years and continue to evolve every day, good creative has always been what matters. From print ads in the 80s to social media ads today, the most important component of success has been and always will be good creative. Agencies that have continuously invested in big thinkers and talented designers and writers are the ones that have survived year after year. At the end of the day, no matter how good your execution and targeting, it’s the idea that matters most.
Relationships Matter
Maintaining strong relationships with our clients, vendors and partners has been paramount to our success as an agency. Printing and hand-delivering production pieces in the old days helped us form great relationships with everyone we did business with then, and that continues now with digital transfers, conference calls, working lunches and emails. Forming those strong bonds have made an immeasurable difference during tough times and bumps in the road. The power of good relationships can’t be overstated.
It has to mean something
Our motto at Geile/Leon is “Make It Mean Something.” At advertising’s core, this is what our work is about. David Ogilvy once said: “It’s not creative if it doesn’t sell.” Playing off of David Ogilvy’s words, when your message and your advertising means something to your target audience, it’s going to sell and it’s going to make a difference. The greatest strength that advertisers can have is empathy – if you can put yourself in another person’s shoes and understand what kind of message will truly mean something to them, you’re going to produce impactful and brilliant work.
You have to love what you do
Advertising is not a business for the thin-skinned or weak-willed. If you don’t love what you do, the crazy schedules and client requests will quickly become overwhelming. But if you’re like us, you just may find yourself enjoying this rollercoaster that we call a career. No matter how things change over the next 30 years, the quality of your work will depend on how much you love doing it and how much passion you bring to the workplace. As long as you’re passionate, and maybe just a little bit crazy, you’re going to have a place in advertising.